Catalent Pharma Solutions, the firm born from the spin out of
Cardinal Health's contract manufacturing business, is reorganising
its production facilities with an expansion of its UK site and the
divestiture of some of its French...
Sanofi-Aventis hopes it can buck a pharma industry trend of
declining numbers of new drugs with potentially 31 new drug
submissions over the next 3 years.
US biotech Medarex has announced it has extended its licensing deal
with Centocor, giving the firm continued access to its antibody
production technology.
Novo Nordisk, Rheosciences, ImClone, Omrix Biopharmaceuticals,
Biogen Idec and Human Genome Sciences, have all had people on the
move in the biotech world.
PDL Biopharma has seen a week of drama after announcing a
restructure that left its key investor calling for the company
chairman to resign, a week after its CEO also decided to step
down after similar pressure.
A long-acting biologic being co-developed by Novartis to treat
chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has triggered a $40m (€29.3m)
milestone for its development partner after clearing Phase II
trials in April.
A US judge has backed Amgen's court motion, ruling that Roche's
Mircera infringes one of its composition patents. Roche is standing
firm against the allegations.
Investment mogul Carl Icahn could get ready to buy further shares
of biotech company Biogen Idec after getting the green light from
the competition regulators.
The UK's drug reimbursement watchdog has given the green light for
the first time to a treatment specifically for multiple sclerosis
(MS) and also gave the thumbs up to two arthritis drugs, all of
which are biologics.
A global packaging firm has hooked up with a company specialising
in electronic disease management solutions to develop a new
generation of electronically-enhanced pharmaceutical packaging.
The Medical House (TMH) has sold its SQ-PEN needle-free insulin
injector business as it moves away from supplying the product to
private individuals to focus more on its drug delivery systems
business.
Pharmaceutical packaging and processing machinery specialist IMA
has announced its half year results, with its active expansion
plans paying dividends and its pharma business going strong.
IBM has launched a new ePedigree system to attack the problem of
drug counterfeiters and to help companies adhere to the emerging
track and trace regulations.
Outsourcing Services Group (OSG) has announced it has sold its
contract manufacturing subsidiary OSG Norwich Pharmaceuticals to a
US private equity firm for an undisclosed amount.
Sanofi-Aventis' disposable insulin pen SoloStar has been launched
across the US for use with the company's 24-hour basal insulin
Lantus (insulin glargine), despite patent infringement claims
emanating from fellow insulin...
A novel spring-powered inhaler system to deliver the blockbuster
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) treatment Spiriva
(tiotropium) has successfully completed the EU approval process,
paving the way for its introduction into...
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced the creation of the second of
its two new business units, Nabi Pharmaceuticals, a month after
spinning off its Biologics segment.
Despite numerous media reports of an impending patent infringement
suit, Sanofi-Aventis has yet to formally hear anything from
plaintiff Novo Nordisk, who claims the French firm's SoloStar
insulin pen violates patents covering...
The world's number two manufacturer of rubber components for
pharmaceutical products, Helvoet Pharma, has broken ground on a new
facility that promises to double or even triple its capacity to
supply the fast-growing markets...
German packaging firm Gerresheimer has been awarded another prize
for its innovative safety-conscious rigid needle shield, this time
winning the World Packaging Organisation's renowned WorldStar
award.
Start-up UK biotech firm Circassia technology has had a major
result in bagging 30-year industry veteran and former
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) chairman, Sir Richard Sykes, as its new
chairman of the board.
British contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) NextPharma
Technologies has announced a €30m fundraising round and the
acquisition of Bioserv, another CMO based in the US.
A new recombinant combo treatment that could help some of
the rising number of women experiencing fertility problems,
has now been approved for use in the Europe.
The finishing touches are being added to the new Bradman Lake
Group's packaging machinery facility in Norwich, Norfolk, as the
company continues on its global expansion plan.
Bespak, one of the two contract manufacturers of Pfizer's inhaled
insulin Exubera, has announced it will cut a "significant" number
of jobs as sales of the once-touted blockbuster are falling short
of expectations.
US biotech company Alexion has been given the green light by
European regulators to market its new orphan drug Soliris
(eculizumab) - the first therapy to be approved under the EU's new
fast-track review process.
Microtest Laboratories and Texcel Medical have teamed up to offer
biopharma firms services to help them overcome the hurdles of
developing "combination products" - a fast-growing market.
The contract manufacturing business that Cardinal Health sold
earlier this year has just been launched as an independent
operating company rebranded as Catalent Pharma Solutions.
US pulmonary drug delivery specialist Respirics has decided to sell
its assets relating to its MD Turbo product to focus on its
Acu-Breathe powder inhaler platform.
Major packaging player Rexam this morning announced that it will be
scooping up the plastics business of beleaguered firm
Owens-Illinois in a deal worth almost $2bn (€1.5bn).
Schreiner MediPharm, a leading manufacturer of 'intelligent' labels
has chosen Datalase's flagship Packmark printing technique for its
customers in the pharma industry.
Amgen will strengthen its drug portfolio aimed at fighting renal
disease after agreeing to acquire Ilypsa, a private biotechnology
company which is developing a novel drug for the treatment of
elevated blood phosphate (hyperphosphataemia)...
A magic bullet for the pharmaceutical supply chain has entered the
stage as radio frequency identification (RFID) technology attempts
to fix up its teething problems.
Alcan Packaging Kreuzlingen is the latest company to receive
certification for the new ISO standard for primary packaging,
becoming the first flexible packaging firm in the world to achieve
the accreditation.
With Asia increasingly becoming the destination of choice for
manufacturers and the domestic market blossoming, a major
components manufacturer has singled out its Singapore facility for
a multi-million dollar expansion.
UK biotech firm Acambis has decided to bring the manufacturing of
its soon to be approved smallpox vaccine in-house while its
agreement with contract manufacturer Baxter comes to an end.
Bosch Packaging Technology has launched the FLT1020 vial filling
system, a scaled-down version of full-sized filling units that is
geared specifically to use in the early stages of clinical trials.
Swiss drug major Roche is facing a delay in bringing its EPO drug
Mircera (continuous erythropoietin receptor activator) to market in
the US after the Food and Drug Administration sent it an
'approvable' notice for the product.
A UK-based technology company is part of a trio leading the way in
innovative supply chain solutions by combining real-time
temperature monitoring with a radio frequency identification (RFID)
tag for the pharmaceutical industry.
The decision of the US Supreme Court not to hear Amgen's appeal in
a patent infringement case against Sanofi-Aventis and Shire,
involving the anaemia drug Epogen (epoetin alfa), may weaken
Amgen's position in keeping another...
Outsourced pharmaceutical R&D spending is set to increase
at twice the expected rate of general R&D expenditure
for the next five years, according to new research published this
week.
