After months of speculation, chemical giants BASF have put in a
$4.9 billion (€4.1 billion) offer for the Engelhard Corporation,
which if successful, would become BASF's largest acquisition to
date, surpassing Dow Chemical as...
Buccal drug delivery pioneer, Generex, is expanding its diabetes
treatment pipeline to include a new metformin chewing gum that aims
to avoid the significant adverse gastrointestinal side-effects
often accompanying the use of metformin...
Indian drug maker Shasun Chemicals & Drugs has agreed to buy
the customs synthesis business of French company Rhodia Pharma
Solutions, in a move to strengthen its global presence in active
pharmaceutical ingredient (API), custom...
Baxa has announced it is to move to direct sales and marketing
operations in Europe, bringing to an end its existing business
strategy, which sold its products through exclusive distributors,
with support provided by Baxa from their...
The firing of Dr Peter Rost by Pfizer highlights the position that
employees can be faced with if they take a stand on what they
believe to be illegal activity in the companies they work for.
A restructure of DSM's pharma businesses will see the closure of
its Pharma Chemicals site in Michigan, US, in the first half of
2007 and the mothballing of the DSM Biologics facilities in
Montreal, Canada at the beginning of...
Australian company pSivida has completed its acquisition of US drug
delivery firm, Control Delivery Systems (CDS), as part of its
strategy to expand its presence in the US biotech industry.
A new study is underway in the US to define the technical knowledge
and expertise required by professionals involved in drug product
development and manufacturing. The results will form a basis for a
new global credentialing program...
According to a new report, the costs of clinical development are
rising more rapidly in relation to the other parts of the R&D
process, placing greater emphasis on the recruitment of test
subjects, as clinical trial service...
Research undertaken by Nastech has uncovered that endothelial tight
junctions play a role in atherosclerosis, which may provide new
therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease.
Lonza has scored a manufacturing contract to help Bristol
Myers-Squibb (BMS) meet anticipated demand of its newly approved
drug that will offer a new treatment option for rheumatoid
arthritis, a disease that afflicts more than two...
With two acquisitions in two months, US biotechnology major Genzyme
has strengthened and diversified its ability to develop gene
therapy products that use either adenovirus or adeno-associated
virus vectors.
Leading contract research organisation, Covance, has upgraded its
software to streamline the laboratory testing aspect of its
clinical trials and allow sponsoring drug companies greater
involvement in the overall process.
Ventiv's Clinical Services division has joined with India's largest
domestic contract research organization (CRO), SIRO Clinpharm, to
provide India-based clinical data management services, offering
pharma and biotech companies...
The expiration of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) patent is set
to offer growth opportunities for nucleic acid purification and
amplification technologies, particularly for small companies, who
can offer tests without developing...
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell continues to push its PER.C6
cell line forward into the worldwide market, with a new agreement
now enabling the revolutionary vaccine technology to be used to
manufacture vaccines in Canada.
Near-infrared (NIR) chemical imaging is emerging as the analytical
tool of choice for drug formulation development, analysis and
process monitoring of the increasing number of advanced drug
delivery systems.
A new range of high-speed automatic capsule filling machines has
been launched by UK's Hanningfield Process Systems that are
suitable for most types of hard shell capsule, and offer
pharmaceutical manufacturers rapid capsule...
Millipore has introduced a new 24-well cell culture plate which has
twice the membrane surface area compared with other 24-well plates,
allowing researchers to utilize greater cell mass, which more
closely models cell behaviour.
Forest Laboratories, having developed what it believes is the
world's first dry powder inhalation system for antibiotics, is now
conducting phase III trials on a new dry powder antibiotic
formulation which promises to change...
Adoption of RFID hardware and software throughout the pharma
industry is about to explode, spurred on by the push from industry
organizations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to
implement RFID tags to combat sales...
PDI, who provides sales and marketing services to the
pharmaceutical industry, have received a new sales representative
contract in the US from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), worth $65-70m
(€55-59m).
Oman Pharmaceutical Products (OPP) has entered its first
outsourcing partnership in Europe with Finnish company
Dragenopharm, providing the first step in its strategy to offer
contract manufacturing services globally.
A recent study highlights the importance of a new a target for
taste modulation that could be the key to helping drug
manufacturers mask bitter, unwanted tastes that turn many people
off their medicines.
The threat of antibiotic resistance reared its ugly head again
after US researchers found that the most common antibiotic
treatments do not work in a significant number of cases, leading
for calls to find viable alternatives to ageing,...
A new report warns that as nanotechnology becomes a reality, Europe
must not miss the boat, and raises the alarm that the potential
benefits of nanomedicine in Europe will be lost without major
investment in R&D.
A group of researchers think they have cracked the gene code behind
a key family of fungi, which includes the leading cause of death in
leukaemia and bone marrow transplant patients. The genome discovery
could help combat disease...
A vibrating disc could have uses in laboratory diagnosis by
identifying and monitoring common types of cancer, providing
specialists with information about the most appropriate therapeutic
strategy.
Crucell and DSM will further expand the development of its PER.C6
protein and monoclonal antibody licensing business by establishing
joint R&D centres on the US East Coast and in the Netherlands.
Fisher Biosciences's HyClone business has partnered with Alfa Laval
to provide disposable bioprocessing systems for Haemacure's new
manufacturing facility for biological adhesives - one of the first
major installations of...
US scientists think that enough anthrax vaccine can be produced
cheaply and effectively from tobacco plants, inoculating not only
the whole of the US but answer the worldwide need for a safe and
effective vaccine for this killer toxin.
Silicones are fuelling innovations in topical drug excipients, due
to their unique set of physicochemical properties that improve
active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) delivery and ease of product
application.
Thermo Electron has unveiled its latest Laboratory Information
Management System (LIMS), its latest evolution in
commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) laboratory information management
systems for pharmaceutical manufacturing R&D...
Medical Services International (MSI) has been contracted by a
Chinese corporation to produce a potentially life-saving diagnostic
test kit for avian flu that will give test results in 30 minutes
instead of the current three days.
UK-based Synexus Clinical Research has formed the first
patient-recruitment site management organisation (SMO) in India to
cash in on India's burgeoning clinical research market.
Premier Research has continued its spate of acquisitions this year,
with the latest addition of clinical research organization (CRO)
Imform, which will aid the company's expansion plans into Eastern
Europe.
Affymetrix has launched its latest microarray sequencer, which
enables researchers to identify genetic variations associated with
diseases, forensics, population studies or stem cells, proving
particularly useful in drug research...
Wyeth are to establish a Bio-therapeutic Drug Discovery Research
Facility in Dublin in a move that adds to Wyeth Grange Castle
Campus in Ireland's capital and reinforces the growth of Ireland's
biotechnology research and...
The breast cancer therapeutics market is expected to show sustained
growth and opportunity for new market participants as greater
efficacy and reduced toxicity of innovative breast cancer therapies
increase their uptake.
BioGenetics Capital announced that it has closed a $5.5 million
financing round with Contract Research Organisation (CRO) Services
Group, Clinquest Group, in a move that gives the company access to
the fast-growing life sciences markets...
In the same week that saw Novartis threaten its planned merger with
Berna Biotech, Dutch biotech company Crucell has signed three new
licensing agreements for its PER.C6 and STAR manufacturing
technologies.
India's clinical research industry is currently valued at $100
million (€83 million) and is almost doubling each year, reflecting
the shifting focus of the pharmaceutical outsourcing industry to
Asia.
Tripos has announced the latest details in its cost cutting
strategy, which is expected to result in job losses, principally in
the UK. The cuts come as Tripo's four-year $90 million file
enrichment project with Pfizer draws...
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has cut $400 million in annual expenses
over the last two years in order to boost its R&D pipeline and
achieve sales and earnings growth beginning in 2007.
Actavis Group has announced the company has acquired the human
generics business of Alpharma, making the international generic
pharmaceuticals company one of the five largest companies in
generic pharmaceuticals worldwide in terms...
Cardinal Health, the world's largest supplier of services to the
healthcare industry, is building its first tablet coating facility
to offer its pharmaceutical clients a range of innovative delivery
systems that target the oral...
Cresset Biomolecular Discovery has launched a technology that
identifies the 3-dimensional bound conformation of hits and
potential drugs in a biological target, assisting scientists
involved in ion channel research.
Scientists have described the cellular structure of a protein that
plays a critical role in drug resistance, which may open up new
avenues for laboratory research that may result in the enhancement
of existing therapies for Cancer...
Fine chemical and pharmaceutical intermediate manufacturers may be
affected by supply disruptions due to ongoing UK shortages of
natural gas. Price spikes in gas are becoming both higher and more
frequent in the UK.
Artel, has announced that the International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO) has approved the use of the photometric
method for liquid delivery performance verification, which
emphasises the role photometry has to play for drug...
