A highly flexible automatic measuring device capable of detecting
the tiniest leaks of CO2 from protective gas atmosphere packaging
has been developed. While initially being targeted at the food
sector, its pharmaceutical applications...
The enzyme alpha secretase could join its beta and gamma cousins as
a promising new target for Alzheimer's disease drugs, if research
conducted in Germany is borne out in additional study.
New biotechnology processes are poised to change the economics of
manufacturing drugs, creating the potential for delivering both
affordable medicines to patients in the developing world and laying
the foundation for new markets.
A new generation of potent, targetted vaccines for cancer could be
the offspring of a marriage between two technologies developed at
European biotechnology companies Avidex and Active Biotech.
A recently-introduced microstructured mixer that can provide much
tighter heat and reaction control compared to conventional systems
was showcased at the ACHEMASIA meeting last week.
Belgian chemicals and pharmaceuticals company UCB has made an offer
to buy UK biotechnology firm Celltech for £1.53 billion (€2.25bn)
in a move seen as a way of getting hold of the latter's much-touted
arthritis drug.
Ireland's position as a hot-spot for inwards investment in
pharmaceutical manufacturing is under threat from companies in the
Far East and Puerto Rico, according to PharmaChemical Ireland.
The needle-free injector technology underpinning PowderJect, the
drug delivery company which shot onto the biotechnology scene in
the mid-1990s and was snapped up by Chiron of the US last year,
will form the foundation of a new therapeutic...
DSM Anti-Infectives, the world's largest producer of antibiotics,
is planning to expand a manufacturing plant for a key intermediate
used in the manufacture of cephalosporins that will make it the
largest producer of the compound...
Researchers have identified a set of genes that control the
development of hair-like structures on cells - called cilia - that
when defective are involved in a range of diseases. They hope the
finding could lead to new drug targets...
A prototype chip-based laboratory developed by a German company
could reduce the time it takes to carry out the DNA amplification
required for polymerase chain reactions to five minutes.
UK chemicals and metals firm Johnson Matthey has opened a precious
metal process catalyst manufacturing plant in India to cater to the
growing demand from the local pharmaceutical industry and provide a
springboard into other Asian...
The European Commission has mapped out its strategy to keep the
European Union at the forefront of research into nanotechnology, a
position that is in danger of being eroded, and plans to double its
funding in the sector writes Phil...
Signalling its continued commitment to the emerging economies of
the recently expanded European Union, Switzerland's Novartis has
unveiled a €70 million overall investment in a new generics
production and logistics facility in...
Swiss contract manufacturing company Lonza has licensed a
technology that makes it possible to make peptide drugs that are
longer and have a more complex structure than is possible using
conventional techniques, reports Phil Taylor.
Switzerland's Metrohm has developed a new delivery system for
reagents used in ion chromatography that is designed to reduce
wastage, improve safety in the lab and does away with the need to
dispose of spent eluent cartridges.
Germany's Evotec recording a loss in the first quarter of 2004 due
in part, to what it said was a difficult operating environment for
companies supplying drug discovery technologies.
Avecia Pharmaceuticals has consolidated its position in the
evolving Japanese pharmaceutical market by forging a technology
agreement with a local company,reports Phil Taylor.
German chemical company Bayer has posted flat first-quarter 2004
sales, but said that the results were on track given the negative
effects of currency factors. Organic sales growth rose 8.6 per
cent, it claimed, and was driven mainly...
Germany's atugen, a specialist in RNA interference technologies for
switching off genes, has demonstrated the feasiblity of delivering
a small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based drug and achieving a
physiological response in animals.
France's Stedim and Integrated Biosystems have been awarded two new
patents on their Celsius line of containers, currently being
launched in Europe and US, that are used in the production of
biopharmaceuticals.
Researchers in Belgium have developed a new generation of drugs
consisting of extremely small antibodies - called nanobodies - that
can target tumour cells specifically and seem suitable for oral
delivery.
Computer giant IBM claims to have identified seven key technologies
that will drive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry over the
next decade, raise the quality of development and manufacturing
processes and slash the pre-launch...
Yesterday, German chemicals group Degussa said that it had got off
to a good start financially in 2004. Today, the company provided a
more detailed breakdown of the first-quarter results which shows
the fine chemicals division still...
The current rate of growth in the world generics market puts it on
pace to outgrow branded pharmaceuticals, which will only grow by
single digits in 2004, according to business intelligence firm
Cutting Edge Information.
Sweden's Biotage has launched a system for carrying out microwave
synthesis reactions that for the first time is targeted at the
individual medicinal chemist.
A small German company has developed a new drug delivery technology
that can transport active drugs into the interior of cells by an
intrinsic, active mechanism.
The company Evotec OAI, a drug discovery and development solution
provider to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries has
announced the successful expansion of their in vitro and in silico
ADMET (Adsorption, Distribution,...
India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories has acquired a US company that
brings in a proprietary drug delivery technology that could be
applied across a whole range of dermatological products.
Australia's Mayne Pharma has bought its way into the European
market with the acquisition of a Germany company specialising in
the manufacture of freeze dried and solution vial products for
contract customers.
In March 2004, manufacturers of pharmaceuticals such as
prescription painkillers and other drugs at risk of abuse were
required to start using radiofrequency identification tags on all
pallets destined for retail giant Wal-Mart, almost...
A US company is gearing up to start trials of a novel drug that
could provide the first orally-active treatment for a range of
genetic disorders, including cystic fibrosis and muscular
dystrophy, writes Phil Taylor.
The threat of emerging strains of bacteria with resistance to the
current arsenal of drugs was the subject of intense focus as the
14th Annual European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and
Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) got underway...
Dutch nucleic acid specialist Qiagen reported strong growth in
sales in the first quarter of 2004, ahead of its forecasts, as
spending by companies in the pharmaceutical industry returns to
historical levels, writes Wai Lang Chu.
The structure and remit of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency
(EMEA) will be overhauled from 20 May to give it a stronger
advisory role to industry, the healthcare profession and patients.
A new patch product in clinical trials could provide a
patient-friendly means of delivering the only drug treatment for
osteoporosis that can actually replace lost bone, reports Phil
Taylor.
Swiss life sciences supplier Tecan has reported flat growth in
sales but higher profits in the first quarter of 2004, which it
said was largely the result of the restructuring measures
implemented in 2003.
Two leading central and eastern European pharma firms - both
producing both generic and branded drugs and active pharmaceuticals
- post results this week. Their results suggest CEE firms should
focus on foreign markets as pricing...
The number of animals tests needed for new chemicals could be
reduced significantly by the use of assays tests developed by
researchers at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. And
this should be welcome news for companies...
Two years into a major drive to exit the drug development sector
and reinvent itself as an informatics pure-play, Germany's LION
bioscience trimmed its net losses in the 12 months ended 31 March
to €22 million, in line with its...
Sigma-Aldrich has expanded its contract development and
manufacturing for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at its
Buchs production site in Switzerland.
Isael's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries slipped into a loss in the
first quarter of 2004, as the cost of the acquisition of US
generics and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) firm Sicor took
its toll, but for the first time...
Acusphere has developed microcapsule a technology that promises to
improve the delivery of a range of drugs, including those that are
poorly-soluble in water. The technology is being used to develop a
sustained-release version of...
The US Food and Drug Administration has started a new comment
period on its bioterrorism regulations - designed to safeguard the
national food supply - which will have a significant impact on
companies importing pharmaceutical excipients...
Process chemists who want to test a number of reactions at
small-scale before ramping up to commercial production could
benefit from a new system, developed by Argonaut Technologies, that
can carry out four separate reactions in parallel.
Fisher Scientific has opened a new small scale chemical
manufacturing facility in Loughborough, UK, to add new custom
synthesis services for the pharmaceutical and other industries.
The cost and time required to develop a new drug and bring it to
market is determined by the therapeutic category of that drug. The
results are consistent with the model that predicts R&D efforts
are generally shifting toward...
The market for RNA interference (RNAi) products used as research
tools and therapeutics is still at an embryonic stage, but looks
set to more than double in value by the end of the decade,
according to new market research.
The raft of US laboratory equipment and consumables companies
reporting results for the first quarter of 2004 this week provides
convincing evidence that demand for these products has returned
among the pharmaceutical and biotechnology...
