US services provider Frontier Biosciences has announced that it has
bought a majority stake in a China-based preclinical contract
research organisation (CRO).
The second generation of a new class of HIV drugs have entered
clinical trials and could prove more difficult for HIV to develop
resistance to, according to developers Panacos.
The sixth in a series of periodic roundups of drugs that have moved
from preclinical research into clinical testing via the
announcement of a Phase I trial or an application for a trial to
industry regulators.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has stopped development of several drugs,
leaving some industry experts to wonder if the company's cap on
research spending is stifling drug development.
A highly-acquisitive and research-intensive year has left drug
discovery services provider Galapagos further in the red at the end
of its 2006 financial year, although sales soared.
A drug already used to stem bleeding in haemophiliacs cannot be
used to the same effect to treat brain haemorrhages that can cause
strokes, according to its developer Novo Nordisk.
A host of budding drug discovery firms were bestowed with
recognition for their performances during a recently-held 2006
Frost & Sullivan European Healthcare awards ceremony.
Scientists have used a biochemical chip to explain the important
role a certain protein plays in the mating habits of yeast cells.
The finding could lead to new cancer drugs with fewer side effects.
As much of the pharma industry looks to refocus its research and
development, speciality companies can take advantage of compounds
dropped in the reshuffle.
Preclinical and early-phase drug discovery will be the next service
area to take off in India, Dr. Reddy's CEO GV Prasa predicted at a
conference yesterday.
Scientists at Pharmacopeia have stitched together the active parts
of two molecules to form a single drug, which it claims could treat
several cardiovascular diseases more effectively, including kidney
disease caused by diabetes.
Up to 95 clinical trials testing experimental anticancer drugs may
have to be delayed or closed altogether because of federal funding
cuts, according to the Cancer Cooperative Groups.
Invitrogen has decided to sell BioReliance, the 'beleaguered'
pharmaceutical services arm of its business, for less than half the
price they paid for it just three years ago.
Scientists have shown it is possible to mimic the complex stable
structure of natural proteins using a different type of amino acid
building block, potentially opening the door to more effective,
longer-lasting biologic drugs.
The new Metabolomics system from ESA promises to speed up biomarker
discovery and reduce the overwhelming amounts of data often
associated with these studies.
The massive R&D reshuffle Roche announced last week in its
pharmaceutical business will have no impact on any of the company's
outsourcing activities, a company spokesperson said.
A new start up company in the UK has been formed with ambitions to
shape itself into a global early-phase drug development services
group through an acquisition-based strategy.
Scientists have mapped the most important genes associated with the
risk of developing Type II diabetes, bringing a genetic test to
identify those most at risk a step closer.
Scientists have discovered a new method of enhancing the activity
of a protein that can dramatically extend lifespan, opening up the
possibility of a new 'anti-aging' drug.
A naturally occurring molecule helps protect the immune system from
being destroyed by HIV and could open up a new way of fighting the
effects of the virus, according to new research.
AstraZeneca has continued to rapidly refocus and bolster its
biologics pipeline through collaboration deals, this time with a
deal for antibody producing technology.
In this week's review of activity within the preclinical research
services arena, new deals have emerged involving Immunicon,
Novartis, Southern Research Institute and Absorption Systems.
Roche is the latest large pharma company to restructure its
research and development into smaller disease-specific divisions to
help get drugs on the market faster.
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is expanding its research into small
molecules schizophrenia drugs and biopharmaceuticals to treat
haemophilia, having announced three deals in a day earlier this
week.
As SR Pharma and Quark Biotech start clinical trials of a drug that
uses a Nobel Prize winning technique to 'silence' disease-causing
genes, the largest pharma firms are keen to grab a piece of the
action.
In the light of the death of former Russian security agent,
Alexander Litvinenko, pharma companies developing anti-radiation
drugs are increasingly under the spotlight.
Bridge Pharmaceuticals has just launched a new training scheme
between its facilities in the US and China to enable its employees
to cross train in both labs - a potential competitive advantage for
a contract research organisation...
After acquisitions and new products to speed up drug discovery,
winning an award was the icing on the cake for lab automation
specialist Thermo Fisher.
Pfizer has overcome potential competition by buying out BioRexis, a
company developing similar drugs that could prove to be powerful
new diabetes treatments.
A tool that predicts which experimental drugs will ultimately be
approved for release could cut development costs by nearly 40 per
cent, saving pharma companies hundreds of millions per new drug.
Amid 3,000 job cuts, AstraZeneca has invested in hepatitis, obesity
and pulmonary disease drugs as part of a continuing effort to
restructure its business.
After having to abandon a promising experimental hepatitis C
vaccine and shedding over a fifth of its workforce, Coley
Pharmaceutical has announced it will look to outsource future drug
discovery.
Scientists have today unveiled a technique for tipping the balance
in favour of antibiotics in their fight against increasingly
drug-resistant 'superbugs'.
Scientists have revealed a possible reason why the Northwick Park
clinical trial of a drug designed to stimulate the immune system
instead led to multiple organ failure in the human volunteers.
Coley Pharmaceutical has decided to suspend development of its
Hepatitis C drug and will instead concentrate on other innovative
drugs designed to activate the immune system.
