Retailers should let suppliers meet upcoming RFID mandate deadlines
at a gradual pace to avoid creating a tag shortage or costing them
a fortune, says a prominent think-tank.
A report that focuses on Alzheimer's Disease and the crop of new
drugs to treat it, cites neuroprotection as a potential treatment
that may become more effective than the host of symptomatic
treatments currently available.
Sigpack Systems has introduced a new packaging line that it claims
can achieve a 50 per cent performance increase, using reduced
material costs and a return on investment in just six months.
Sherwood Technology has launched a new additive for solvent-based
coatings that could be used to provide a narking technology for
transparent packaging material, such as blisters used for
pharmaceuticals.
Japanese pharmaceutical company, Takeda, has entered into
collaboration with Bionumerik Pharmaceuticals, with the intention
of marketing Bionumerik's Tavocept (dimensa), a chemoprotective
drug that relieves the neurotherapy commonly...
A report cites an emerging trend within the pharmaceutical industry
that focuses on the human proteome and in turn, gene expression.
The findings are certain to play a future in the discovery of
protein-based biomarkers and hence...
Despite the protestations of suppliers, the cost of passive tags
used for radiofrequency identification (RFID) will not fall as low
as 5 cents per unit, and is more likely to be at the 16 cent level,
according to a recently published...
Italian packaging machinery company IMA has expanded its business
in the US market with acquisition of Nova Packaging Systems, which
makes automatic machines for the bottling of capsules and tablets.
Integrated material handling solutions provider FKI Logistex has
expanded its range of conveying surface options to make pallet
loading more adaptable and cost-effective for suppliers.
In the wake of label giant Avery Dennison's recently announced
charge into the radiofrequency identification (RFID) sector, Dan
Scarborough, the group's chief operating officer, has shed more
light on the rationale for the...
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety
and Energy Technology in Germany are developing a compostable
packaging tape that can be disposed of cheaply and creates less
waste.
France's genOway, the company behind the first-ever cloning of a
laboratory rat last year, has reported a double whammy of good
news, raising €4 million in funding and forging an alliance with
the world's number one drugs...
UK supermarket chain Tesco has begun rolling out an RFID network to
track shipments from its central distribution centre to all 98 of
its Tesco Extra superstores, with completion set for Christmas this
year.
A best-selling drug used by millions worldwide to treat arthritis
has been withdrawn from the market after comprehensive clinical
data confirmed long-established concerns that the treatment could
increase the risk of heart attacks...
Medicine containers that talk and give instructions on dosing have
been discussed for a long time, but the first systematic
application of the technology has come from a somewhat unlikely the
source - the US Army.
Sun Microsystems has been working on a number of initiatives
designed to help manufacturers improve supply chain efficiency and
achieve RFID compliance in time.
IBM has announced a $250 million (€203m) investment programme in
radiofrequency identification (RFID) and will boost the number of
employees working in this area by 1,000.
Bonar Plastics has developed a new container for hazardous liquids
that reduces the risk of spillages, is easy and safe for operators
to clean, and can be monitored using wireless technologies.
A new report into pharmaceutical R&D worldwide identifies a
changing trend in increasing R&D focus of drugs for breast
cancer treatment compared with those for prostate cancer. This may
account for prostate cancer becoming...
Labelling giant Avery Dennison has formed a new business unit to
manufacture and sell low-cost radiofrequency identification (RFID)
inlays and tags, putting its weight behind a technology that to
date has mostly been pushed forward...
Videojet Technologies has developed the Videojet Broadcast System
as a cost effective means of helping suppliers meet tight retailer
mandates on RFID implementation.
GE's security business has begun testing a cost-effective container
security solution for use in maritime shipping. The new product is
designed to detect unauthorised access to a container, and can
monitor the container in transit...
Automated packaging developer Bradman Lake is launching its latest
robotic top load cartoner for throughputs of up to 300ppm, an
innovation that the group hopes will build on its international
reputation.
AstraZeneca has installed a new software system to handle its
global packaging and labelling activities in a bid to cut time to
market, maintain regulatory compliance and improve collaboration
and artwork approvals.
Needle free injector specialist Bioject Medical Technologies has
won a new contract to supply its drug vial adaptor product,
designed to make syringe filling completely needle free.
Soaring energy costs are driving up the price of packaging
materials. Anthony Fletcher looks at the state of the market
for polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene.
Cardinal Health says it plans to expand and restructure several of
its facilities around the world after what it describes as
'heightened customer demand for clinical supply services, such as
design, packaging, labelling, storage...
Could environmentally-friendly biodegradable containers made from
wheat starch eventually replace traditional polystyrene-based
products? Only if the price is right, reports Anthony
Fletcher.
Italy's Marchesini has introduced a new packaging system that can
handle safety syringes, which are underused in Europe compared to
the US despite their proven benefits in reducing needlestick
injuries, reports Phil Taylor. It...
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is facing a number of US lawsuits, which
claims the company had covered up negative data that indicated its
antidepressant Paxil might increase suicidal tendencies in young
people.
LINPAC Materials Handling has introduced a reusable container -
designed for pharmaceuticals and food and beverages - that could
allow companies to significantly reduce their shipping costs,
claims the company.
While still a small part of the packaging giant Rexam's overall
business, pharmaceuticals has been instrumental in driving a robust
rise in sales and earnings at the company's plastics division in
the first half of the year.
Chemical giant BASF has increased the price of its styrene polymers
Polystyrene (PS), Terluran (ABS) and Luran (SAN) by €250 per metric
ton in Europe as of 1 September, blaming a continuing erosion in
margins caused by further increases...
Potential cost savings from the use of radiofrequency
identification (RFID) will spur increasing use of the technology
within pharmaceutical company supply chains during the next 18
months, according to new research.
In its first set of financial results after failing to find a buyer
for its pharmaceutical division, Danish packaging firm Superfos has
reported a healthy increase in earnings helped by the resolution of
delivery problems that plagued...
Swedish packaging technology company Cypak has raised SEK30 million
(€3.3m) in its fourth major round of funding, and says it will use
the proceeds to accelerate its product development efforts.
A soon-to-be published reference book that highlights the
compliance of Wal-Mart's suppliers with its RFID model says that
the system is set to change the rules of the global supply chain.
Researchers at Newcastle's Centre for Life have been given the
go-ahead to create stem cells from unfertilised human eggs, thought
to be the first time that such a license has been granted in
Europe.
Japan-based engineering firm Teikoku Piston Ring has developed a
hologram identification label that brings anti-counterfeiting
packaging to new levels.
US pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) is to pay $150
million (€122 million) to settle an investigation in which
regulators claimed the company gave investors an inaccurate
representation of its financial performance by...
Two UK packaging machinery engineers, Autowrappers and Europack,
have been bought by Bradman Lake to create a packaging company that
can supply a full range of machinery and compete with the big
players in the pharmaceutical and food...
Chemical giant BASF has increased the prices for its plastic
material Styrolux by €200 per metric ton in Europe as of 1 August,
blaming the rising cost of raw materials.
The advent of smaller, less expensive marking and engraving lasers
means that packaging firms can expect better performances, claims
Purex marketing manager Jon Young. But in all cases, some form of
fume extraction system is still...
The first grants given in the UK for drug development in early
phase clinical experiments have been awarded to gene therapy trials
that may herald a breakthrough in intra-abdominal cancer which has
an average survival rate of less...
In a defiant gesture to animal activists, Britain's pharmaceutical
companies have joined forces to launch a £4m research fund to
finance animal experiments in universities.
Celera Diagnostics announced it has entered into a collaboration
with Merck to identify novel targets for drug discovery and
diagnostic markers related to Alzheimer's disease.
Packaging machinery company Thiele Technologies has launched an
automatic packer system that is specifically designed for use by
the pharmaceutical and food industries.