US drug delivery company Endo Pharmaceuticals has launched a novel
formulation of the opioid analgesic morphine sulphate that can
provide 48 hours of pain relief in a single dose.
The challenging environment for companies supplying chemicals into
the pharmaceutical sector, with a relentless increase in
competition, has prompted German company Merck KGaA to start a new
service aimed at reducing the workload...
A potential new drug target for malaria was revealed this week
after scientists discovered the structure and function of the
malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, for the first time. The
findings represent a breakthrough for future...
Scientists have found a molecular weakness in the organism that
causes pneumonia, providing a target for the development of a new
class of antibiotics that could eventually eradicate the disease.
Quadrant Engineering Plastics Products (EPP) has launched a range
of standard colours for extruded acetal stockshapes in response to
increasing market demand for products that enable and enhance
colour identity.
At the Conference on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI) opened its
doors yesterday, In-PharmaTechnologist.com spoke with Nick Hyde,
global business director at leading contract manufacturer
Dowpharma, to hear his views on the state...
German packaging machinery company Groninger & Co has bought a
new computer-aided design software package that it says will enable
it to meet the demands of its customers more closely.
Italy's Chiesi Farmaceutici has signed a deal with Ontario,
Canada-headquartered Trudell Medical International for the latter's
MDI actuation indicator, designed to make it easuer for asthmatics
to see when their inhaler...
Manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can
reduce the risk of exposure to highly toxic active ingredients
using a new process system developed by Collette, part of Niro
Pharma Systems.
A new weighing system developed by BOC Edwards Pharmaceutical
systems can be used in a pharmaceutical filling line but does not
come into contact with the weighed materials.
US packaging giant MeadWestvaco has made progress in its
collaboration with Cypak, a Swedish company specialising in the
development of 'smart' packaging.
In-Pharmatechnologist.com will be reporting this week from the
Conference on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI) and in Brussels,
Belgium, now in its 15th year and widely regarded as the premier
event for the ingredient industry in...
In-Pharmatechnologist's periodic round up of personnel moves in the
industry includes a crop of new chief executives and senior
managers across the pharmachem, drug development and manufacturing
sectors.
Novartis has paid a US drug delivery company $10 million for an
option to an oral formulation of an injectable drug used to treat
osteoporosis that is currently the subject of litigation with Eli
Lilly.
German drugmaker Bayer last week put an end to speculation that it
is planning swingeing job cuts by conforming that it is planning to
axe 560 positions in Germany and the US as part of restructuring
its global pharmaceutical R&D...
A technique used to conduct fully automated high throughput
mutation detection in microbial genomes, has shown greater
sensitivity over existing methods. The method analyses genetic
modification in bacteria and other disease causing...
A naturally occurring protein, which promotes the ability to repair
heart muscle after a myocardial infarction, significantly reducing
cardiac damage, may have drug applications as a wound healing
treatment for the heart.
A potential vaccine for the deadly ricin, a "Category B" biological
agent, is to proceed with the first phase of human clinical testing
of RiVax, a genetically engineered vaccine for the toxin for which
there is currently...
Invitrogen announced that it has obtained the licensed rights for
the development of protein microrrays, which contain more than 200
protein-based analytes, further increasing its intellectual
property position in the burgeoning microarray...
WellSpring Pharmaceuticals has been awarded a US patent for the
synthetic method of preperation for a new drug being developed for
the treatment of jaundice in newborns.
A new anti-infectives company, spun out of the Sanofi-Aventis
group, has received €40 million in financing from an international
group of leading life science investors led by Atlas Venture and
including Sofinnova, 3i, Abingworth...
New laws to stop increasingly violent animal extremists from
harassing scientists involved in medical experiments have received
the seal of approval by the Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
The need for a new class of antibiotics to tackle the rising threat
of antibiotic resistance was the focus of a drug discovery
agreement between two UK companies. The deal aims to produce
broad-spectrum antibiotics that are urgently...
The first thermal cycler to start at under £1000 (€1400) is set to
start a price war for this product, which has proved invaluable for
amplification of nucleic acids.
US biomolecular company, Quantum Dot, has added impetus in its
drive to position the company from product development to a
commercially driven organization by appointing a new vice
president.
Newron Pharmaceuticals has announced the company and a consortium
will use the money raised from European funding to utilise
drug-screening technology for the HTS of molecules for ion channel
targets for neurological and psychiatric...
Structural GenomiX (SGX) and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, have
made a breakthrough in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) research by identifying
the three-dimensional crystal structure of a protein that has been
implicated in the onset of the...
Pharmaceutical giants Johnson and Johnson announced today it is to
discontinue its current clinical development program for its
controlled release formulation of topiramate in obesity after
studies revealed the formulation did not...
In-Pharmatechnologist.com's periodic round-up of pharma production
developments from around the world sees Cognis mulling the sale of
process chemicals, Perrigo buying a generics and API manufacturer
and two new contract manufacturing...
Niro Pharma Systems recently launched a new laboratory fluid bed -
the STREA-1 - for the processing of fine powders, pellets,
granules, crystals, tablets and organic solvents. The system,
developed by Aeromatic-Fielder, is designed...
The predicted deficit in manufacturing capacity for biologic drugs
that has been tipped to impede the development of the market has
not materialised, with capacity exceeding demand, according to new
market research.
AstraZeneca has started construction a €30 million tablet
manufacturing plant in Egypt that could form a springboard for an
expansion into emerging markets.
Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has entered into
collaboration with InforSense with the aim of establishing a new
generation of flexible, informatics platforms that are able to deal
with the growing quantities of data...
Dutch drug company, Organon, has initiated further studies to
develop a specific class of non-hormonal drugs to treat the hot
flushes associated with menopause. The new drug, currently in
development, is set to be amongst the first...
A joint proposal by the UK and Hungarian governments that would
allow chemical companies to share the cost of testing to comply
with the new REACH legislation has received the support of the
European Union's Competitiveness Council.
Belgium genomics company Galapagos has put in place another element
in its strategy to develop in-house drug products functions with
the appointment of a new chief scientific officer.
Japanese drugmakers Dainippon Pharmaceutical and Sumitomo
Pharmaceuticals are to merge in an attempt to increase their
standing in international markets and fend off competition at home.
German chemical company H&R Wasag was hit once again by the
tough market environment in the third quarter of the year, but
offset some of the impact by buying up businesses insulated from
rises in raw material prices.
Bioreason has launched ClassPharmer Suite Lite, a new edition of
the company's software system to increase success in the
hits-to-leads-to-clinic process within drug discovery.
Inhaled drug delivery company Inyx has reported positive results
from a two-year stability study of a non-ozone-depleting,
hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propelled salbutamol metered dose inhaler
(MDI) for treating asthma and other respiratory...
In the US, New Jersey Packaging has acquired Altwood Roll Label,
which supplies flexible packaging, inserts and labels to the
pharmaceutical and healthcare sector.
Germany's Christ Water Technology has developed a ready-to-connect
water filtration plant that is specifically designed for use in the
pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetics industries.
Japan's Ajinomoto has developed a revolutionary enzymatic method to
manufacture peptides that could dramatically cut the cost of
producing this growing class of therapeutic agents.
Affymetrix has extended the range of custom microarrays by
launching a host of prokaryotic array designs, which offer
scientists an affordable tool to conduct whole-genome expression
studies on a wide range of pathogenic organisms.
Astrazeneca and Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) have entered
into an alliance to jointly discover and develop human monoclonal
antibody therapeutics, principally in the field of inflammatory
disorders, including respiratory diseases....
Flint Ink North America has announced a price increase for
packaging ink products ranging from 5 to 7 per cent depending on
ink type. The increase, effective 1 December 2004, comes in
response to the rising costs of transportation,...
Research that could eventually lead to gene therapy treatment
options for patients with Parkinson's disease has been published
this week, which could bring hope to more than 1 million Americans
each year who suffer from this...
