Pfizer is looking to Asia for both R&D and manufacturing
outsourcing and to help it cut costs in a bid to mitigate the
effects of patent expiries and competition from generic drugs.
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.
The World Economic Forum has announced this year's 'Technology
Pioneers', firms which have developed a life-changing technology
innovation that has the potential for long-term impact on both
business and society.
Veeco's patent infringement case against Asylum Research is set to
go to court after a US Court ruled that three of Veeco's atomic
force microscopy (AFM) patents were potentially being breached.
Merck has settled on a site in south east Ireland for a new
vaccines and biologics facility, investing €200m ($280m) in its
third facility on the island.
Specialty pharmaceutical company Akorn has signed up with
India-based Cipla in an exclusive manufacturing and supply
agreement for an undisclosed inhaled drug.
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.
Researchers have developed a nanoparticle signalling system that
can be used as cellular 'nano-flares' that enable the visualisation
and quantification of RNA in living cells.
The official report into good manufacturing practice (GMP) failures
that caused dangerous contamination and a Europe-wide recall of
Roche's HIV drug Viracept (nelfinavir) claims the firm simply did
not understand its own manufacturing...
The quest for more efficient methods of generating biofuels has
been boosted by a metagenomic study of the gut bacteria that enable
termites to digest wood.
Recipharm has come to rescue of UK-based Ashton Pharma, which has
been nervously awaiting to discover its fate, having spent five
months in administration after its former owners Inyx Inc. suffered
major financial woes.
Geneart has launched the first fully on-line gene construct design
and ordering system, dubbed Mr Gene, which is targeting the
emerging 'low-price' segment of the synthetic biology market.
Pfizer's revelation this week that it plans to slice jobs in Puerto
Rico is the latest in a string of blows for this popular offshore
manufacturing location.
NanoSight's particle size analysers have found in a new home in the
laboratories of 'nanotoxicologists' due to their ease of use and
rapid ability to size and count individual nanoparticles.
Contract pharmaceutical development company Azopharma has carved
out its drug delivery segment into a new company, APIcross Drug
Delivery Technologies.
After a clinical hiccough five months ago set Coley
Pharmaceutical's drug development funding back several years,
Pfizer has stepped in to save the day, snapping up the biotech for
$164m.
Australian proteomics fluorescence expert Fluorotechnics has
acquired ETC Elektrophorese-Technik to gain access to the company's
electrophoresis expertise and product lines.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given stakeholders an
extra month to get their views in on scrapping epinephrine inhalers
containing CFCs.
Pfizer yesterday announced a multi-million dollar pay-off to
ex-partner Nektar Therapeutics, but the details of the deal reveal
not only Nektar's concerns for its future, but also that Pfizer is
still keeping its fingers in the...
As of next year Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers will face a
tougher time gaining good manufacturing practice (GMP)
certification after the country's regulator signalled new and
stricter standards were on the way.
NPIL Pharma last week told workers at its former Pfizer plant in
Morpeth, UK that the company is considering hiving off jobs in a
bid to maintain the site's viability.
Applied Biosystems and BioTrove have signed a licensing and
collaboration agreement to commercialise an analysis platform for
high-throughput (HT) genotyping applications.
Artel's third 'Extreme Pipetting' expedition went to Death Valley,
US, to see the size of errors that dry heat would introduce to
pipetted volumes and found they could be as high as 35 per cent.
Swedish construction firm Skanska today announced that it has been
awarded a multi-million dollar contract to expand a pharmaceutical
facility in the US, though the company is keeping the identity of
its client close to its chest.
AstraZeneca's axe has made its latest appearance in South Africa,
with the sale of a packaging plant and the formation of an
outsourcing deal with its new owners.
Agilent has signed a definitive agreement to acquire automation
expert Velocity11 for an undisclosed amount to enable it to speed
up drug discovery and genomics research.
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.
Researchers from Amgen have published results detailing a method
that improves the analysis of the sugar groups attached to
monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and proteins.
A new report highlights a number of worrying trends emerging in
regard to the increasing number of fake pharmaceuticals
infiltrating supply chains around the globe.
A new Belgian company has joined the throng of pharmas tapping into
the booming drug delivery business, but claims that its unique
technologies will carve it a place as one of the industry's key
players.
Scientific instrument and vacuum technology supplier Varian has
acquired the assets of US flash chromatography expert Analogix for
$11m (€7.6m) cash plus the assumption of its net debt.
Japan will only be receiving 50 per cent of its usual supply of the
blockbuster flu drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) this year, thanks to
significantly reduced demand following reports of suicidal
behaviour in adolescents taking the medication.
Despite Genentech's recent decision to push out the cut-off date to
ban the sale of cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) to compounding
pharmacies in the US to restrict off-label use, ophthalmologists
still find the firm's...
Nikon has launched a new inverted microscope range that promises to
more than half the time of an imaging experiment while enabling
more simultaneous applications.
After selling of its genomics business to Ocimum Biosolutions, Gene
Logic is to change its name to Ore Pharmaceuticals as it looks to
mine out new indications for drugs.
There are lessons to be learned about the importance of rigorous due diligence of pharma contractors, now that Inyx' customers are facing possible supply issues and a scramble to find alternative manufacturers after the firm's collapse.
Summit (formerly VASTox) has signed a $450,000 (€312,000) deal with
one of the world's top five pharma firms to enable it to use
Summit's zebrafish-platform in its drug safety programme.
Thermo Fisher Scientific saw revenues for the third quarter of 2007
rise to $2.4bn (€1.7bn) with its Analytical Technologies division
growing 12 per cent with quarterly sales of $1.04bn.
