The discovery of a naturally occurring protein could play a pivotal
role in the fight against autoimmune diseases with the possibility
of developing this compound into a practicable treatment for
rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which currently...
New legislation handed down by the European Union is having an
impact on suppliers of laboratory equipment that includes
electrical or electronic components, reports Phil Taylor.
The taxane class of cancer drugs has established itself as a
mainstay in the treatment of a range of solid tumours, but to date
there are still only two of these compounds on the market.
Swedish packaging technology company Cypak has raised SEK30 million
(€3.3m) in its fourth major round of funding, and says it will use
the proceeds to accelerate its product development efforts.
WR Grace subsidiary The Separations Group has acquired Alltech
International in a move that raises its standing in the manufacture
and supply of chromatography products even further.
French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Synthelabo on Friday formally
announced the birth of Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third-largest
pharmaceutical company, ranking number one in Europe.
BioProgress, a company specialising in the manufacture of films for
use in drug formulations, has teamed up with encapsulation company
Micap to develop a new type of treatment for those wanting to stop
smoking.
Canada's Chromos Molecular Systems has entered into a collaborative
agreement with Centocor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson &
Johnson, to develop cell lines for the manufacture of biological
drugs.
Australian drug delivery company Acrux is hoping to raise A$30
million (€18m) in a float on the Australian Stock Exchange to
support the development of its novel transdermal technology that
does not require the use of adhesive patches...
Bio-Rad has completed its purchase of MJ GeneWorks, the parent
company of DNA analysis specialist MJ Research, for $32 million,
well short of the $47 million originally forecast.
Researchers in the US and Austria have developed a method that
could vastly improve the ability of atomic force microscopes to
visualise the chemical composition of a sample, follow variations
of the sample, as well as map its topographic...
In a joint project with the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular
Genetics, Germany's Scienion is adapting its nucleic acid chip
technology to handle protein applications. The project aims to
develop antibody chips for the analysis...
In an open letter to the British medical Journal, the director of
the UK Cochrane Centre Sir Iain Chalmers has added his voice to
those calling for complete disclosure of clinical trials by
pharmaceutical companies.
In-Pharmatechnologist's periodic round-up of personnel moves in the
pharmaceutical sector includes a change in leadership at the
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and a new
managing director at tabletting and...
Companies from Europe, the US and Japan have announced the
construction of new facilities this month, suggesting that despite
a difficult operating environment big pharma is still making
significant capital investments.
The potential to use a phenomenon known as RNA interference (RNAi)
to selectively switch off genes associated with disease has
captured the attention of drug developers, but as with antisense
before it, delivering the agents is the...
Drug delivery specialist SkyePharma has decided to press ahead with
the development of new drug products based on an encapsulation
technology developed by fellow UK company Micap.
A soon-to-be published reference book that highlights the
compliance of Wal-Mart's suppliers with its RFID model says that
the system is set to change the rules of the global supply chain.
Two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis can be time-consuming and
labour intensive, but its value to proteomics research means that
the market for these products will more than double by 2010.
Catalyst company Chiral Quest has launched a new product,
C3-TunePhos, designed for use in the synthesis of a range of drugs,
including the cholesterol-lowering statin class.
Fine chemicals maker Bachem has reported higher sales in the first
half of the year, but profits were slightly weaker as unfavourable
exchange rates took their toll.
Israeli generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)
company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced yet another
acquisition earlier today, this time for Pfizer's Italian generic
pharmaceutical marketing company Dorom.
Sigma-Aldrich and Caliper Life Sciences have teamed up to develop
and co-market a series of automated systems for a wide variety of
applications in genomics, proteomics, and drug discovery.
Scientists in the UK and Germany have discovered that drugs that
inhibit enzymes known as metalloproteinases have the hallmarks of a
new treatment for the common skin diseases psoriasis.
The race to develop an inhaled formulation of insulin - and provide
the first alternative to injections for the millions of people
worldwide who suffer from diabetes - is getting closer.
Pipetting technology company CyBio has posted half year sales of
€4.5m, down slightly on the €4.6m in 2003. This muted sales
performance is attributed to the differing development of business
in CyBio's sales regions.
Netherlands-based Qiagen achieved organic growth of 32 per cent for
the second quarter of 2004, but profits fell by a fifth as the cost
of restructuring took its toll.
Imaging Systems Company, Richardson Technologies, are to showcase
its Real Time Microscope (RTM), a radical imaging system capable of
providing real time, full colour images, providing improved sample
detail, essential for pharmaceutical...
Elchrom Scientific introduces a novel purification technology
enabling a greater yield of ultra pure siRNA synthetic
oligonucleotides at a faster turn around rate, rapidly increasing
siRNA oligonucleotides (oligos) quantity required...
The first ever application to start clinical trials of a
therapeutic based on small interfering RNA (siRNA) - for the wet
form of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration - has been
filed by Acuity Pharmaceuticals.
Researchers at Newcastle's Centre for Life have been given the
go-ahead to create stem cells from unfertilised human eggs, thought
to be the first time that such a license has been granted in
Europe.
BioDelivery Sciences International has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire all of the capital stock of fellow drug
delivery firm Arius Pharmaceuticals.
Fisher Scientific has completed its €3bn merger with Apogent
Technologies, continuing an acquisitive period which has seen it
become one of the top companies in the market for research tools.
Mettler Toledo, the world's largest manufacturer of weighing
instruments, has reported a healthy 8 per cent hike in sales for
the first half of 2004, helped by favourable currency factors.
In spite of pressures from rising oil prices in the last few
months, German specialty chemicals group H&R Wasag is
maintaining its growth forecasts for the year on the back of price
increases.
German biotech company Evotec OAI boosted its second quarter
revenues by 18 per cent to €17 million, despite the difficult
operating environment for companies supplying drug discovery
technologies, continuing its recovery from a weak...
Absolute Vision of the UK has unveiled a new hand-held code reader
that can be used for conventional barcodes, the new reduced space
symbology (RSS) code and two-dimensional data matrix markings.
In the wake of the divestment of its Dynamit Nobel chemicals
businesses, mg technologies of Germany has reported a modest
increase in sales for the first half of the year, helped by a good
performance from its GEA subsidiary.
The European Commission has started a discussion on its strategy
for developing Europe's nanotechnology industry, and is seeking
comments on its proposals put forward in June.
Life sciences software company Optive Research has launched its
latest software for in silico drug discovery, making it
faster and easier for chemists to 'invent' new compounds for
lead discovery.
US biotechnology company Cephalon says that the US Federal Trade
Commission has approved its $385 million acquisition of CIMA Labs,
nearly a year after it outbid aaiPharma for the drug delivery
specialist.
Genes, which are linked to either resistance or sensitivity to four
major cancer drugs used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
(ALL) has led to the suggestion that these genes determine
treatment outcome and may represent future...
Solvay Chemicals has said that it will increase off-list prices for
all grades of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in North America from 15
September in the face of escalating demand.
Calling the next six months 'a critical period', the US Food and
Drug Administration's Acting Commissioner Lester Crawford has
unveiled a lengthy list of agency priorities, including continued
work on Good Manufacturing...
Cobra Biomanufacturing has received approval from the UK regulatory
authorities for its new clinical trial manufacturing facilities in
Oxford as well as its established unit in Keele.
Scientists may be fighting a losing battle to develop alternative
treatments to drug resistant pathogens, as research reveals the
evolution of drug resistance in bacteria is a trait that is
favoured through the process of natural...
Building on a stronger start to the year, Germany's third largest
chemicals group reports continued growth into the second quarter
with an increase in demand pushing up sales and earnings.
The market for oligonucleotides is set to more than double in the
next few years, promising rewards for those companies that can meet
the demand for custom ingredients and manufacturing services.
New treatment strategies for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) based on a
specific combination of genes that directly give protection against
HCV without the necessity for additional treatment for a virus that
affects 170 million people...
