IDBS and In Silico Discovery have announced the formation of a
partnership in which the deal aims to integrate drug discovery data
and providing flexible access irrespective of where it is stored.
A new ethics report has raised concerns about using animal-human
embryonic hybrids in drug testing in which the creation of these
chimeras are creating exciting avenues of research as well as
controversy.
While Lonza's biopharmaceutical business has taken off, tough
competition from cheap Asian competitors is eating away at its
exclusive synthesis business - meanwhile, the whole business is
being hit by rising raw material and...
Quintiles has turned its latest investment back towards home soil,
announcing plans to open a new US clinical data processing centre
in Williamston, North Carolina.
Drug manufacturers are increasingly turning to specialised
providers of analytical services for the solid state
characterisation of their formulations, seeking answers to
processing issues, drug delivery challenges and even protecting...
Contract research organisation iNovacia is expanding its compound
library by increasing the number of compound storage modules in a
bid to cope with new contracts.
When selecting a pharmaceutical formulation, the conventional
wisdom has been to manipulate a drug delivery platform to make it
compatible with a drug's properties, yet the opposite approach may
have several benefits if enough...
Researchers have found that a simple and inexpensive test can help
determine which patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) are at
low risk for recurrence and can therefore avoid unnecessary and
potentially dangerous long-term anticoagulant...
Pharmaceutical manufacturers will be among a number of exporters
and importers operating within the EU that face paying tens of
millions of euros to comply with a new regulation aimed at reducing
terrorism, fraud and counterfeit products.
The excipients used in a protein formulation and the method of
production can impact not just the physical and chemical stability
of biologics but also their in vitro and in vivo
performance, cautions Durect's executive director...
The global demand for virgin activated carbon is tipped to rise
five per cent per year to reach 1.2m metric tons by 2010, fuelled
by increased use in the pharmaceutical sector.
A new service introduced on the back of customer demand has been
launched by Aviva Systems Biology which make available a method for
genome-wide detection of promoters and enhancers that interact with
proteins or carry modifications.
A new finding has the potential to pave the way for better
treatment options for autoimmune diseases as researchers discover a
signalling molecule can yield a rapid, inexpensive way to make
large numbers of immune cells.
In their hunt for DNA that is amplified in cancers, researchers
have discovered a new cancer-promoting role for a gene that has
been shown to transform mammary epithelial cells into cancerous
ones.
Pharmaceutical excipients can have a profound impact on the release
profile of drugs, driving fine chemical companies to raise their
game since they realise their clients see excipients as more than
inactive ingredients.
West Pharmaceutical Services has reported a huge surge in both
sales and profits for its second quarter, spurred on by the
increasing demand for injectable drugs as well as the lucrative
Exubera manufacturing contract, which helped...
Covalent Group has signed a $1.7m (€1.3m) contract with a new,
undisclosed pharma firm to carry out a Phase II trial on a new drug
for atherosclerosis - a disease affecting the arterial blood
vessels throughout the body.
Europe's third party logistics providers (3PL) are evolving to
integrate more of their operations with those of their clients in a
bid to provide a more efficient service, leaving the old breed in
danger of becoming extinct.
Researchers have created a compact optical device that could
make"lab-on-a-chip" possible by shrinking all the sensing power of
biosensorsand developing a new design for photonic crystals in the
process.
Nanogen and Fisher Scientific have announced an expansion to their
relationship to include a research and development collaboration in
molecular diagnostics. The collaboration agreement complements
Fisher's equity investment...
Thermo has released an enhanced version of its Heraeus Pico & Fresco microcentrifuges that have been designed to cover a broad spectrum of life science research areas including drug discovery.
Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) has invested $100m to expand its
manufacturing plant in Singapore, bringing the drug giant's
investment in this budding region to over S$1bn (€0.5bn).
Researchers believe that a genetic discovery involving a cellular
signal that aggravates the symptoms of MS may be a viable target in
new therapeutic approaches, which could alleviate the burden of
this debilitating neurological disease.
Failure to get it right in designing and implementing a
manufacturing process results in the loss of time and money, but
the risk of this can be minimised if some basic organisational
steps are followed, argues Brookwood's director...
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has decided to outsource its research in
genotyping by awarding a contract to Expression Analysis who will
provide the pharma giants with microarray-based genotyping
services.
Researchers have identified a gene that plays a pivotal role in
initiating two DNA damage detection and repair pathways in the
human genome, suggesting that it functions as a tumour suppressor.
Are big pharma companies uninterested in supporting novel
formulations, preferring to stick to low-risk drug delivery
systems, or are they resourceful innovators that bring new
technologies to the market? Two pharma grandees holding...
More and more drugmakers are turning to health care companies not
just for their drug delivery technologies but also for their
regulatory and manufacturing expertise, asking them to take their
product from early stages all the way...
Cambrex's Q2 results show that the life sciences firm is slowly
making a comeback after being crushed by a $140.3m (€116.7m) loss
in Q4, however, it has failed to completely stem the bleed from its
Biopharma unit, blamed for...
Canada's National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD) has
been designated as a reference lab for Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) by the World Organisation for Animal Health
known as the OIE.
Drug researchers have turned to an unusual source to boost the
efficacy of a particular anticancer drug by investigating the
properties of a mushroom that has been used for centuries in
Eastern Asian medicine.
SuperArray Bioscience has made available a range of pathway-focused
real-time PCR gene panels that allow scientists to use their
real-time PCR instrument just like a microarray in the multiple
stages involved in drug discovery and...
Aldevron has announced the expansion of its Genetic Immunisation
and Antibody (GIA) facility to meet the increased demand of vaccine
screening contracts.
As global contract research spending remains robust, business is
booming for Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) as the US firm
reported a surge in sales, profits and new business for its second
quarter 2006.
Researchers have published a new article launching a scathing
attack on the growing incidence of healthcare professionals being
paid exuberant 'finder's fees' whenever they recruit a patient onto
a clinical trial.
CHDI and Edison Pharmaceuticals have entered into alliance that
looks to develop effective therapeutics in targeting Huntingdon's
disease - a disorder that currently has no way to stop or reverse
the its progression.
Predix Phamaceuticals has formed a collaboration with Amgen in a
deal that aims to develop S1P1 modulators for the treatment of
autoimmune diseases. The agreement has the potential to become a
$300m (€235m) payout for Predix.
Chimatica makes available its range of pre-selected,
target-specific screening compounds that provide new chemotypes and
opportunities for accelerated lead identification and further
optimisation.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will beef up its process for
disclosing the conflicts of interest of its advisory experts in a
bid to restore its reputation after a survey suggests its
scientists may be too closely tied with...
UK government legislation designed to curb animal extremism appears
to be working as statistics published this week records a reduction
in the number of incidents provoked by animal rights extremists
during the first half of this...
Nektar Therapeutics has closed its processing plant in Bradford, UK
as it shifts its focus to developing its own drug products using
its own drug delivery technology.
Even with the most advanced analytical equipment, elucidating the
complete conformational characteristics of proteins still
represents mission impossible, often making their formulation
problematic, yet there are always ways to improve...
Chinese company Dragon International has fought its way into its
first packaging materials distribution deal in the burgeoning
Indian pharmaceutical market.
French Healthcare logistics firm DGX Pharma has won a new
multi-year contract from Japan's Sankyo Pharma to provide logistics
and distribution services for its drug products in the French
market.
PerkinElmer has announced the acquisition of Macri Technologies and
NTL Laboratories in a deal that means the Health Sciences and
Photonics company take charge of a novel screening test for
first-trimester prenatal risk assessment.
Most pharmaceutical companies know little about how to make
biopharmaceuticals on a large scale and so they need to develop
in-house expertise as well as outsource several steps in their
production chain, advises the head of chemistry...
Premier Research has strengthened its presence in the US with the
recent purchase of Philadelphia-based clinical research
organisation (CRO) Scirex Corporation.
