Clariant has announced plans to establish a Technology Centre in
Germany that will support the pharmaceutical industry in the
commercialisation of new drugs.
The lead compound in Merck and Karo Bio's selective oestrogen
receptor modulator collaboration has been dropped after toxicity
emerged preclinical tests.
A new-generation smallpox vaccine developed by Acambis may be less
neurovirulent than a rival registered in the USA, while still
providing equivalent immunogenicity.
BioProgress of the UK, which specialises in delivery mechanisms for
the pharmaceutical oral dosage markets, has sold the first two
machines in its line of systems for tablet coating based on its
proprietary coloured cellulose film.
Fisher Scientific has extended its SK5.3 billion (€573m) offer for
Perbio Science after failing to win the support of more than 90 per
cent of Perbio's investors.
A new report from Datamonitor predicts the end of the
pharmaceutical industry's blockbuster product model, pointing to a
dramatic shortfall in growth rates for billion dollar-plus products
out to 2008.
US antisense specialist Genta has agreed to acquire Salus
Therapeutics, a specialist in small interfering RNA, for up to $30
million in cash and stock. The terms of the agreement call for
Genta to issue $13 million in stock at closing.
A fluorescence imaging technology developed by Siemens promises to
improve the in vivo imaging of molecular processes in drug
discovery and disease research
Abingworth Management, a UK venture capital group, has raised a
$350 million investment vehicle in a move that lends further weight
to suggestions that the funding crisis hitting the biotechnology
sector may be nearing its end.
The genomics industry is already separating into two tiers; the
winners are those focused on targets and drug development and which
have products in or near the clinic, as well as strong
partnerships, says analyst
Bristol-Myers Squibb has filed an IND in the US seeking approval to
start clinical trials of an orally-active p38 MAP kinase inhibitor
for rheumatoid arthritis.
Merck KGaA buys ProteoPlex in a move designed to shore up its
position in the emerging microarray market, estimated to reach $2
billion (€1.76bn) in 2008.
Agilent launches two new products at the ongoing Drug Discovery
Technology meeting, including an LC column to remove high-abundance
proteins from serum and an oligonucleotide mouse microarray to aid
in toxicogenomics research.
Evotec OAI has posted a strong set of figures in the first half of
2003 as operating losses are trimmed by a third and EBITDA enters
positive territory.
The pharmaceutical industry is facing the possibility of earlier
generic competition for its branded products from 18 August, when
new legislation in the USA comes into effect.
The organisers of CORDIA EuropaBio 2003 have revealed the keynote
speakers for the 'largest convention in Europe for trade,
investment, partnership and information exchange'.
Swedish biotech tools company Cellectricon says it has now received
orders from three of the top five pharmaceutical companies for its
Dynaflow microfluidic chip technology for increasing productivity
in the drug discovery process.
The first vaccine targeting the strains of HIV prevalent in
sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where millions of people are infected
with the virus, has started Phase I volunteer studies in the USA.
An Anglo-US team of researchers has unveiled the first structure of
a membrane transport protein; disruptions in the activity of MTPs
are involved in a number of diseases.
Swiss drugmaker Roche has succeeded in developing a crystalline
form of one of its pipeline compounds with the help of a US
company, TransForm Pharmaceuticals, that is applying a
high-throughput approach to form and formulation.
Qiagen has reported strong growth in sales and profits in the
second quarter as last year's acquisitions of GenoVision and
Xeragon start to exert their effects. The company has also signed
two new deals in the area of RNA interference.
Pharmagene has reported a near-doubling in turnover in the first
half of this year, on the back of strong growth in its drug
discovery services division.
Dharmacon has been awarded a US Patent (No 6,590,093) which covers
its proprietary 2'-ACE chemistry for the production of synthetic
RNA oligonucleotides.
GPC reports progress with its anti-MHC class II antibody, with
potential in a range of haematological malignancies, and says it
now has sufficient quantities to start a clinical trials programme.
Botanical drug specialist Phytopharm suffered a setback yesterday
when Pfizer withdrew from a collaboration to develop P57, a drug
for obesity and metabolic syndrome.
The battle to amass intellectual property in the hot area of RNA
interference (RNAi) continues to gain pace, with one of the key
players in the category, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, licensing patents
from the UK's Cambridge Research...
Argonaut sells its HPLC business to Grace Vydac as it refocuses on
supplying consumables for companies working on drug discovery.
Reports reduced losses in first half.
German researchers have developed a technique to speed up the
discovery of medicinal plant compounds, using a combination of
three analysis techniques.
Amersham trimmed its 2003 profit forecast by £40 million (€57m), or
4.1 pence per share, after reporting lower sales and pre-tax
profits for the first half of 2003.
EPIDAUROS Biotechnologie has acquired a non-exclusive licence for
the diagnostic use of one of the most important genetic variants of
the cytochrome P450 2D6 gene.
Tecan second-quarter results reveal some signs of recovery after a
torrid first quarter and the departure of former chief executive
Emile Sutcliffe, with diagnostics holding back an improved
performance in biopharma.
Applied Biosystems has unveiled a gene expression analysis product
that allows researchers to conduct studies on the entire human
genome using a single microarray.
Italy's Abiogen Pharma has licensed rights to two UK-developed
compounds that seem to work via a completely new mechanism of
action for the treatment of anxiety.
The pharmaceutical industry is failing to increase efficiencies in
core areas of its business - such as clinical trials and sales -
because of an enormous pressure from investors to drive revenues,
according to Datamonitor.
