Euroscreen has announced the issuance of a US patent, which covers
the use of a human G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) human P2Y13.
The patent protects screening processes using this receptor to find
compounds that modulate its activity,...
Biotrace of the UK has acquired MicroSafe Group, an Italian
supplier of microbiological testing products for the
pharmaceutical, food and defence sectors, for £2.5 million.
The consolidation in the generic pharmaceutical industry continues
apace, with companies in the easterly reaches of Europe now getting
in on the act. Czech Republic-headquartered Zentiva has signed an
agreement to acquire 51 per cent...
MerLion Pharmaceuticals has entered into a large-scale screening
programme with Cancer Research Technology (CRT) to identify new
anti-cancer drug candidates derived from natural product chemistry.
KemFine, the fine chemicals business created via a management
buyout from chemicals group Kemira last year, has acquired Avecia
Fine Chemicals' business based in Grangemouth, Scotland.
UK pharmaceutical testing company Cirrus Laboratories has been
acquired by Bodycote Materials Testing, an international provider
of materials testing services to industry.
Medimmune announced the signing of an agreement to acquire
Cellective Therapeutics, in a deal that furthers its strategy of
increasing new drug candidates in its specialist areas of cancer
and autoimmune diseases such as lupus and...
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly looking to retain their
internal focus on research and development (R&D) and marketing
while outsourcing their manufacturing processes, thus fueling a
growing demand for the manufacturing...
BioSante Pharmaceuticals has licensed its calcium phosphate (CaP)
nanotechnology - used for drug delivery and as an adjuvant for
vaccines - to an unnamed European pharmaceutical company.
Switzerland's Lonza has boosted its ability to make active
pharmaceutical ingredients (API) at its Visp site in response to
what it said was 'ever increasing hygienic and regulatory
requirements'.
Ambion and Rosetta Genomics have announced a licensing and
commercialisaton agreement to advance microRNA research. The
results will facilitate microRNA research that hails this as a
promising area in the treatment of a range of diseases.
Biotechnology firm, MorphoSys, have announced an agreement with
pharmaceutical company Shionogi, in a deal that fits into
MorphoSys' effort to expand geographically into the Japanese market
- currently the second largest individual...
Anglo-German company Evotec has reorganised its pharmaceutical
development services business by integrating its ProPharma
subsidiary, based in Scotland, into a new structure alongside its
in-house activities.
Akzo Nobel business unit Diosynth, which specialises in the
production of complex active biopharmaceutical ingredients for the
pharmaceutical sector, has won a contract to apply its new method
for manufacturing synthetic peptides...
French drug delivery company Flamel Technologies suffered another
blow yesterday when it was revealed that TAP Pharmaceutical
Products has pulled out of deal to develop a formulation of its
big-selling gastrointestinal drug lansoprazole...
Following hot on the heels of the GSK's expansion of its vaccine
division, Novartis is seeking to take control of vaccine maker
Chiron by buying the remaining shares it does not already own in
the US firm for $4.5bn (£2.5bn).
Britiain's largest drugsmaker, GlaxoSmithKline, announced it is to
expand its ability to increase vaccines supplies by acquiring a
vaccine research and production facility from rivals Wyeth.
The cost-effective benefits and research standards set to become
international has added to the attraction of outsourcing R&D to
India and China - two developing nations that are set to ease the
ever-increasing cost pressures,...
Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), announced today that it has
been awarded an additional information technology (IT) outsourcing
contract with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), valued at $100.5 million (€82
million) over five years.
Peakdale Molecular launches its latest G-Protein Coupled Receptor
(GPCR) library, specifically designed to synthesise and
characterise for screening against aminergic GPCR targets.
BioFocus and Organon have announced they are to embark on the
second phase of collaborative projects involving key GPCR targets
for therapeutic applications and drug discovery.
Melbourn Scientific is to launch a new pharmacopeial test facility
providing a range of contract analytical services to the
pharmaceutical industry. The move comes in response to market
demand.
Charles River Laboratories saw a double digit boost in fiscal
second quarter revenues with a leap in operating earnings, helped
by its acquisition of Inveresk Research Group, and also to
continuing strong demand for research models...
Labcyte has announced that it has closed its latest round of
financing in which $21 milllion was raised. The funds will be used
to expand its low-volume liquid handling business with a view to
marketing the next Labcyte product in...
Pfizer has revealed that it is set to outsource some of its
technology jobs to India, harnessing the country's IT
infrastructure to focus more on clinical trial and other
R&D-related information management.
US-based laboratory equipment specialist VWR International has
boosted its presence in Europe via the acquisition of Technical
Service Lab, a Dutch calibration and validation company.
French biotechnology company Proteus is launching a business unit
to provide protein engineering and production services for the life
science industry.
Clinical Data is to acquire Genaissance Pharmaceuticals in a deal
worth $56 million (€46.3 million). The merger allows Clinical Data
to add pharmacogenomic diagnostics and tools to its burgeoning
portfolio as it prepares to enter...
Delphi Medical Systems Corporation has entered into an outsourcing
contract with Applied Biosystems in a move that adds a life science
instrumentation manufacturing facility to its operations portfolio.
Agilent Technologies is to open a new Life Sciences and Chemical
Analysis (LSCA) technical training centre in Shanghai in a move
that reflects the current trend for biotech companies to divert
resources to offshoring operations.
PANalytical, a supplier of analytical instrumentation and software
for X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, has
expanded ibnto Asia with the opening of a Regional Application
Laboratory in Shanghai, China.
Charles River Laboratories saw a double-digit boost in fiscal first
quarter revenues reflecting a jump in operating earnings, helped by
its acquisition of Inveresk Research Group and the emerging trend
in outsourcing preclinical services.
Xantos Biomedicine, NascaCell and PSF biotech have announced the
formation of a collaboration, which is set to identify and develop
new drugs for the inhibition of tumour angiogenesis, a process by
which the growth of blood cells...
Laboratory equipment supplier VWR International - recently sold by
Germany's Merck KGaA - has expanded in Ireland and Puerto Rico,
both hotbeds of the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, via the
acquisition of local companies,...
Sanofi-Aventis subsidiary Sanofi Pasteur, has been awarded a $97m
(€75m) contract to accelerate the production process for new cell
culture influenza vaccines in the US and the design of a US-based
cell-culture vaccine manufacturing...
Euroscreen has announced it has been issued with a US patent, which
relates to a high-throughput screening method of modulators for any
GPCR, calcium-coupled channel or protein.
Denmark-headquartered Niro is finalizing a €10 million investment
programme centred on the expansion of its drying test site, located
at its main facility in Copenhagen, that will extend its reach into
the pharmaceutical sector, reports...
Pharmacogenomics will alter the balance of power in the way drugs
are developed, tested, marketed and prescribed during the next
decade, and the blockbuster business model of big pharmaceutical
companies will eventually give way...
A new high throughput ion channel screening service has been
launched by BioFocus, which will allow pharmaceutical companies to
pre-screen libraries against defined cell lines, identifying target
compounds and limiting the use of...
Qiagen launches a unique siRNA design service that provides a
guarantee that at least 50 per cent of the siRNAs produced will
result in efficient knockdown to the researcher's specific
requirements.
Genaissance Pharmaceuticals expansion of its genetic testing
service comes after it was revealed there are over 50 approved
drugs which prolong the QT interval potentially causing cardiac
arrythmias and safety concerns amongst effective...
Serologicals company, Upstate Group, has introduced a one-of-a-kind
service, which aims to provide drug development companies with
valuable insights into therapies and efficacy within cells.
Biotechnology company Mergen Limited has announced the launch of a
new service reselling DNA microarrays for gene expression analysis.
The service signals a cost effective approach to providing
custom-built microarrays to the market.
US biotechnology start-up Cytovance Biologics has officially opened
for business this month, offering a portfolio of process
development services to support biotechnology companies preparing
to progress products into clinical development.
The rapid growth in the development and commercialisation of new
biological entities (NBEs) has been one of the major trends in the
pharmaceutical sector over the last few years, but their production
can be said to be more of an art...
Tepnel announced it had completed the acquistion of Diaclone
Research adding customisable monoclonal antibodies (mABs),
complimentary reagents and ELISA test kits to its range of life
sciences instrumentation and services.
Inpharmatica has announced a discovery collaboration with Novartis
Institutes for Biomedical Research which is to focus on identifying
protein targets for Novartis' drug discovery projects.
Cell-based assays are set to become the preferred choice of
screening, potentially overtaking more traditional approaches that
include traditional enzyme- or antibody-based assays.