After recently opening up shop in nearby Singapore, SGS has now
brought its contract testing services to neighbouring China to
continue to cash in on the demand for such services in the
Asia-Pacific region.
Werum Software & Systems has updated its manufacturing
execution systems (MES) for the pharmaceutical and
biopharmaceutical industry, enhancing process reliability and cost
effectiveness.
SurModics has licensed its advanced hydrophilic coating technology
to Xtent for use in the delivery system of its novel drug-eluting
stent (DES) system, designed to reduce the time, complexity and
cost of coronary stent procedures.
Determined to reduce costs in its manufacturing operations,
Schering-Plough has announced the loss of 1,100 positions in
manufacturing sites in Puerto Rico and New Jersey, aiming to save
$100m (€78.1m) a year.
Jacobs Engineering Group has been chosen to upgrade and expand
GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) manufacturing capability at its Irish
plant, as well as develop a new biological manufacturing facility
for US firm Northfield Laboratories.
Outsourcing-Pharma.com focus on: cutting the cost of clinical trials
Outsourcing-Pharma takes a look at how clinical research
organisations (CROs) operating in India can do their best to ensure
that clinical trials in the region are carried out ethically.
Biotechnology firm Gilead has acquired Raylo Chemicals, a Canadian
production unit of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and
advanced intermediates, from Degussa for €115m, seeking to bring
more manufacturing capacity and expertise...
Fine chemicals company Hovione has passed an inspection by the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at its active pharmaceutical
ingredient (API) manufacturing site in Loures, Portugal, as it
tries to conform with ever-stricter standards.
Following a charm offensive by several US states, Bristol-Myers
Squibb (BMS) has selected Devens, Massachusetts to build a
significant manufacturing facility for several of its biologic
drugs, ending months of speculation about the...
Looking to add active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and
intermediates to its Chinese portfolio, Degussa has acquired a
majority stake in the Chinese fine chemicals firm Lynchem, allowing
it to target the pharma industry more competitively.
Pharmaceutical companies looking to eliminate manual handling of
samples to enhance productivity may want to look at Genevac's new
automated centrifugal evaporators.
PowerMed has demonstrated the immunogenicity of an influenza DNA
vaccine for the first time in humans using a new drug delivery
system and claims it may serve as a cost-effective weapon against
bird flu.
UK novel drug delivery developer Vectura and UK venture capital
firm Unilever Ventures have jointly established a new speciality
pharmaceutical company focusing on oral and transdermal drug
delivery systems.
A new class of drug that targets breast cancer by blocking
production of oestrogen and reducing serious side effects for many
more, could eventually become the gold-standard for cancer
treatment.
Medical innovations firm BTG reported a full year pre-tax profit,
driven by growing recurring revenues and litigation settlements
that threatened to dissolve into a long running legal dispute.
New research has suggested that that pharmacological inhibition of
a protein's role in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer research
could be key to either preventing or promoting cell death.
Major drug companies across the US are in process of reformulating
their over-the-counter cold medications in time for a new law that
comes in to effect later this year restricting the sale of drugs
that contain pseudoephedrine.
Bioxel, a company which manufactures and markets taxane active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in chemotherapeutic drugs,
has turned to two contract manufacturing companies to scale up
production.
Outsourcing-Pharma focus: cutting the cost of clinical trials
After recent allegations in the media that poor and illiterate
patients in India are being used, often unknowingly, as human
guinea pigs to test new drugs for the pharma giants of the West,
Outsourcing-Pharma takes a look at how cutting...
Cangene has been awarded a five-year development and supply
contract by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
for 200,000 doses of heptavalent botulism antitoxin, in a deal
worth up to $596m (€462m).
Packaging pre-production specialist, Esko has launched a new
programme that it claims will streamline the pharma packaging
process and bring new products to market up to 40 per cent faster.
A new confocal imaging module for applications such as 3D map
microfluidics analysis has been launched, which will aid all phases
of microfluidics development, from understanding physical phenomena
in the lab through developing novel...
German biopharma firm Sandoz has won a landmark first-of its-kind
biosimilar drug approval in the US after a long battle with the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The decision could open the
floodgates for generics manufacturers...
Effective resource allocation and portfolio designs are vital to a
drug company's financial survival as backing the wrong product can
waste millions of dollars and vital development time.
As demand for protein-based drugs increases, Pall has introduced a
new type of mixed-mode chromatography sorbents that make protein
purification faster and cheaper.
German packaging firm Gerresheimer has ventured further into China,
buying a majority interest in Chinese pharmaceutical packager
Shuangfeng Group and gaining entry into the Chinese market for
tubular glass packaging for the first...
A new e-learning course promises to cover everything one needs to
know about demanding current good manufacturing practice (cGMP)
topics such as standard operating procedures (SOPs).
SAFC Supply Solutions has introduced new phosphoramidites and
ancillary reagents for oligonucleotide (oligo) synthesis, promising
consistent quality, tight specifications and reliability.
Canadian contract manufacturer Patheon saw pre-tax profits remain
idle in the second quarter of 2006, leaving it struggling to find
ways to boost profitability.
deltaDOT launches a unique capillary-based DNA sequencer that has
been specifically developed to provide a low-cost rapid throughput
DNA sequencing solution in numerous drug discovery applications.
Thermo Electron has announced the availability of further
enhancements to its Galileo LIMS, which aims to provide additional
capabilities for high throughput ADMET experiments that facilitate
lead optimisation in drug discovery.
Determined to eradicate a disease that takes the lives of more than
one million people worldwide each year, Novartis has announced it
will participate in a new public-private partnership which aims to
discover more potent drugs to...
Medidata Solutions has opened a new clinical data centre and
enlisted the help of consultancy firm C3i to provide its customers
with faster and more secure electronic clinical trial support as
demand for these services continues to...
MAP Pharmaceuticals has awarded the manufacturing of the
metered-dose components of its new inhaler devices to Xemplar, who
is one of the few contract manufacturers in the world that can take
on such a challenge and is now upping...
Troubled contract sales and marketing firm PDI has recently won a
much-needed new sales contract and made two new top executive
appointments as part of ongoing efforts to turn its flagging
business around.
Pro Mach, one of the largest providers of packaging products,
services and integrated solution sets in North America, has
acquired Allpax Products, a manufacturer of sterilisation, material
handling and automated control systems for...
China could be the first country to conduct human stem cell trials
and presents a significant opportunity for Western companies who
are brave enough to use this risky destination as a place to pursue
this potentially lucrative sector...
In a scathing letter to Wyeth, the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has vehemently criticised the drugmaker's manufacturing
operations in Puerto Rico, accusing it of failing to report
failures even when it was aware of them.
Determined to transform itself from a chemical distributor to a
drug firm, Schweizerhall has sold its chemical business unit to
Brenntag for SFr93m (€60m), allowing it to pay for financial
obligations, invest in its pharma division,...
RSSL Pharma Training has established three new courses to help UK
pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers prepare themselves
for a plant inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA).
The gastrointestinal (GI) market is one of the largest in the
pharma industry and continues to attract a high level of R&D
investment, however, the market has recently entered a crucial
phase, with mounting commercial pressures...
Those in the regulatory affairs profession can now breathe a sigh
of relief as the industry-recognised accreditation process just got
a whole lot easier.
The stage is ready for the biggest acquisition in BASF's 140-year
history after Engelhard's management agreed to recommend their
shareholders accept the German chemical group's $5bn (€3.8bn)
takeover bid.
In what it claims is the largest investment to date by any
multinational drug company in China, AstraZeneca will spend $100m
(€77.6m) on research and development in the country over the next
three years, targeting primarily the domestic...
Sigma-Aldrich introduces its signal transduction protein array for
high-throughput functional screening, which is set to play a major
role in identifying proteins that are involved in cellular
processes including proliferation, differentiation...
Particle Measuring Systems have fitted its portable
airborne-particle counter with what it claims is the longest
lasting laser on the market, as well as new features that allow it
to calculate and create reports for EC GMP Annex #1,...
The University of Kentucky has unveiled the state's largest sterile
pharmaceutical manufacturing site which is unique among others
worldwide as it is the first to produce cytotoxic and non-cytotoxic
drugs in the same room at...
Cardinal Health is about to embark on a first-of-its-kind
radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag pilot that tests the
viability of the new technology across the entire supply chain,
from item throughout to case and pallet level.
Although clearing Parexel from contributing to the recent drug
trial disaster, a final UK Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA) report slammed the US firm for making a
number of basic errors during the trial process.