According to a new report, pharmaceutical and biotech companies
have not fully exploited the potential outsourcing represents,
having only been adopted to a limited extent to date by companies.
US drug heavyweight Pfizer is pushing through into the increasingly
profitable vaccine market with the purchase of privately held UK
firm PowderMed for an undisclosed sum.
The need for better exploitation of clinical data is linked
directly to the general challenges facing drug development today as
development costs for new products have rocketed from $100m (€79m)
to $800m.
PerkinElmer has introduced two multiplexing platforms for genomic
research, which provides important tools for improving gene
expression validation, molecular karyotyping and genome profiling.
After opening its first large scale clinical research facility
earlier this year in the US through its new clinical research
division, Qualia Clinical Service, Holmes Biopharma is starting to
see the business gain momentum.
Raylo Chemical says that it has reduced its manufacturing cycles by
up to 20 per cent and as a result saved hundreds of thousands of
dollars per year after it installed new pH sensing technology.
AAIPharma is showing the first signs of life after bankruptcy,
buying its first company after emerging from the ordeal - a
French-based clinical research organisation (CRO).
Agilent Technologies has chosen Distek to be its number-one
provider for dissolution instrumentation service in North America
under its Lab Resource Management (LRM) programme.
Contract Research Organisations (CROs) have acquired an enviable
reputation for providing a good quality service that is carried out
by experienced staff, delivering all to budget and on time. But is
outsourcing early phase clinical...
Dragon International Group has launched two new packaging products
developed through the use of nanotechnologies that could
potentially replace the currently used packaging on the market such
as plastic and PVC.
Cardinal Health says it is experiencing a "robust market" for its
cell line engineering technology, as it attracts the attention of
pharma giant Wyeth and executes capacity expansion plans its for
full service offerings...
Italian drug delivery technology developer Eurand has signed a $42m
(€33m) licensing deal with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to make a new
formulation of one of the British pharma giant's drugs.
Reaxa has chose the recent CphI to announce it is developing a new
addition to its range of scavenging resins that it claims allows a
huge reduction in product loss in the process of precious metals
clean-up.
British pharma company Shire has opened a new $6m (€4.7m)
pharmaceutical technology centre at its Baltimore, Maryland plant
in order to improve its manufacturing capability.
Prosonix has launched a new particle engineering technology in an
attempt to reach the inhaled drug delivery market - at the same
time the British firm has extended an agreement with UCB for the
use of its existing sonocrystallisation...
According to a new report, the kinase-targeted drug market is set
to grow from $12.7 bn (€10bn) in 2005 to $58.6bn in 2010. Cancer
(mainly solid tumours) is expected to remain the dominant
application throughout the forecast period.
Scientists have demonstrated that a tumour suppressor gene could
actually stimulate tumour progression, which if confirmed, could
raise possibilities of using the gene as a novel prognostic
indicator of tumour aggressiveness.
Japanese firm Ebara and Berlin-based Capsulution NanoScience are
now working together to develop a new time-controlled release
technology for pharmaceuticals.
BioDiscovery has released a new array module for its Imagene
software that provides an advanced array-based DNA copy number
analysis and visualisation tool for the drug discovery sector.
Injection molder and contract manufacturer Tech Group is relocating
its Grand Rapids plant to a new molding facility in nearby Walker,
Michigan, which will be expanded to cope with the high demand for
medical devices and components.
A new study has discovered what seems to be a novel compound that
offers protection against influenza viruses, including the bird flu
virus. The compound could represent a new class of antiviral drugs
to prevent and treat this killer...
UK pharmaceutical companies are not doing enough to attract fresh
talent to the industry and face serious future recruitment issues
if they don't get their act together now, warns a new report.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has admitted that more
needs to be done to ensure the safe and effective use of
prescription drugs, after a report urged the regulator to revamp
its drug safety system.
GTC Biotherapeutics and LFB Biotechnologies have entered into a
collaboration, which focuses on recombinant plasma proteins and
monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to eventually develop a robust
pipeline for treating conditions such as haemophilia.
In a deal worth up to $19.9m (€15.6m), US drug delivery company
Inyx has acquired contract pharmaceutical packaging firm Pharmapac,
seeking to enhance its secondary-packaging capabilities for a wide
range of dosage forms.
A new firm called Clinical Conduct Associates has been launched in
Ireland in the hope of attracting new clinical research business to
this "underutilised region" from pharmaceutical companies
throughout Europe.
Germany-based drug packaging provider Gerresheimer has launched a
new closure system for tablet containers with a moisture-absorbing
system that it claims is unique in the market.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come under scrutiny
after an independent report urged the regulator to implement large
reforms to ensure the safety of new prescription drugs.
Responding to Roche's licensing agreements for Tamiflu (oseltamivir
phosphate) around the world, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has granted
China's Simcere Pharmaceutical Group the right to make generic
copies of its influenza drug...
Clinical research organisations (CROs) should be enlisted to run
Phase I oncology drug trials in order to improve efficiencies,
delegates heard at Pabord 2006 in London.
PainCeptor Pharma has announced it has been awarded a series of
patents for its drug development programs that focus on pain
management whilst avoiding the many detrimental side effects
associated with current pain drugs.
Biotechnology firm Apollo claims to have achieved mission
impossible in the oral delivery of insulin by successfully lowering
blood glucose levels in diabetic rats using its proprietary oral
delivery technology.
Researchers believe that a little-known antibiotic could well prove
effective against cancer, showing promise because it has not shown
toxic side effects, which continue to blight current anti-cancer
agents.
Indian biopharmaceutical company Wockhardt has signed a deal with
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to establish
a special economic zone (SEZ) in Aurangabad, India, in order to
expand its manufacturing capabilities.
Following numerous manufacturing failures, Discovery Laboratories
believes it has resolved the stability issues that have plagued
Surfaxin, its experimental respiratory treatment for infants, and
is now seeking a meeting with the...
Mobious Genomics has announced a prototype version of a new
immunoassay that identified a low concentration bacterial sample
within 40 seconds, vastly improving on the six - forty eight hours
it currently takes to identify the same...
The European Commission continues to be accused by European
industry of pushing 'green policies' that are stifling progress and
global competitiveness - the controversial REACH chemicals
legislation remains a sore point.
A majority stake in Irish biotechnology contract services firm
Archport has been snapped up by German-based Chemie Uetikon as the
bio-outsourcing market heats up.
Roche spokesperson Chris Kirkpatrick speaks on the advantages of
using a contractor as a research partner at the recent Pabord
pharmaceutical show in London.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has announced the inauguration of its
seventh finished dosage plant in India, reflecting the country's
unprecedented growth as a generic pharmaceuticals manufacturer.
As India's clinical trials industry continues to explode, lack of
experienced clinical research employees in the region is slowing
down progress and leading to fierce poaching between firms.
Merck has been forced to delay marketing plans for its combination
cholesterol drug MK-0524B following problems in formulating its
top-selling statin Zocor (simvastatin) with a new promising
compound under development, MK-524A.
Researchers have discovered a new method for delivering drugs to
the eye using biodegradable polymer nanoparticles that promise
controlled release and better bioavailability than eye drops.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new advice to
aid manufacturers in developing safe and effective cell-based viral
vaccines, hoping it can modernise America's manufacturing network
and speed up production.
The pharma industry's leading radio frequency identification (RFID)
vendors recently gathered to share expertise and evaluate the
potential of their RFID technologies in a living laboratory, in
their quest to produce a market...
Drug manufacturers can better understand how they can achieve
regulatory compliance and avoid production stoppages and recalls by
following new guidance issued by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA).
TTP Labtech has launched a microplate cytometer, which accelerates
transfer from development to screening, combining data collection
from whole well scanning with fast read times making it suitable
for industry and academia.
Scientists have come up with an innovative tool that may accelerate
the drug development process, which has slowed down considerably
despite the investment in new technologies and analytical
techniques.
With sales of its vaccines expected to triple in the next ten
years, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has decided to invest more than €500m
in a new manufacturing facility in St-Amand-Les-Eaux in order to
increase production capacity for paediatric...