After receiving a grant of $3.9m (€3m) from the US government,
British biotechnology firm Avecia has put together a consortium of
four companies to develop a version of its anthrax vaccine with
increased stability so it works without...
US biotechnology firm Bio-Bridge Science, whose ambition is to
develop an HIV vaccine, has finished major construction of a good
manufacturing practice (GMP) research and manufacturing facility in
Beijing.
Biotechnology firm Invitrogen has opened a new facility in New York
which can make its Advanced Granulation Technology (AGT) media
totally free of animal origin components while addressing key
bottlenecks in drug production.
Drug delivery firm Egalet has asked SP Medical, a manufacturer of
moulded plastics and coatings, to make sufficient clinical grade
quantities of its therapeutics using injection moulding, which
allows for greater uniformity and reproducibility...
A study that has uncovered core functional differences between a
new oestrogen receptor could form the basis of novel and
potentially more effective treatments of breast cancer as
researchers sought to utilise this therapeutic target.
Nastech has secured a contract with Procter & Gamble (P&G)
to ramp up manufacturing capacity for a new needle-free drug to
beat osteoporosis, in anticipation of meeting expected global
demand once the product is approved.
Scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in the fight
against HIV drug resistance by developing a drug that is the first
in a new class of HIV drug candidates called Maturation Inhibitors.
SurModics has licensed its advanced hydrophilic coating technology
to Xtent for use in the delivery system of its novel drug-eluting
stent (DES) system, designed to reduce the time, complexity and
cost of coronary stent procedures.
Biotechnology firm Gilead has acquired Raylo Chemicals, a Canadian
production unit of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and
advanced intermediates, from Degussa for €115m, seeking to bring
more manufacturing capacity and expertise...
Looking to add active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and
intermediates to its Chinese portfolio, Degussa has acquired a
majority stake in the Chinese fine chemicals firm Lynchem, allowing
it to target the pharma industry more competitively.
PowerMed has demonstrated the immunogenicity of an influenza DNA
vaccine for the first time in humans using a new drug delivery
system and claims it may serve as a cost-effective weapon against
bird flu.
UK novel drug delivery developer Vectura and UK venture capital
firm Unilever Ventures have jointly established a new speciality
pharmaceutical company focusing on oral and transdermal drug
delivery systems.
Major drug companies across the US are in process of reformulating
their over-the-counter cold medications in time for a new law that
comes in to effect later this year restricting the sale of drugs
that contain pseudoephedrine.
Bioxel, a company which manufactures and markets taxane active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in chemotherapeutic drugs,
has turned to two contract manufacturing companies to scale up
production.
German biopharma firm Sandoz has won a landmark first-of its-kind
biosimilar drug approval in the US after a long battle with the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The decision could open the
floodgates for generics manufacturers...
SAFC Supply Solutions has introduced new phosphoramidites and
ancillary reagents for oligonucleotide (oligo) synthesis, promising
consistent quality, tight specifications and reliability.
Sigma-Aldrich introduces its signal transduction protein array for
high-throughput functional screening, which is set to play a major
role in identifying proteins that are involved in cellular
processes including proliferation, differentiation...
BASF is targeting the pharma industry at ChemSpec this June with
new intermediates, catalysts and raw materials that promise to make
customers' syntheses less complex and time-consuming as well as
more cost-effective.
The Tampa-based formulation development laboratory of MDS Pharma
Services has split from its parent company and formed a new firm
with the technology to get active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
directly into capsules.
India's Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals has snapped up the
Swiss-based pharmaceutical services business, Carbogen and Amcis,
of financially-troubled US chemical firm Solutia for the sum of
$74.5m (€58m).
A new drug discovery approach, which essentially reverses the
process of drug compound screening promises a increased efficiency
in drug discovery whilst keeping costs down to a minimum.
Bioprogress has signed a development agreement with emerging
speciality pharmaceutical company Uluru to combine their film
technologies in order to create an edible film which allows
sustained release of active ingredients.
Biophan has filed the first patent to come out of its newly-formed
relationship with NaturalNano to develop new and improved ways of
controlled-release drug delivery.
India's Ranbaxy Laboratories has stepped up its efforts to dominate
the domestic novel drug delivery system (NDDS) market, in-licensing
two new drugs from Europe in as many weeks.
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has given Sanofi Pasteur the
green light to market a childhood vaccine containing Delta's
Recombumin, a recombinant human albumin which offers the world's
first and only animal-free alternative...
Phosphagenics is constructing a new tocopheryl phosphates
manufacturing plant in Melbourne, Australia - a project that paves
the way for future licensing agreements and could encourage the use
of its technology in more nutraceutical...
A new polymer drug delivery technology developed by Dutch firm
OctoPlus has cleared Phase I trials for the first time, showing
promise in a new controlled release treatment of chronic hepatitis
C.
Specialty chemicals group H&R Wasag witnessed tremendous growth
in the first quarter of 2006, as stable crude oil prices allowed it
to increase prices and volumes in the pharmaceutical raw materials
it sells.
German biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has clinched
a licencing deal for XstalBio's formulation and stabilisation
technology which can be applied to the delivery of biomolecules via
a number of routes, including...
As it prepares for the launch of GlaxoSmithKline's beta-blocker
Coreg (carvedilol) with a controlled release formulation, drug
delivery company Flamel saw its bottom line, in the absence of new
partners, shift deep into the red...
Under pressure to ensure cheap supplies of its flu drug in Africa
in preparation for a possible avian influenza, Roche has asked
contract manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare to produce finished doses of
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) in Africa.
SAFC Biosciences has unveiled an analogue of insulin specifically
designed for the large-scale manufacturing of recombitant
biopharmaceuticals, promising security of supply and product
consistency.
Scientists at Atugen, a German-based firm, have successfully used a
new RNA interference (RNAi) technology to reduce tumour growth and
spread, according to new research published.
Surface modification firm SurModics has acquired Intralytix's
polyester-amide (PEA) biodegradable polymers, boosting the
company's capacity for specific drug delivery, a capability in high
demand by its customers.
Vaccine developer Iomai has announced results of a clinical trial
showing its new dry patch formulation for travelers' diarrhea can
trigger a stronger immune response than its wet patch, promising a
vaccine that is easier to...
European researchers have unlocked more secrets of how the HIV and
SARS virus operates, which if exploited could be the starting point
for a host of effective antiviral drugs that combat the virus'
mechanism of action.
Chemicals and nutrition group DSM has reported strong profits for
the first quarter in 2006, including in its pharma business, as
higher prices and lower costs have helped it overcome the increase
in raw material costs.
A research team think that they have discovered a new mechanism
that details the role of sugar in cell communication, which paves
the way for the development of drugs for cancer and rheumatism.
Targeting the market for enantiomerically pure drugs, SAFC, a
custom manufacturing group within Sigma-Aldrich, has acquired
Honeywell International's Iropharm unit in Arklow, Ireland.
While European producers of active pharmaceutical ingredients
(APIs) will see their share of the global market fall in the next
few years, Asian markets are growing at phenomenal rates, with
India set to supplant Italy as the second...
German chemicals giant BASF saw its profits surge in the first
quarter of 2006 on the back of high oil and gas prices, yet its
fine chemicals unit was hit by the increased cost of raw materials
and energy, making further price increases...
A new initiative that could see the world's major pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies team up with a major cancer
organisation to research and develop new anti-cancer drugs has been
unveiled.
A large-scale process, which focuses on highly purified and high
viral titer vectors, may facilitate the fast track development of
Adenovirus and AAV-based recombinant DNA vaccines for diseases such
as the Avian Flu.
After failing to reverse falling sales at its Pharmaceutical Fine
Chemicals (PFC) division, Clariant has decided to sell the unit to
private equity firm Towerbrook for around SFr110m (€70m).
Contract manufacturer Dalton has announced the completion of its
oligonucleotide (oligos) manufacturing facility, in a $500,000
(€400,000) investment drive to dominate pilot and large-scale DNA
and RNA oligo synthesis.
Speciality pharma company Bioprogress has launched new anti-snoring
and caffeine products based on its edible film drug delivery
technology, offering an effective alternative to conventional
formulations.
The UK's chemical industry has given a cautious welcome to the
government's national allocation plan (NAP) for Phase 2 of the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), warning pharma could see a rise in
the price of active pharmaceutical...
Bespak is now ramping up manufacturing of Chiesi Farmaceutici's new
dry powder inhaler (DPI), in preparation for clinical trials of the
device in patients with asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease).
Chemicals firm Lonza has vowed to spend $200m (€160m) over the next
few years to expand in southern China, further limiting its
dependence on external suppliers of intermediates and active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
Scientists think that their latest discovery could result in the
production of new drugs to treat Kaposi sarcoma tumour growth,
which is the most frequent tumour in AIDS patients and is caused by
infection of the patients with the...
