There's welcome relief for haemorrhoid sufferers after researchers
identified the existence of an enzyme that could be key to treating
chronic and severe disorders such as certain forms of constipation,
anal fissures and Hirschsprung's...
A unique approach to drug development could be on the horizon after
researchers utilised a method to crystallise proteins that would
allow better examination of proteins, leading to the production of
targeted drugs.
Biotechnology firm Alexion has acquired a Dow biomanufacturing
facility in Rhode Island as it gears up for the commercialisation
of its blood disorder drug Soliris, yet the move does not signal
the end of the company's contract...
Bio-Rad Labs and Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), have announced
a collaboration to develop RNA interference (RNAi) tools sets for
life science researchers.
In an incident Roxane Laboratories warns could have
life-threatening consequences, a manufacturing lot of azathioprine
tablets has been recalled in the US and Puerto Rico following the
discovery of methotrexate tablets in one of its...
Sales, sales, sales has been the focus of drug manufacturers so far
this year, while interest continues to remain high on the topics of
India and generics.
Despite looming threats from cheap Asian competitors, European
contract research organisations (CROs) still have a fighting chance
in the global R&D outsourcing market, according to a report by
research analysts Frost & Sullivan.
Looking to expand its laboratory testing and consulting services,
PharmEng has acquired Rootlink Tecknic, a laboratory
instrumentation automated solution sales and service company based
in Toronto.
Archemix has announced the formation of a strategic alliance with
Elan to discover and develop first-in-class aptamer therapeutics to
treat autoimmune disease.
AstraZeneca will be using Werum's PAS-X system at its two German
production sites to collect operating data from its packaging lines
and define and evaluate key performance indicators (KPI), improving
equipment performance.
Neuropharma has developed a new treatment for Alzheimer's Disease,
which uses a unique method of attack, incorporating a mechanism of
action that targets a little-known enzyme that contributes to the
proliferation of the neurodegenerative...
Biopharmaceutical firm Nektar has agreed to fork out $25m (€20m) to
settle a patent lawsuit by the University of Alabama in Huntsville
(UAH) concerning the company's PEGylation delivery technology
currently used in eight approved...
US scientists have discovered that sugar and olive oil do not just
belong in the kitchen - but could potentially be used to develop
naturally-derived nanomaterials for drug delivery systems and
biological scaffolds.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has asked vaccine developing firm Antigenics
to supply it with more of its QS-21 adjuvant as its vaccines
progress in the pipeline, while at the same the British drug giant
is pushing ahead with its own adjuvant,...
Torey Pines Scientific has announced the launch if its new stirring
hot plate, which has been designed for use in the chemical,
pharmaceutical, biochemical, and laboratories where reproducible,
accurate, hands-off sample preparation...
Companies in the healthcare sector, including drug discovery
technologies, healthcare and life sciences IT, and medical devices
were out in force this week at Frost & Sullivan's 2006
Excellence in Healthcare Awards
Ohaus make available its new series of semi-micro and analytical
balances specifically designed for applications that require
precise measurement in the pharmaceutical research, drug discovery,
and general lab application arena.
A once-a-day pill to treat HIV that combines three drugs has been
given the green light by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
in a response to patients' increasing demands for convenient
combined treatments.
Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and ARYx Therapeutics have
formed a partnership, which aims to take drug treatments for
gastrointestinal disorders to the next level with their novel drug
candidate
A new computational program has been developed by US researchers
that uses computational systems biology to better understand the
biochemical networks that regulate the interactions between
infectious organisms and the human or animal...
Malvern Instruments has acquired Spectral Dimensions, a provider of
near infrared (NIR) chemical imaging instrumentation and software,
seeking products that can enhance pharmaceutical formulation and
manufacturing processes.
Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturers in Europe are
struggling to differentiate their capabilities and compete in an
outsourcing market suffering from overcapacity, diminishing
profitability and threats from Asia.
Analytical X-ray specialists, PANalytical has launched its solution
to enables X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of fuel, oil and oil
derivatives. The package attempts to overcome the traditional
challenges associated with XRF analysis...
Northfield Laboratories, a company specialising in the development
of human hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers, has splashed out $6.7m
(€5.2m) to buy a plant it previously leased in Illinois, as it
edges closer to commercialising its...
European healthcare organisations are being driven to outsource
more and more IT operations due to escalating financial burdens,
increasing complexity of IT systems, and new government
initiatives.
In a landmark decision that will speed up the manufacturing of
influenza vaccines, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
approved the use of reverse genetics technology in the production
of MedImmune's seasonal intranasal...
French-owned software firms Axway and Cyclone Commerce have joined
forces with US drug distribution firm McKesson to develop new and
cost-effective IT to support the pharma industry in its venture to
introduce item-level tracking...
Thermo Electron introduces its solution for researchers involved in
large volume pipetting, making available a pipetting aid that
incorporates a motor to allow faster pipetting of volumes saving
time and cost without compromising...
Maryland is no longer in the running for a $500m (€392m) vaccine
manufacturing plant Novartis is seeking to build in the US, as
speculation about which state will host America's first cell
culture-derived influenza vaccine plant...
Discovery Laboratories is claiming progress in its struggle to
correct manufacturing problems related to Surfaxin, its
experimental respiratory treatment for infants, yet the goal of
overcoming the process validation issues that prevent...
Chemicon are to supply drug targets for MorphoSys in a licensing
agreement that will see MorphoSys develop antibodies from its
proprietary HuCAL Gold antibody library.
Cardinal Health is the latest firm to benefit from Roche's global
recruitment drive for manufacturers to help boost its supplies of
the bird flu drug coveted by governments across the world -
Tamiflu.
Takeda Pharmaceutical has jumped at the chance to use a new
technology that its developer, Spherics, claims can improve the
efficacy of a drug while reducing side effects, providing more
consistent drug levels and enhancing compliance.
Locus Pharmaceuticals has announced it has entered a drug discovery
agreement with Ono Pharmaceuticals in a deal that will focus on
protein kinases as a molecular target.
The Videojet 1310 ink jet printer from Videojet Technologies is now
available in North America with a simpler user interface, similar
to its popular Videojet Excel ink jet printer.
Despite the uncertainty about its direction, German pharmaceutical
company Altana has opened a new tablet production facility in Cork
as it tries to cope with demand for Pantoprazole, its blockbuster
stomach ulcer drug.
A recent paper has emerged, which details results of a clinical
laboratory test and its ability to accurately predict drug response
in lung cancer. The test gives way to the possibility of less
invasive testing.
Abbott's Kaletra, the biggest-selling drug of a class of HIV
medications known as protease inhibitors, has won the thumbs up
from the European Commission with a melt extrusion formulation
which enhances solubility, requires fewer...
Nomeco, Denmark's biggest pharma wholesaler, has won a large
pre-wholesaling and logistics contract with Iceland's Actavis
covering the Nordic countries, typifying the regional shift in this
evolving sector of pharmaceutical...
UK firm PowderMed has contracted US firm Althea Technologies to
manufacture clinical supplies of its flu vaccine that can
significantly speed up production.
Parexel has linked arms with Synchron to cement itself in India for
the first time - joining the growing number of contract research
organisations (CRO) that are being lured to the region through the
promise of cost savings.
An enzyme-based process operated by Lonza for the production of the
major chiral building block for Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's best
selling drug, has won its designer Codexis a top green chemistry
award for its high yield,...
Wyeth has announced that it has selected NovaScreen to conduct a
high-throughput screening (HTS) campaign, which makes use of
Caliper's microfluidic screening platform, which utilises
reproducible electrophoretic separation of...
Although patent expirations are set to increase the size of the
generic drug market, the impact of greater scrutiny from healthcare
policymakers means that generic manufacturers may make more drugs
but not necessarily more money.
In the face of generic competition, Abbott has asked Irish
biotechnology firm Elan to use its NanoCrystal technology to
develop an "all in one" oral dose formulation combining two
cholesterol drugs, AstraZeneca's Crestor...
A cancer biology discovery could lead to new diabetes treatments
after it was discovered that a mutation in a tumour suppressor gene
causes pancreatic islet cells to reproduce.