The Japanese regulatory authority has approved the JRS Pharma's
ProSolv excipient - designed to make it easier and cheaper to make
high-quality tablets - for use in pharmaceutical formulations.
The European Commission has announced a collaborative tuberculosis
research initiative, underpinned by €32 million in funding for two
overlapping research projects aimed at developing an improved
vaccine for the disease. The news...
The pharmaceutical industry looks set to be one of the key areas of
contention for the two US Presidential candidates as they square
off ahead of the election in November.
An application that will enable direct measurement of nucleic acids
without the need for amplification has been developed by US
Genomics. The application will also allow researchers to perform
validation and characterization of specific...
Germany's Munich Biotech has reported encouraging data on a new
cancer treatment that takes a tried and tested drug and improves
its safety and efficacy, according to preliminary trial results.
Benitec, the Australian biotechnology firm, has launched patent
infringement suits in a US district court against Nucleonics,
Ambion, and Genscript, alleging that the three companies are
infringing a US patent concerning gene silencing...
A simple urine sample could soon be used to predict the complex
toxic effects of new drugs potentially making clinical trials
safer, more effective, and saving the industry millions of euros.
Germany's Evotec Neurosciences, a subsidiary of Evotec OAI, has
licensed rights to a patent portfolio developed by Roche that
covers a promising - but elusive - drug target for central nervous
system (CNS) disorders, reports...
The enlargement of the European Union to include 10 new countries
has raised fears about the impact this could have on issues such as
parallel imports and intellectual property protection, but it could
reinvigorate the industry in...
Researchers in the US have developed a drug delivery technology
that could improve the treatment of cancer, avoid side effects and
even report back on the success of treatment.
Access Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement with an unnamed US
partner for a drug delivery system based on nanoparticle aggregates
that can be used to formulate proteins that are degraded by
solvents.
Switzerland's Novartis has confirmed that it is interested in
joining with Aventis, but will not proceed with a formal bid unless
the French government draws back from its hostile stance on a
link-up, reports Phil Taylor.
US-based biotechnology company Human Genome Sciences is planning to
set up the first protein manufacturing facility in India in
collaboration with local companies.
The opening up of the European market for thermal cyclers earlier
this month has been followed swiftly by the launch of a new product
in the category from Germany's MWG Biotech, reports Phil
Taylor.
Researchers in France and the US have used a technique known as
click chemistry to discover potent new inhibitors of
acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that serves as a drug target in
Alzheimer's disease, writes Phil Taylor.
The pharmaceutical industry in the UK could face a recruitment
crisis if more is not done to encourage students to opt for science
and engineering courses, according to the Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry, writes...
The UK government has promised to protect the large funding
increases for science announced in the country's last Spending
Review and pledged more investment under a new 10-year strategy for
science.
A new machine from Ultrasonic Scientific promises to revolutionise
the analysis of chemical reactions by requiring only a tiny amount
of sample, an important consideration when testing expensive
biologic compounds.
A brand new chemical genomics facility, one of the first academic
small molecule screening facilities in Europe, has been opened by
the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the German
Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg,...
Fisher Scientific and Apogent Technologies are to merge in a $3.7
billion (€3.01bn) deal that will double Fisher's footprint in the
high-growth life sciences equipment market, reports Phil
Taylor.
The US Food and Drug Administration is to develop a blueprint for
speeding up the approval of new medical products to counteract the
slowdown in R&D productivity in the pharmaceutical industry,
writes Phil Taylor.
A new treatment approach could one day make it possible to reverse
the paralysis that can occur after spinal cord injuries, which
occur in around 11,000 people in Europe every year.
A team of scientists in the US have identified a molecular target
in which could herald the formation of the first pharmacological
therapy for treating amphetamine addiction, which is estimated to
affect around 9 million Americans,...
A new activity-based proteomics screening technique has allowed
scientists to identify active targets and simultaneously screen for
their inhibitors. The screening technique has already revealed that
orlistat, an anti-obesity drug,...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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...
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a new rule that
makes it a requirement for most prescription and some
over-the-counter pharmaceutical products to carry bar codes. The
move is aimed at reducing the number of medication...
