US CRO Biomodels says preclinical research on lubricin suggests the recombinant human protein could form the basis of a new osteoarthritis (OA) treatment.
A spectrum of systems could eventually replace animal testing and provide a more ethical and economical route through preclinical, according to Kate Darley, business development manager at Kirkstall.
Sygnature Chemical Services will provide synthetic chemistry services for Heptares Therapeutics GPCR drug development programme under a deal signed last week.
Epistem says its focus on epithelial stem cell services and growth of its CRO and biomarker businesses helped it to stave off the downturn and post a strong set of financials of the fiscal year ended June 30.
Pharma’s reliance on outsourcing and products developed by biotechs could cause the pace of innovation to “decline considerably”, according to experts that are concerned about the lack of funding for small businesses.
US life science firm Sigma-Aldrich has received a Michael J Fox Foundation (MJFF) grant to create knockout-rat models of Parkinson’s disease (PD) to improve preclinical drug development.
Increased use of adaptive clinical trials and biomarkers will benefit smaller laboratory services companies, according to Pacific Biometrics (PBI) that turned its operating income from loss to profit in fiscal 2009.
A US court has ordered the USDA to disclose 1,017 pages of animal testing documents relating to its investigation into HLS, despite testimonies stating that their release could be detrimental to the CRO’s business.
Quintiles has opened its expanded facility near Edinburgh, Scotland, which has doubled its central lab capacity with the intention of improving the CRO’s service offering in Europe.
LGC Standards has made the “next logical step” in its “concerted effort” to expand internationally by opening an office in St Petersburg, Russia, less than six months after it moved into China.
San Diego’s TriLink BioTechnologies has restarted its contract oligonuclotide radio-labelling service after receiving “anxious phone calls” from pharma customers, according to CEO Richard Hogrefe.
A totally outsourced model of discovery is “probably valid”, according to a report that believes pharma must overhaul its operations because its business model is in danger of becoming “irrelevant”.
Lab Research (LRI) aims to boost its Korean presence in a new agency deal with Safe Chemicals that, CEO Luc Mainville says, will meet growing demand for large molecule contract R&D.
QPS’ bioanalytical laboratory in Taiwan is the first in the country to be certified as compliant with good laboratory practice (GLP) standards by the Department of health (DoH), according to unit president Vincent Yen.
Pharma companies can cut the risk of taking a TKI into Phase I by using the HemoRANK in vitro test, according to ReachBio that has developed the assay to evaluate a molecules clinical hematotoxicity.
In 25 years most biotechs will be virtual, according to a director of preclinical CRO L2D who formed the company with a “completely novel business model” to target this huge growth opportunity.
US contract research organisation (CRO) PPD has set its sights on the Asian biopharma sector with new a lab at the heart of Singapore’s rapidly expanding drug development and trial industry.
Outsourcing to a well known CRO with a good reputation is vital to ensuring that data is well received by regulatory authorities, according to a CEO that just inked a deal for preclinical safety testing.
US firms Xybion Medical Systems and Locus Technology say their new animal management and data analysis partnership will help streamline preclinical development and reduce research costs.
Biotechs that partner or outsource in emerging markets are better equipped to innovate and prosper, according to research that warns “if you are not in Shanghai, Mumbai, or Dubai, watch out".
US contract research organisation (CRO) Advion BioServices has expanded its biomarker business in an effort to meet growing industry demand for pharmacological analysis.
Aushon BioSystems has added laboratory and manufacturing capacity to its corporate headquarters to meet rising demand from clinical trials for some of its protein biomarker services.
US discovery chemistry contractor ChemBridge has made some of its most popular small molecule libraries available on-line through a partnership with preclinical data specialist Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD).
New multi-million dollar R&D contracts with top three pharma and biotech players go someway to “alleviating” the negative impact of downturn, according to Lab Research CEO Luc Mainville.
US CRO and central laboratory services provider Pacific Biometrics (PBI) has entered into a $4m (€2.7m) loan agreement that it says will help further the development of its contract biomarkers business.
By acquiring a stake in India-based RSIPL Evotec believes it can offer clients quicker drug development services, an important aspect of coping with attrition, because larger teams of chemists are available in emerging markets.
Facing “unparalleled” challenges MDS is seeking a buyer for its Pharma Services division, and claims to have begun discussions with two interested parties, to allow it to focus on its Nordion business.
Summit has sold Dextra, its analytical and manufacturing services division, to NZP but believes operating the contract business has been beneficial to its industry standing and R&D capabilities.
Demand for Cerep’s pharmacological profiling services picked up in the second quarter and it believes this, coupled to cost savings and commencement of delayed contracts, will help it improve in the second half of 2009.
Source BioScience (SBS) is eyeing acquisitions and investments in technology after it posted a profit in the first six months of 2009, overturning a loss in the same period of last year.
Sigma-Aldrich is using a novel methodology to create rats with targeted gene deletion in as little as four months, which it believes could eliminate years of research and improve drug development.
US CRO Covance has delayed the construction of a proposed $145m (€102m) preclinical toxicology testing facility at a 47 acre site at the Prince William Technology Park in Virginia.
The British pound’s weakness compared to other EU currencies is benefiting UK-based CROs, according to Lab Research (LRI), which attributed the poor performance of its Danish business to the exchange rate.
Wuxi PharmaTech’s China-based laboratory services grew by 23 per cent in Q2, outstripping expectations and resulting in the company revising its guidance for the business segment.
Millipore has expanded its European biotech services business by acquiring BioAnaLab, a UK-based company that provides analysis of biologics and vaccines.
The threat posed by animal rights activists has been highlighted by an alleged arson attack on the Novartis’ CEO’s lodge, with one group saying their only regret is that he was not home when it burned.
Life Sciences Research’s (LSR) operating income fell by 60 per cent to $4m (€2.8m) in Q2 but believes that the contract research market will improve later this year or in 2010.
Ecron Acunova’s global partnering team had a busy end to July with the Indian CRO entering into collaboration deals on both sides of the Atlantic to further expand its global reach.
Despite some gains, demand for pre-clinical development services at Covance fell for the second quarter running, offsetting progress made by its late-stage trial and laboratory analysis businesses.
In response to rising demand from the pharma industry NeuroScience Associates (NSA) is opening a new laboratory that will quadruple capacity for its brain and spinal cord histology services.
US private equity group Water Street Healthcare Partners (WSHP) says its purchase of AAIPharma’s pharmaceutical development business was a “unique opportunity” to invest in an expanding market.
UK CRO Chiltern International announced positive financial results for the year ending March 2009, possibly suggesting a bounce for a sector that has been hit by project cancellations.
The Oxford, UK, biomarker laboratory facilities of India’s Veeda CR have been taken over by Icon Development Solutions, in a deal which both consolidates existing customer relationships for the buyer and opens up new product areas to focus on.
US contract research organisation (CRO) QPS has been called in by the Taiwanese Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) to provide support services for biotech firms operating in the region.
India and China share many similarities as outsourcing locations but there are also significant differences that are important to understand before making a commitment, according to a report.