Pfizer has shunned a more traditional approach to data management
outsourcing by slashing its vendors to a handful and standardising
them under the one business model.
Applied Biosystems (ABI) and MDS Analytical have released a
first-of-its kind mass spectrometry (MS) platform that they claim
will allow the pharmacokinetic analysis of drug libraries 25 times
faster.
Biovitrum, China Biopharma, Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals,
Pipex Pharma and CH2M Hill have all had people on the move in the
world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
ATMI LifeSciences, a Belgian company that manufactures and supplies
film-based single-use packaging products for the biopharmaceutical
industry, has set up a joint venture, ATMI Austar LifeSciences,
Ltd, in the Shanghai area of China.
Australian politicians begin their first round of votes this week
to decide the fate of a controversial new law that could legalise
therapeutic embryonic cloning in the country for the first time.
Positive results from trials of Cell Genesys's latest immunotherapy
treatment, GVAX, show that the therapy induces a broad immune
response in prostate cancer sufferers that is patient specific.
Reports of a €200m expansion at Sanofi Pasteur's production plant
in Rouen, France, have come hot on the heels of news that the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's
vaccine to protect humans against...
A new integrated dose counter is being launched this week by 3M's
drug delivery systems business, providing a new solution to recent
regulatory requirements for metered dose inhalers.
A combination of new drugs, new patient needs and new technologies
is likely to fuel steady growth in the transdermal/transmucosal
drug delivery market during the years to 2010.
Drug delivery specialist SCOLR Pharma plans to file a US New Drug
Application (NDA) in the latter half of 2008 for a 12-hour tablet
formulation of the painkiller ibuprofen.
Pro-Pharmaceuticals is preparing to submit a New Drug Application
(NDA) for its lead product candidate, Davanat, as a functional
excipient that promises to hike the efficacy and cut the side
effects of cancer drugs.
Sanofi-Aventis' H5N1 bird flu vaccine has won approval from the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a limited protection measure
in case of a pandemic.
An increasing number of factors are luring sponsors to offshore
clinical trials to 'hidden gems' across the globe, delegates heard
at this week's Accelerating Patient Recruitment & Retention in
Clinical Trials conference,...
French contract research organisation (CRO) Porsolt & Partners
Pharmacology has signed a co-marketing deal with Singapore-based
start-up Maccine to co-promote their respective preclinical service
offerings to pharma and biotech...
Canadian contract manufacturer Patheon has announced its plans to
restructure its Ontario network of drug manufacturing facilities in
order to improve its profitability.
GE Healthcare has snapped up specialist in disposable manufacturing
technologies Wave Biotech, adding a host of new products and
services for the biopharmaceutical manufacturing sector to its
catalogue.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has released early results on its
first-in-class hepatitis C drug that show it has the potential to
shorten treatment times for those suffering from the hard-to-treat
genotype-1.
UK company, deltaDOT is awaiting the completion of its second
production run of its novel high-resolution molecular analyser -
the Peregrine - with over half the batch already sold.
Millipore is launching the first in a line of filtration products
for the biopharmaceutical industry with embedded Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology to facilitate record-keeping and
data transfer in the manufacturing...
Switzerland's Bobst has introduced a new system for embossing
Braille characters on pharmaceutical packaging that moves the
process down the production line from die-cutting to the folding
and gluing stage.
Avant Immunotherapeutics will reduce its workforce by a third as
part of a "painful" restructuring aimed at cutting operational
costs, the US-based firm announced this week.
A new high pressure microreactor has been developed that increases
chemical reaction rates compared to conventional alternatives -
potentially saving exploratory chemistry labs time and space.
UK firm SkyePharma last week announced that the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has accepted a filing for the extended release
formulation of partner GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) drug Requip
(ropinirole).
While the market performance of Exubera may have fallen short of
expectations, Pfizer's inhaled insulin has opened the door for a
wider variety of macromolecules to take the pulmonary delivery
route.
US firm Skinvisible last week announced that its polymer-based
delivery system has been licensed to pain relief company DRJ for
use in a new topical analgesic product.
The approval of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Altabax gives clinicians
the first new class of topical antibacterial treatments in nearly
20 years - adding more firepower to the fight against bacterial
resistance.
Galapagos' recent acquisitions seem to be paying off as the Belgian
biotech firm has announced its contract services unit BioFocus DPI
has inked two new deals with Japan-based Ono Pharmaceutical.
A new study has shown that certain human bone marrow stem cells can differentiate into sperm stem cells - potentially leading to a revolution in fertility therapy.
The European Union's (EU) member states must take their
responsibilities to implement the biotech policy proposed by the
European Commission (EC), said EuropaBio, the EU industry body.
Genentech, the world's second biggest biotech company, has shown a
strong performance in the first quarter while its main rival Amgen
is trying to regain momentum after a difficult year.
US firm Vical has announced study results revealing a flu vaccine
reinforced with the firm's Vaxfectin adjuvant results in an
antibody response 60 times higher than the vaccine alone, and
allowed a 10-fold reduction in vaccine...
Clinical trials are saving lives but may be killing the environment
due to their 'intensive energy use' and 'substantial
contribution to greenhouse gasses.'
The problem of drug tampering and counterfeiting came to the fore
again yesterday after it emerged that bottles of GlaxoSmithKline's
widely-used HIV drug Combivir (lamivudine and zidovudine) actually
contained another HIV drug...
Charles River Laboratories' portable endotoxin testing system, the
Endosafe PTS, has been successfully used to detect bacteria on the
International Space Station (ISS).
Shares in US biotech ImClone Systems fell on Tuesday after a
highly-anticipated trial of its cancer drug Erbitux (cetuximab) in
pancreatic cancer failed to live up to expectations.
Now is an ideal time for small biotechs to ink that perfect deal
with big pharma, attendees heard at the recently held Biotrinity
conference in Oxfordshire, UK.
Millipore has added a small-volume unit to the NovaSeptum range of
sterile disposable sampling systems it acquired with Swedish
company NovAseptic in July 2005.
Major biopharma Gilead Sciences has announced plans to invest in a
new €60m plant in west Dublin, Ireland, to expand manufacturing
capacity and meet future growth targets.
