Germany chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer has christened
its chemicals spin-off Lanxess, and says it is on schedule for a
stock market flotation early next year.
A consortium of academic and industry researchers, headed by
scientists from French company genOway, has started development of
genetically-modified laboratory rats that can serve as models for
human diseases.
German chemicals giant BASF has beaten its own sales and earnings
forecasts for 2003, prompting chairman Jurgen Hambrecht to suggest
that the sector may be due for something of a recovery this year,
writes Phil Taylor.
UCB has been awarded a US patent on a formulation technology that
could represent a low-cost means of achieving a difficult task -
making a drug that needs to be absorbed in the stomach suitable for
once-daily administration.
The French government has embarked on a fact-finding exercise to
try to work out ways it can address the country's diminishing
standing as a centre for biopharmaceutical R&D.
Klockner Pentaplast has introduced a film for pharmaceutical
packaging that blocks out 25 per cent more moisture than any other
thermoformed film on the market, according to the company.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals has discovered a series of orally-active
small molecules that, in animal models, reduce the fatty deposits
in blood vessel walls typically associated with atherosclerosis.
Scientists at the California Institute of Technology in the US have
developed a postage stamp-sized chip that can be used to carry out
many of the routine steps involved in isolating and purifying
nucleic acids from cells.
Switzerland's Novartis has confirmed that it is in discussions with
Aventis which could lead to a counter-offer to fend off the hostile
takeover bid from France's Sanofi-Synthelabo.
The need to conform with new European Commission (EC) regulations
and the increasing demand for improved efficiency in process
industries are encouraging greater adoption of flowmeters.
Hosokawa Micron has developed a grinding mill for pharmaceutical
applications that ties in with the industry-wide trend towards
using flexible, multipurpose production units.
New active ingredients are the lifeblood of the pharmaceutical
industry, but with the number of new compounds being launched
tailing off almost yearly, companies are turning to inactive
excipients as a source of product innovation,...
The European Union's Competitiveness Council has adopted the
legislation comprising the new framework for pharmaceuticals, but
its failure to agree on a pan-EU patent system has undermined the
progress made in the reform package,...
Mobious Genomics, a UK-based bionanotechnology firm, is to launch a
new sensing technique that will allow proteomic, genomic and
clinical researchers to conduct protein interaction studies more
accurately and with greater sensitivity,...
Switzerland's Tecan saw its sales last year fall 6 per cent as
turnover growth in its genomics/proteomics division failed to
counterbalance declines in drug discovery and diagnostics.
Biotechnology company Crucell has acquired fellow Netherlands-based
ChromaGenics in a move to get hold of a promising new technology
that could boost yields of proteins and antibodies made in cell
culture, writes Phil Taylor.
Since the sequencing of the human genome, there has been a lot of
attention paid to finding cellular factors that control gene
expression. Micro RNA (miRNA) - small sequences of 20-24
nucleotides that do not code for proteins - are...
Researchers in France have isolated the three-dimensional structure
of a protein essential for the replication of the virus that causes
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which could represent a
new drug target for the disease.
An analysis technology developed by Viscotek can slice days off the
time it takes to carry out research and quality control into drug
delivery systems based on polymers.
Pall has been granted European Union and US approval for a
purification process used in biopharmaceutical production that can
reduce the batch testing requirements of manufacturers, as well as
reducing the risk of virus contamination.
Canada's Information Mediary Corp (IMC) has launched a 'smart' cap
for medicine bottles and vials that can remind patients when their
next dose is due, writes Phil Taylor.
Amersham Biosciences has launched its AKTAxpress system for
high-throughput protein purification, claiming that it can process
samples at four- to eight-times the rate of any other system on the
market, writes Phil Taylor.
A new flexible coupling promises to make the handling of toxic and
high potency compounds safer, and is a cheaper option than current
rigid containment devices, according to its manufacturer.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School in the US have developed a
way to rapidly screen compounds for potential therapeutic activity
in diseases where current screening methods are limited.
The European Parliament has adopted new measures to control the
trade in two compounds used for both legitimate pharmaceutical
applications and the manufacture of illicit drugs, writes Phil
Taylor.
US company Waters Corporation will this week unveil its
next-generation liquid chromatograph, said to significantly improve
productivity in the lab by giving scientists chromatographic run
times up to nine times shorter than the fastest...
Sigma-Aldrich's fine chemicals unit is to distribute a
plant-produced recombinant aprotinin manufactured by US-based Large
Scale Biology Corporation, under a new agreement announced this
week.
Pharmaceutical companies must start exploring ways of extending
patents on their products early in their lifecycle, such as
developing improved formulations of the active ingredient, even
before they are launched onto the market.
As the annual Pittcon laboratory analysis showcase gets underway
this week, a string of products with applications in drug discovery
have been introduced, including new tools for proteomics and the
first commercial analysis system...
A new type of drug to treat the cardiovascular disease stable
angina, a chronic condition marked by recurrent episodes of
suffocating chest pain from lack of oxygen to the heart muscle, has
shown encouraging safety and efficacy in...
A fall in demand from the pharmaceuticals industry has caused a
significant hole in 2003 profits for German chemicals group
Degussa, which implemented heavy restructuring to reduce production
capacity in its fine chemicals unit.
Pharmaceutical packaging demand in the US is forecast to rise 4.7
per cent per year to $6.8 billion in 2008, driven by new Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that will require unit dose
containers for a range of drugs,...
German processing technology group GEA has announced new
acquisitions that will increase its offering to the food and pharma
industries, part of a new strategy to expand the business under
parent company mg technologies.
Switzerland's Buchi has launched a small-scale oven for
freeze-drying samples that puts the technology within reach of
laboratories that might baulk at the cost of investing in a larger
system.
Companies involved in the parallel trade of pharmaceuticals have
been boosted by a court ruling which gives them the right to re-box
products shipped into the UK from another country in the European
Union.
BioProgress of the UK, which makes cellulose based films for
coating tablets and capsules, is planning to buy a company which
would provide a rapid route to increase production capacity in the
US, and also accelerate the development...
The recreational drug Ecstasy is to be tested as a treatment for
trauma in a historic study that could bring the drug back into the
sphere of legitimate medical practice.
A laboratory-scale capsule filling machine that, for the first
time, allows reproducible scale-up of powder dosing to full size
production models, has been launched in the UK by Sussex &
Berkshire Machinery.
Researchers in Finland and the US have identified a gene that
predisposes people to one of the most common causes of coronary
heart disease, raising the hope that it could represent a new
target for drug treatment.
A swallowable remote controlled capsule that can test the
absorption of a drug from different parts of the gastrointestinal
tract could help companies extend the patented lifespan of their
products, according to a new report.
A once-daily version of a drug for attention deficit problems in
children - originally designed to avoid the stigma of having to
take medication during school hours - could also save lives on the
road, according to new research.
Germany's Haupt Pharma and Wulfing Holding have joined forces to
create a new company specialising in the contract manufacturing of
highly active pharmaceutical products.
A new inhaled formulation of insulin that could do away with the
need for diabetics to inject themselves before meals has been filed
for approval in Europe by Aventis and Pfizer and the dossier
accepted by the European Medicines Evaluation...
Researchers at Max Planck Institute in Germany have used a
nano-sized imaging tool to capture the first-ever movies of cells
transmitting the messages that control genes. The breakthrough is
expected to help pharmaceutical companies...
A new range of polyurethane resin-based floor systems that combines
an antimicrobial layer has been launched. Manufacturer John Lord
claims that this new innovation can help manufacturers reduce the
level of bacterial contamination...
A partnership between two US companies is aiming to exploit the
discovery that short pulses or bursts of antibiotic treatment are
more effective than continuous exposure in fighting bacterial
infections.
The Chinese pharmaceutical industry is still showing above average
growth, but the country's entry into the World Trade Organisation
means that tough times are ahead for manufacturers of active
pharmaceutical ingredients - which...
Filtration specialist Pall has seen its second quarter sales and
earnings held back by weak demand in the biopharmaceuticals
industry, particularly in Europe.
Human machine interface (HMI) technology is a growing sector in
European industrial plants, according to Frost and Sullivan, as
sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry try to reduce the
number of operators per machine.
