Lonza is planning a major exansion of its peptides manufacturing
capacities at Visp, Switzerland, in response to what it said was
'the increased demand for peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients
worldwide'.
Researchers in the US have found that blocking the COX-1, not COX-2
enzyme, might lead the way to prevent and treat the most common and
fatal form of ovarian cancer.
GlaxoSmithKline has signed a consent decree with the US Food and
Drug Administration to correct manufacturing deficiencies at its
Cidra, Puerto Rico facility, but could be in a position to return
two drugs made at the plant to market...
The ongoing Interphex show in New York has seen continued evidence
of the expansion of disposable technologies into areas of
bioprocessing currently dominated by multi-use items, reports
Phil Taylor.
Nanogen has been issued with a European patent, which relates to a
nanofabrication technology combining a manufacturing platform and
nanostructures that is set to broaden Nanogen's position in the
nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing...
Millipore has introduced a single-use prefilter for clarification
steps in mammalian cell synthesis that continues the trend towards
increasing use of disposable technologies in the bioprocessing
environment, reports Phil Taylor.
An electronic nebuliser that matches a product formulation, which
was specifically developed to optimise this device's performance,
marks a new advance in the customisation of drug development and
represents a new aerosol delivery...
Oxford Instruments Molecular Biotools (OIMBL) have introduced an
instrument, which it claims will revolutionise the Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy field by amplifying the baseline
sensitivity of NMR systems by a factor...
Thermo Electron has launched a high performance powder X-ray
diffractometer (XRD) instrument that enables scientists to perform
qualitative and quantitative analyses in central and QA/QC
laboratories with high sample throughput.
Sherwood Technology announces the launch of DataLase Edible, a
solution for laser marking edible products such as pharmaceutical
tablets, which represents a method that is expected to increase
productivity and produce better image...
A research program has released a small molecule binding annotation
and comparison tool, which is expected to accelerate lead
development in antimicrobial drug discovery, as well as allow
chemists to develop safer, more specific...
Researchers have discovered the structural basis for antibiotic
resistance to common pathogenic bacteria, which could herald the
design and development of a new class of antibiotic drugs.
Scientists have identified an enzyme that helps trigger the
development of leukaemia. The discovery, based on research using
bone marrow cells from mice, offers a potential target for new
drugs against this form of leukaemia.
The use of disposable and scalable technologies to purify large
molecule vectors can help manufacturers streamline processes and
overcome many of the unique challenges associated with vaccine
development, according to separations...
Agilent Technologies introduces a high-performance ion trap mass
spectrometer (MS) that allows the identification of 60-80 per cent
more peptides than preceding models in proteomic applications. The
spectrometer will lead to a better...
German informatics firm LION bioscience is to sell its
bioinformatics business, in a move that reflects its ongoing
restructuring plans that has previously seen an employee cut of at
least 50 per cent.
Scientists at US biotechnology firm Cell Genesys have developed a
gene expression technology that could improve the commercial
production of monoclonal antibodies and other complex therapeutic
proteins, reports Phil Taylor.
ESA will officially launch its universal detector for use with high
performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), based on a technology
called CAD (charged aserosol detector), in Europe at the HPLC 2005
exhibition in Stockholm in June.
The fine chemicals business unit of Lanxess, which was spun-out
from Germany's Bayer earlier this year and provides custom
manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and other industries,
has said it plans to expand its geographic...
A portable device makes it possible for the first time ever to take
high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, one of the principal tools for
chemical analysis, out of the laboratory and into the field for use
on samples of any size.
UK chemicals group Avecia is planning to close its biotechnology
centre at Grangemouth, Scotland, by the end of the summer,
resulting in the loss of 95 jobs, reports Phil Taylor.
Scientists have reported the existence of enzyme-inhibiting
chemicals that severely hamper Ebola virus reproduction in
laboratory-grown cells. The discovery could form a basis for
possible drug treatments for Ebola virus infections...
Bio-Rad Laboratories offer to buy BioSource International for
approximately $82 million (€64m) has been rejected again after
BioSource directors concluded that the proposed price was
significantly below BioSource's inherent value.
Agilent has launched a Laboratory Resource Management (LRM) service
for life science and pharmaceutical laboratories that promises to
improve productivity, reduce service costs and simplfy
administration.
Metrohm has launched a new generation of its Capsule and Tablet
Analysis System (CTAS), a unit designed specifically for making and
testing solid dosage samples, claiming the system saves laboratory
personnel time as well as improving...
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell has won a €21.4 million
contract to produce a vaccine against Ebola for the US government's
Vaccine Research Centre, reports Phil Taylor.
Innov-X Systems has launched a range of handheld analysers, claimed
to be the smallest and lightest tube-based X-ray fluoroscopy
spectrometers available, reports Phil Taylor.
Culture media supplier Oxoid has expanded the use of innovative
chromogenicsubstrates within its chromogenic media range to provide
clearly visibleanswers on a single culture plate.
Malvern Instruments will introduce a new pharmaceutical
industry-specific version of its Insitec Voyager particle sizing
system at the Interphex show later this month.
Invitrogen and Agilent have entered into an agreement to co-market
an infectious agent detection system, which has shown to be
sensitive and specific for the identification of air and waterborne
pathogens.
The success of personalised healthcare depends on a better
understanding of how gut microbes interact with different
medicines, according to scientists, who believe that the microflora
makeup of an individual has been overlooked when...
Schweizerhall is well on the way to completing its acquisition of
Cimex Pharma, and as a result completing the first stage of its
transition to become a specialist supplier to the European generics
industry, reports Phil Taylor.
Pfizer's recently acquired UK business Meridica has supplied the
first Xcelodose automated encapsulator system to a contract
research company in North America.
Thermo Electron has updated its XYZ robotic TriPlus Autosampler
(AS) for increased sample throughput for GC and GC/MS applications
in the pharmaceutical, food, fragrance and environmental
laboratories.
Varian has introduced a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe that
for the first time can be used to determine the molecular
structures of proteins and other biomolecules in the solid state.
Pall has launched a new gas filter that should increase safety in
the production of biologic drugs that need to be made in an
oxygen-enriched environment, writes Phil Taylor.
Laboratory equipment supplier VWR International - recently sold by
Germany's Merck KGaA - has expanded in Ireland and Puerto Rico,
both hotbeds of the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, via the
acquisition of local companies,...
A new radio-isotope system that eliminates fraction collection and
allows on-line detection of low-level HPLC peaks, suitable for
pharmaceutical, agrochemical and environmental studies, has been
launched by AIM Research, reports Wai...
Applied Biosystems has launched two new mass spectrometers, which
extend the firm's existing product line providing improved
performance for proteomics and small molecule applications.
Sanofi-Aventis subsidiary Sanofi Pasteur, has been awarded a $97m
(€75m) contract to accelerate the production process for new cell
culture influenza vaccines in the US and the design of a US-based
cell-culture vaccine manufacturing...
Chemineer has launched a new mixer, called the Clean Sweep, which
features a new type of mixing action claimed to prevent
contamination and eliminate particle shedding from mechanical seals
or magnetic drive in-tank bearings.
In response to industry and customer demand, Elsevier is to build
an electronic notebook (ELN) designed for the life sciences
industry and which will significantly reduce cycle time in
biopharmaceutical R&D, writes Wai Lang Chu.
Boehringer Ingelheim and Slovenian company BIA Separations have
collaborated on a new separation and purification system that
should improve the production of plasmid DNA.
UK company Atomising Systems Ltd has completed construction of a
cleanroom facility at its plant in Sheffeld, UK, that will be used
to produce a delivery vehicle used in Brachysil, a candidate drug
for liver cancer.
Thermo Electron has introduced a high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) system - the Finnigan Surveyor Plus - for
high-throughput sample processing.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering has
launched a new technical publication to help pharmaceutical
companies comply with new regulatory requirements on keeping
electronic rather than paper-based records in the...
Danish analytical technology specialist Foss has reported a sharp
increase in organic growth in 2004, helped in part by the merger of
two of Foss subsidiaries, and the introduction of 10 new products
for the world market, reports...