Quintiles' subsidiary Pharmalink has acquired the marketing rights
to Eli Lilly India's flagship antibiotic brand Distaclor (cefaclor)
in a bid to boost its core services business.
Microbiology expert Oxoid has released a new active air quality
monitoring device to help pharmaceutical companies prove that their
clean areas are microbe free.
Start-up UK biotech firm Circassia technology has had a major
result in bagging 30-year industry veteran and former
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) chairman, Sir Richard Sykes, as its new
chairman of the board.
The latest in a series of periodic roundups of drugs that have
moved from preclinical research into clinical testing via the
announcement of a Phase I trial or an application for a trial to
industry regulators.
NPS Pharmaceuticals, Targanta Therapeutics, Merck & Co., MAP
Pharmaceuticals and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals have all had people
on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Chiltern, Patheon, Hill Top Research, AMRI, Perceptive Informatics,
Xceleron and Charles River Labs have all had people on the move in
the world of pharmaceutical outsourcing.
Aussie drug delivery firm Acrux has reported positive results from
trials of its novel transdermal spray, tested for the first time
with a combination contraceptive formulation.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) Pharmaceuticals has penned a deal
worth up to $511m (€375m) for a class of potential osteoporosis
drugs already well established as asthma therapies.
Australia is soon to boast the largest monoclonal antibody
production facility in the Southern Hemisphere, which will go some
way in alleviating the increasing demand for the biologic agents.
Italian firm Cosmo Pharmaceuticals has announced positive
preliminary results from trials testing out a new formulation of an
antibioticfor traveller's diarrhoea that makes use of the
company's innovative MMX technology.
The European Commission (EC) has given a €2.75m grant to a
consortium of companies, led by Amaxa, to develop the first ultra
high-throughput (UHT) devices for transfecting cells.
A novel antifungal treatment developed by French firm BioAlliance
has attracted a US partner, bringing $65m (€48m) to the company
only months after announcing a multi-million deal in Europe.
British contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) NextPharma
Technologies has announced a €30m fundraising round and the
acquisition of Bioserv, another CMO based in the US.
Two of the UK's top contract sales organisations (CSO) have merged
to create what is claimed to be the country's leading CSO -
something that is disputed by its nearest rival.
Belgian biopharma Ablynx has announced its lead miniature antibody
has shown good interim results in a first-in-man trial, leaving it
one step ahead of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
A new recombinant combo treatment that could help some of
the rising number of women experiencing fertility problems,
has now been approved for use in the Europe.
The hook-up between German and French firms Sartorius and Stedim to
create a combined biotech business is now complete, with the deal
finalised and the new company ready to roll.
Thar Instruments has bought Berger SFC from Mettler Toledo to
expand its SFC capabilities and achieve 'critical mass' in a market
that is growing as pharma looks for greener separation options.
PharmaNet Development Group has reached a significant turning point
in its attempt to finally close the doors on a long period of
trouble with its Phase I clinical business.
Sanofi-Aventis' hotly touted anti-obesity blockbuster drug has
become weighted down in safety concerns as the French company
withdraws its New Drug Application (NDA) in the US and awaits a
safety review in the EU.
Outsourcing-Pharma.com compiles the news that featured in the
clinical contract community this past week, involving Encorium,
Amarex, Paragon Biomedical, Pacific Biometrics and Parexel.
One of the most significant deals to take place in the vaccine
industry in the last ten years was signed late last night between
vaccine heavyweight Novartis and biotech firm Intercell.
A new and improved extended-release treatment for schizophrenia has
been granted marketing authorisation by the European
Commission. Invega (paliperidone) is a once-daily formulation
that will be marketed by J&J subsidiary, Janssen-Cilag.
AstraZeneca has sold a manufacturing plant in France to a contract
manufacturer who will continue to supply the drug giant with its
products under a new outsourcing contract.
The finishing touches are being added to the new Bradman Lake
Group's packaging machinery facility in Norwich, Norfolk, as the
company continues on its global expansion plan.
The worlds of biochemistry and electronics have collided after
scientists successfully developed a biosensor that can measure a
drug's effectiveness without killing the cells it is trying to
analyse.
Bespak, one of the two contract manufacturers of Pfizer's inhaled
insulin Exubera, has announced it will cut a "significant" number
of jobs as sales of the once-touted blockbuster are falling short
of expectations.
Waters has combined its award winning Synapt MS with a MALDI
ionisation source to broaden the number of applications the
instrument can be used in - including MALDI imaging.
Cook Pharmica, Cytovance, BioStorage Technologies, PRA
International, Draxis Pharma, and MDS Pharma Services have all had
people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical outsourcing.
India's Reliance Life Sciences (RLS) is planning an acquisition in
Europe or in the US joining the slow infiltration of Indian firms
cementing themselves in Western markets.
Teva Pharmaceuticals has licensed a drug that could offer new hope
for both treating and preventing allergic reactions, according to
its award-winning developers.
Researchers have developed a new 'supermacroporous cryogel'
bioreactor for the long term continuous production of monoclonal
antibodies (mAbs) that outperforms T-flask batch cultivators.
Aptuit Laurus, the newly formed joint venture between Aptuit and
Laurus Labs in India, will focus on an expected rise in the demand
for preclinical and Phase I research and development services as
part of its growth plan in India.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has announced its intention to
outsource the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) R&D and
manufacturing work undertaken at one of its US factories, with
resultant closure of the site and job losses.
Orphan drug Soliris (eculizumab) has been approved by the European
Commission and marks the first therapy for a rare and
life-threatening blood disease.
SkyePharma's novel controlled-release sleep therapeutic has been
licensed by Somnus Therapeutics in an exclusive worldwide
development and commercialisation deal.
Six months after a couple of failed Phase III trials, Nuvelo has
reinstated clinical development for its blood clot dissolving drug,
but it will have to go it alone after Bayer decided enough is
enough and pulled out of the collaboration.
A new class of diabetes drugs is showing promising clinical
results, with the big players in the field all scrapping it out for
a slice of the potential rewards.
Pfizer has had its first day in a Nigerian court in a legal dispute
over its alleged involvement in the death of Nigerian children
during a clinical trial 11 years ago.
A new living cell-based skin graft technology is being hailed by
its inventors as a 'clinical breakthrough in regenerative medicine'
following early-stage trial results, published yesterday.
With a number of companies competing in the race to develop the
first oral treatment option for multiple sclerosis, UCB and Biogen
Idec's oral version of the infamous Tysabri has entered Phase II
trials.
Asterand said it is to slash 10 per cent of its total workforce in
a cost-cutting strategy although it is not a knock-on effect of the
recent ban on export of human samples from Russia.
In this week's review of recent activity within the preclinical
research services arena, news has emerged involving Gendata,
Achaogen, NiKem Research and Verona Pharma.