US packaging specialist West Pharmaceutical Services has carried the earnings momentum it generated in the first three months of the year through to the second quarter.
Gerresheimer has formally started the process to sell off its technical plastics business, keeping its promise to exit non-core businesses and focus on more lucrative sectors such as medical and pharmaceutical plastics.
Researchers from India and Japan claim to have developed a compact medical device capable of painlessly monitoring a patients insulin levels and administering the required dose.
Plastic packaging specialist China Bottles (CB) says that nearly two thirds of the $3.3m worth of contracts it signed in June were with pharmaceutical companies based outside its home territory.
3M Drug Delivery Systems believes it has made an advance in the
administration of high potency therapeutics through the skin using
its solid microstructured transdermal system (sMTS).
in-PharmaTechnologist's round-up of developments in the field of
drug delivery, this week includes: a developmental micro-needle
approach for ocular medications; AlphaRx' anti-infective Zysolin
nanoparticles; and OptiNose's...
STMicroelectronics (ST) and Debiotech, which are based in Lausanne
and Geneva respectively, have completed the production of an
evaluation prototype of their insulin Nanopump.
European pharmaceutical manufacturers stepped up calls for a
blanket ban on repackaging of pharmaceuticals last week, suggesting
that this would be the single most effective way to seal the supply
chain for counterfeiting drugs.
Eli Lilly and Rexam are both investing in their French
manufacturing facilities in preparation for the production of an
insulin pen they are developing.
Germany's Uhlmann says that a process offered by its new range of
blister packaging machines that removes the need for an additional
product chain in the cartoner will help drugmakers save time, space
and money.
Ineos Polyolefins hopes that its new Eltex MED low-density
polythene (LDPE) packaging line will provide pharmaceutical
manufacturing firms with a means of meeting the demands of long
term storage.
The impending ban on albuterol inhalers that use chlorofluorocarbon
(CFC) propellants will see branded hydrofluoroalkane (HFA)-based
products completely dominate the US market as, to date, no generic
HFA albuterol has been developed.
A pump-powered nebulizer for delivering vaccinations in the developing world is being worked on by researchers at Aerovax, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Prometheus Laboratories has initiated US Phase II trials of
Colal-Pred, a treatment for ulcerative colitis which uses Alizyme's
drug delivery technology to provide therapeutics solely to the
colon.
GEA Pharma Systems believes that its new Performa P system, which
was presented at this year's Interpack conference in Dusseldorf,
Germany, can help increase output and reduce costs for tablet
manufacturers worldwide.
German-based technology group Schott has formed a joint venture
with Kaisha in an attempt to gain access to the glass primary
pharmaceutical packaging market in India.
New data from an early-stage trial of Vectura's inhaled migraine
candidate VR147 suggest that it could offer significant advantages
over currently-available treatments.
Medidur has been deemed safe by the Data Safety Monitoring Board
(DSMB) for continuation of Phase III clinical trials with no
amendments to the protocol.
US-based drug delivery specialist Alkermes is cutting its losses
following Eli Lilly's decision to scrap the companies' joint
development programme for inhaled insulin.
A new, more patient-friendly presentation of the growth hormone
treatment Omnitrope (rDNA somatropin) has been launched in the US
by Sandoz, the generics division of Swiss-based Novartis.
A disposable autoinjector that incorporates pre-filled syringes to
allow injections to be safely undertaken by patients or
non-clinicians has received FDA approval allowing its creators
access to the lucrative US market.
Merck & Co has signed a $32m deal to evaluate MicroDose
Technologies' dry powder inhalation technology in the delivery of
some of its respiratory product lines.
Bosch Packaging Technology will be rolling out a range of new and
recently launched processing and packaging solutions at the
Interpack 2008 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany this April,
including a new line for high-potency compounds.
Packaging giant Gerresheimer crowned its first year as a public
company with a leap in profits for the fourth quarter of 2007,
helped by its acquisition of plastic specialist Wilden Group.
Copapharm Europe, the pan-European alliance of pharmaceutical
packagers, has significantly raised its game in the Spanish market
with a new member, Artes Graficas Nekar.
In the fight against tuberculosis in Africa a group from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has invented a smart
electromechanical pill box designed to help patients comply with
their treatment.
German pharmaceutical packaging group Gerresheimer has once again
extended its reach in the plastic packaging space, this time
acquiring Allplas Embalagens, the market leader for pharmaceutical
plastic packaging in Brazil.
A new, non-invasive device for monitoring oxygen content in
packaging and other enclosed containers has been launched by US
optical sensing specialist Ocean Optics.
Drug delivery specialist Antares Pharma has landed its fourth deal
with Israeli generics behemoth Teva, this time to develop a novel
pen injector for two Teva products.
Merck Serono intends to forge ahead with severing its investment in
diabetes and either sell or partner out its existing research and
development (R&D) activities in this field, which it no longer
feels able to compete in effectively.
Sanofi-Aventis has opened its first Asian research and development
centre in Goa, India, signalling its ambition to further tap in to
this region's budding pharma scene.
Spanish firm Almirall is working on a new chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment combined with a hi-tech easy use
inhaler, creating what it hopes will be another competitive product
from its in-house pipeline.
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...
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.
Inyx Pharma has been given a new lease on life after it was bought by another UK firm, bringing relief after it was dragged into administration when its US parent company Inyx Inc. ran aground financially.
Boehringer Ingelheim has been forced to announce the planned
closure of a UK manufacturing site as a result of pricing pressures
that mean the firm is unable to produce unit dose vials (UDVs) at
the site cost-effectively.
A major shareholder in Bioenvision could seriously compromise the
biotech company's proposed $345m (€242m) takeover by Genzyme as it
is preparing to vote against the merger arguing the offer is too
low.
Eli Lilly has agreed to fork out $18m (€12.8m) to settle an ongoing
lawsuit with one of its former biotech research partners and in
doing so has avoided a court battle earmarked for next year.
German packaging company Gerresheimer has received recognition for
its packaging expertise again after winning the German Packaging
Award the second year in a row.
UK-based Bespak, one of the two contract manufacturers of Pfizer's
inhaled insulin Exubera, confirmed on Friday it has been approached
by a potential buyer.
