Munich-based Sud-Chemie is set to expand its pharmaceutical
packaging business to German-speaking markets with a joint venture
with Swiss company Plaspaq SA.
Japanese health care firm Eisai will make Hatfield its European
headquarters, in a major £75 million (€105 million) investment that
demonstrates the UK's appeal for big pharmaceutical companies.
Ingenuity Systems have launched the Ingenuity Pathways Analysis
(IPA) 3.1, a web-based software application that enables biologists
and bioinformaticians to understand biological mechanisms, pathways
and functions.
Pharmion and MethylGene has announced the formation of an
international licensing agreement potentially worth $272 million
(€224 million) for new class of compounds that inhibits gene
expression providing a tumour and haematological...
As proof of microdosing's potential in drug development,
bioanalytical CRO, Xceleron, is to lead the European Union
Microdose AMS Partnership Programme (EUMAPP) having additionally
been awarded €2.1 million to further develop...
As contract research organisations (CROs) continue to search for
cost-effective countries in which to operate, the clinical trials
market is increasingly expanding into emerging economies. Central
and Eastern Europe are continuing...
Covance closed 2005 on a high after net revenues climbed 16.9 per
cent from 2004 to reach $1.19 bn (€1 bn). The current trend towards
outsourcing R&D, coupled with increased productivity and repeat
business has fuelled the company's...
French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis, reported an increase
in sales for the fourth quarter with its vaccine business
continuing to impress. The company's performance precedes two
upcoming decisions later this year that...
Researchers have come up with definitive proof that proteins can be
custom-designed for a new and pre-determined activity, signalling a
new direction in drug production as well as having relevance to the
biotechnological and medicinal...
Sirna Therapeutics has been granted a US patent covering a more
efficient process for the chemical synthesis and manufacturing of
GMP-quality ribonucleic acids (RNA), for use in RNA-based drugs.
Agilent Technologies have upped the stakes in the Liquid
Chromatography (LC) market by releasing its new 1200 series,
replacing the best selling 1100 series with what is claimed to be
the world's fastest and most comprehensive...
Millipore, manufacturers of purification systems used in drug
manufacture, posted lower forth-quarter profits, carrying over the
company's previous quarter's performance, after being hit by a
hefty one-off earnings charge.
Drug delivery company, MedPharm, will carry out a licensed
evaluation for a variety of products in the dermatology market with
its MedSpray technology, which promises greater benefits for the
same cost as semisolid preparations.
After raising £2.1 m (€1.7) in venture capital in December,
Oxford-based Caretek Medical has now also secured the support of a
major global pharma company to help Caretek run a feasibility study
on its innovative needle-free drug...
The big pharma companies may have dreamed of launching the world's
first non-injectable insulin, but it has been Canadian biotech
company Generex that shattered this dream, bypassing EU and US
regulatory processes and launching...
Scientists have devised a way of using live' bacteria in yoghurt to
deliver therapeutics that can prevent HIV infection, potentially
opening up a new avenue for probiotic dairy to play a more
prominent role in drug delivery.
The US advanced drug delivery market will grow more than 18 per
cent and exceed $76 bn (€62 bn) by 2014, spurred on by new
technologies emerging from the biotech and biopharmaceutical
pipelines, according to a new report by Kalorama...
As pharma companies continue to search for new areas of business to
outsource, third party logistics (3PL) is an area tipped for
dramatic growth over the next four years, particularly in Europe
where the practice is still in its infancy,...
Emerging biopharmaceutical company, Align Pharmaceuticals, has
enlisted sales and marketing services provider, PDI, to provide a
40-person sales force for its three newly acquired oncology
products.
Scienion introduces its ultra low-level liquid handling system,
which allows the aspiration and dispensing of single cells or low
amount of cells for cell-based assays in the drug development
field.
Swiss pharma giants, Roche, has announced a collaboration with
Amira Pharmaceuticals, which is to focus on inflammatory disease
targets, in a deal that could build on Roche's strong position in
the inflammatory market, having...
Scientists have taken a major step forward in the diagnosis and
treatment of HIV as it was revealed that the virus' 3D structure
had been constructed. This achievement will prove instrumental in
the development of more effective...
Biovitrum and Syntonix have entered into agreement to jointly
develop and commercialise a genetically engineered product to treat
haemophilia, a rare hereditary disorder, which the life expectancy
of haemophilia patients is about...
Taiwanese generic and contract manufacturer ScinoPharm has seen its
sales almost double for the last three years, from $5 m in 2002 to
$31m in 2005, fuelled by its booming active pharmaceutical
ingredient (API) business.
Esco Micro is the first company outside of Japan to have a Class II
biosafety cabinet certified to the Japanese standard for
microbiological testing requirements, which are the most stringent
in the world.
According to a new report, technical advances in the R&D
environment have promoted the uptake of biochips in clinical
research applications. However, the report identified the high
prices as a prime area of concern.
An innovative point-of-care test has proved four times more
effective than the conventional laboratory test in detecting the
disease, which is encouraging for sufferers of the fifth most
common cancer in the US.
Global demand for pharmaceutical packaging is tipped to increase
6.3 per cent each year to create a $30 bn (€24.4 bn) market in
2009, pushed by emerging pharma industries, tighter government
standards on packaging and the burgeoning...
A new report has claimed that the benefits pharma crop producers
enjoy have been greatly exaggerated suggesting that any claims
regarding high farmer compensation and booming pharma-crop acreage
are likely overblown.
With the first non-injectable insulin to the world market predicted
to earn $1.5 bn (€1.2 bn) a year, inhaled pulmonary delivery is
winning the race, looking certain to trigger a bitter grapple
between the big insulin players.
Drug companies are leaning more heavily on contract research
organisations (CROs) to save costs in getting new drugs to market.
And it is paying off, with added benefits. Companies who rely on
CROs are also completing clinical trials...
Thermo have introduced, what it claims is the next generation of
high content screening (HCS), launching a compact system that has a
small footprint, which frees up valuable lab floor space. The
product additionally offers turnkey...
ImmuPharma, a drug discovery and development company, are to seek
admission to the Alternative Investments Market (AIM), in a move
that will give the group the resources necessary to finance initial
clinical trials on ImmuPharma's...
Genomics company, VASTox, has announced encouraging preclinical
results in its drug discovery programme, which aims to find the
next generation of treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD),
a disease of which there is no known...
Pharmaceutical company, Phosphagenics, has announced the
commencement of animal studies on its anti-cancer compound, which
claims to destroy diseased cells while not affecting normal ones by
primarily acting as a signalling molecule...
Covalent Group has signed a new contract worth $2.3 m (€1.9 m) to
conduct a global Phase 2 clinical trial of a new antithrombotic
agent in the US, Europe, and South America.
Oxford Immunotec makes available an in vitro diagnostic that
measures T-cells specific to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)
antigens diagnosing both latent and active TB infection in
immunocompromised humans - a significant problem...
German chemicals major Merck has joined the race to bring
affordable radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to the
market, investing €1 m to establish a research lab at the Technical
University of Darmstadt dedicated to...
Injectable insulin is under threat. The imminent arrival of
non-injectable insulin could finally topple the big insulin players
off their comfortable perch, in the $7 bn industry that has seen
little real competition until now.
Oxford Biomedica and Viragen have announced a breakthrough in
transgenic research in which scientists have successfully achieved
expression of significant quantities of a human protein in hens
that is a key component of the human...
US researchers have managed to create tiny chemical cages that
enclose drugs within a capsule that can be manufactured to deliver
drugs to organs or tissues without causing harm elsewhere.
International Isotopes has announced the renewal of an existing
contract manufacturing agreement, which aims to continue the
production of nuclear medicine calibration and reference standards.
UK medical technology producers, Bespak reported healthy sales and
profit figures the first half period, identifying three areas of
prosperity, which could spell future growth within established
markets and opportunities worldwide.
Bruker Optics have reached an agreement with the Chinese State Food
and Drug Administration (SFDA), which sees Bruker technology
integrated into regional Food and Drug Administration offices
aiding the fight against illegal counterfeit...
UK's Biotrace has signed a deal giving US company Pall Corporation
exclusive global marketing and distribution rights to its range of
microbiological air monitoring products for the pharma industry in
order to broaden the geographic...
Following the ongoing success of its flagship DataLase range, UK
company DataLase (formerly Sherwood Technology) is on track to open
a new manufacturing facility in the US in Atlanta this quarter, in
order to ramp up its US sales...
Drug companies are to trial a unique form of brand protection by
incorporating a laser marking system on glass vials, which is hoped
to act as a deterrent to counterfeiters as engraving is impossible
to remove and difficult to copy.
New labelling laws by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
will make medicines safer. The layout of prescription drug package
inserts have been updated for the first time in 25 years, requiring
drug makers to provide doctors...
DataLabs has launched the first software to combine paper data
entry (PDE) and electronic data capture (EDC) in the one program to
accelerate the clinical trials process.
Asia and India are continuing to attract a wave of foreign
outsourcing contracts in the pharma industry, as companies are
lured by productivity-and cost savings. However, these countries
are not yet reaching their potential, as fears...
