Continued weakness in the market for products used in the
manufacture of biologic drugs was the main reason why Millipore
experienced a 'challenging' quarter, according to CEO Martin
Madaus.
US-based BioDuro and The National Center for Safety Evaluation of
Drugs (NCSED) in Beijing have received full accreditation from the
Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal
Care International (AAALAC).
In this week's review of activity within the preclinical research
services arena, news has emerged involving MIR Preclinical
Services, Commonwealth Biotechnologies and Innogenetics.
PPD, INC Research, Parexel, Cato Research, Pacific Biomarkers and
Discovery Laboratories have all had people on the move in the world
of pharmaceutical outsourcing.
Genomic services firm Expression Analysis has purchased the
first-ever commercially-available technology to allow the
sequencing of a single molecule of DNA, without amplification.
Applied Biosystems has sequenced a human genome for just $60,000 in
a project that significantly undercuts the $100,000 milestone
achieved by the industry and setting the scene for a price war
between DNA sequencing tool specialists.
Eli Lilly has again teamed up with Indian research firm Suven Life
Sciences in a deal that will focus on preclinical research of
molecules in the therapeutic area of central nervous system (CNS)
disorders.
Europe's Novasecta has formed an alliance with Chinese contract
research organisations (CROs) Sundia Meditech and HD BioSciences to
provide their R&D services to European mid-sized biopharma
firms.
WaferGen has launched a new subsidiary in Kedah, Malaysia, with the
express purpose of overseeing research and development of its
real-time PCR system.
AstraZeneca has announced a new collaboration with the University
of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center as it steps up its reliance on
external partners.
New UK Government proposals to scrap Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief
will stifle life science innovation, according to a group of
biotech small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Galapagos' services arm has scored another lucrative contract from
big pharma - its first in the field of oncology - as it continues
to broaden its experience.
US-based MPI Research and China's Shanghai Medicilon have formed a
joint venture in preclinical services, as they position themselves
to cash in on what is a budding market sector in China.
Sanofi-Aventis has decided to pull out of its skin cancer
collaboration with IDM Pharma, leaving the Californian biopharma
firm considering job cuts as a way to lower costs.
A team of US researchers have uncovered a cocktail of three drugs
that could be effective at treating every patient with a particular
type of brain cancer that typically has a dismal prognosis.
Pfizer, the world's largest pharma firm, has reached into its
pockets to buy CovX, a privately-held US biotech that specialises
in combining the strengths of peptides and antibodies into new
drugs.
Scientists have discovered a potential new drug target that will prick up the ears of sportsmen and athletes alike. Not that this is an performance-enhancing drug; instead, it could help athletes recover from injury more quickly.
The technology used to decipher an organism's gene sequence has
come on in leaps and bounds this year. So much so that the US
National Institutes of Health (NIH) has now released funds to
create new tools to analyse this wealth...
US biopharma firm Alba Therapeutics has received a boost to its
coffers after Shire agreed to pay up to $325m (€226m) to help bring
its lead gastrointestinal drug candidate to market.
The creation of a new 'super cell' that can stand firm against one
of the newest types of cancer therapy could shed new light on how
to treat patients if they become resistant to these drugs.
Merck Serono intends to forge ahead with severing its investment in
diabetes and either sell or partner out its existing research and
development (R&D) activities in this field, which it no longer
feels able to compete in effectively.
Japanese drugmaker Eisai has agreed to buy US biopharma firm MGI
Pharma for $3.9bn (€2.7bn) in a bid to expand its US presence and
strengthen its oncology pipeline.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is the latest drug firm to involve Galapagos
in a new development partnership, in a deal worth up to €218m for
the Belgian biotech.
Morphosys has landed in the money after scoring a lucrative 10 year
antibody development deal with Novartis and as a result, will now
place all its eggs in one basket and cut ties with its
fee-for-service customers.
Sanofi-Aventis recently admitted it needed to increase the number
of biotech compounds in its pipeline and now, true to its word, the
French pharma heavyweight has signed a big antibody deal with US
biotech Regeneron.
Japanese drugmaker Astellas has agreed to acquire US biotech firm
Agensys as part of its plan to ramp up antibody research,
especially in the field of cancer.
GVK Bio has reinforced its claim to be India's top contract
research organisation with a 100-crore ($25m) push from a private
investment company. The funds will be used to expand its drug
discovery services and push further into...
Merck & Co. and its partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals have stopped
enrolling cancer patients to the clinical trial of its aurora
kinase trial after one patient suffered heart problems.
Scientists have discovered that a protein called cystatin C can
prevent damaging Alzheimer's plaques from forming by keeping their
constituent protein water soluble.
Celgene has agreed to pay $2.9bn for Pharmion in the hope of
becoming a 'global leader in the haematology and oncology field',
but do the company's pipelines match up well together?
China's second largest contract research organisation (CRO)
ShangPharma has attracted $30m (€21m) from US private
investment firm TPG as the Asian pharma market continues to simmer.
A new 3D model of the human liver that even has its own blood
supply could pump new life into drug safety tests by predicting
problems earlier and cut down on animal experiments.
Tripos Discovery Research (TDR) has risen from the ashes
surrounding the liquidation of its previous owners Tripos, Inc. to
land a 'library enrichment' deal with Schering-Plough.
US-based Aveo Biopharmaceuticals is hoping to prove its R&D
strategy can buck high industry failure rates when trying to design
new cancer drugs and it seems to be working after its lead drug has
passed a first-in-man trial with...
NanoImaging Services has opened what it claims is a first of its
kind fee-for-service imaging business to enable structural
characterisation and validation of biological drugs throughout the
development pipeline.
Merck & Co has inked a deal potentially worth over $507m
(€346m) with GTx over a new class of drugs to treat muscle loss
conditions, especially those caused by cancer.
It was supposed to keep Pfizer at the top of the cardiovascular
drug tree, but when torcetrapib failed, other pharma firms
developing similar drugs looked on nervously to see if their drugs
were also doomed. A new study suggests they...