Sugar is a useful excipient for use in medications because of its
ability to mask bitter tastes, but its use in drugs intended for
chronic use, or which reside in the mouth for an extended period,
raises the risk of dental caries.
Switzerland's Lonza has boosted its ability to make active
pharmaceutical ingredients (API) at its Visp site in response to
what it said was 'ever increasing hygienic and regulatory
requirements'.
Biovitrum has initiated phase I trials for its glaucoma drug
candidate that aims to improve over existing current treatments and
satisfy the need in the market for new drugs with novel active
mechanisms of action.
A novel painkiller in development at Pain Therapeutics - based on a
technology that both improves dosing and prevents drug abuse - has
done well in a Phase III clinical trial.
Diabetics moved a step closer to having an alternative to
injections for their insulin therapy yesterday, after a US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee gave its backing to an
inhaled formulation of the drug developed...
Anglo-German company Evotec has reorganised its pharmaceutical
development services business by integrating its ProPharma
subsidiary, based in Scotland, into a new structure alongside its
in-house activities.
A clinical trial will shortly get underway to see if insulin,
delivered intranasally using an atomiser developed by Kurve
Technology, can improve short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease
patients.
Scientists in the US have developed a way to rapidly generate
libraries of gold nanoparticles that could have an array of
applications in the pharmaceutical industry, from target and drug
discovery studies to drug delivery.
Excipients, often overlooked by pharmaceutical companies with their
attention firmly focused on active pharmaceutical ingredients, are
benefiting from an increasing awareness of their potential to cut
the costs of drug development.
MonoSolRx is planning to develop controlled drugs such as opioid
analgesics in its dissolving films, an emerging dosage format for
the oral delivery of drugs and nutritonal products.
French drug delivery company Flamel Technologies suffered another
blow yesterday when it was revealed that TAP Pharmaceutical
Products has pulled out of deal to develop a formulation of its
big-selling gastrointestinal drug lansoprazole...
Scentists have employed a new technique to manipulate the sugars
that power many front-line drugs, which has resulted in the
enhancement of a drug for heart disease. Manipulating the natural
sugars in a drug could help make natural...
New techniques aimed at directly controlling the expression of
genes by activating or inactivating them at the DNA level could
lead to drugs for the treatment or cure of almost any disease, say
researchers
Sigma-Aldrich launches its DNA polymerase product for PCR
amplification, which aims to minimise DNA contamination, making it
ideal for researchers looking for a more accurate method in
mutation scanning techniques, and wanting to...
Researchers in Japan have discovered a nickel-alloy coating with
antibacterial properties, which is believed to be effective at
reducing the SARS coronavirus. The use of this antibacterial
material has the potential to radically alter...
Targeted Genetics has announced the issuance of an
Additional-Associated Virus (AAV) vector technology patent, which
describes a technology that may help to maximise gene expression
efficiency with little or no loss in viral payload.
A group of researchers in the US have enhanced the abilities of
molecules they are creating to deliver medication to cancer cells.
The man-made molecular complexes enter cancer cells and, when
signalled, deliver killing medicine or...
Scientists in the US have been using DNA buckyballs as a nanoscale
building material, constructing geometric shapes and even working
mechanical devices with the hope of developing this technology for
drug delivery, using synthetic...
Researchers have developed a unique approach that predicts protein
separation behaviour. The approach may reduce the time it takes to
bring pharmaceuticals to market and may have significant
implications for drug discovery.
Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi has said it plans to sell
its capsule subsidiary Shionogi Qualicaps to private investment
group the Carlyle Group in order to focus on its drug development
activities.
Pharmaceutical outsourcing firm Quintiles Transnational Corp is
selling three of its business units, covering preclinical services,
pharmaceutical sciences and clinical trial supplies, to newly
formed company Aptuit.
US drug researchers have synthesised a new class of carbenes -
molecules that have unusual carbon atoms - that is expected to have
wide applications in the pharmaceutical industry, ultimately
resulting in a reduction in the price...
French chemicals company Rhodia has effectively written off the
value of its troubled Rhodia Pharma Solutions division in its
second quarter accounts, giving it a book value of zero.
CyDex has won the first regulatory approval in Japan for a
pharmaceutical product using its Captisol drug delivery technology
designed to improve the delivery of insoluble and unstable active
pharmaceutical ingredients.
Nektar Therapeutics is planning to buy fellow drug delivery
specialist Aerogen for $32 million (€26m), boosting its position in
respiratory technologies.
Micro-particle specialists, rap.ID, are set to expand its new
laboratory premises to meet the demands of contamination-free
particle identification. The move is in response to the increase in
demand for qualified particle counts and...
Tripos introduces its LeadDiscovery program to accelerate the drug
discovery process. The new program offers a method to develop novel
preclinical compounds for customers in the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industry.
German specialty chemicals group, H&R Wasag, increased its
sales and earnings in the first half of the year, helped by its
in-house refinery operations that allow it to anticipate and react
early to changing oil prices.
According to a new report, the advancement of ADME/Tox technologies
will give rise to considerable time and cost savings as early
screening and increasingly innovative solutions continue to
underline the importance of this technology...
A chemically produced folate, said to be several times more
bioavailable than folic acid and recently approved for food use in
Europe, gives premium supplement makers a chance to differentiate
from the commonly marketed form of the...
A team of materials scientists and biologists in the US say they
have developed 'smart' bio-nanotubes that could be used to deliver
a drug or gene to a particular location in the body.
Altana Chemie, the specialty chemicals unit of German
pharmaceutical and chemicals company Altana, has said it plans to
acquire Eckart for €630 million in cash, in what is the largest
purchase in the company's history.
Researchers have discovered that a protein, which acts as a
fundamental inhibitor of cell movement or migration, may be a
likely target for new drug development aimed at decreasing tumour
metastasis, or spread, throughout the body.
Surmodics has announced a collaborative partnership with CardioMind
in which SurModics' Encore Drug Delivery Polymer Matrix will be
used in conjunction with CardioMind's low-profile stent system for
the treatment of coronary...
Melbourn Scientific is to launch a new pharmacopeial test facility
providing a range of contract analytical services to the
pharmaceutical industry. The move comes in response to market
demand.
UK processing and packaging machinery specialists, Isopak, have
revealed promising results of its spiral jet mill which is set to
give laboratories and R&D departments significant cost savings
by decreasing the amount of product...
MAP Pharmaceuticals has broadened its agreement with Elan Corp to
develop improved formulations of respiratory drugs to include
combination asthma treatments and inhaled drugs for other lung
diseases.
Scientists have developed a nanoparticle that can penetrate a
tumour, cut off its blood supply and release a lethal dose of
anti-cancer toxins, while leaving healthy cells unscathed.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries continued its bid for world
domination in the generic pharmaceuticals sector yesterday with a
$7.4 billion cash and stock bid for US company Ivax, reports
Phil Taylor.
Dutch pharmaceuticals and chemicals giant Akzo Nobel reported
second-quarter sales of €3.34 billion, up 6 per cent from the
comparable period in 2004, thanks to price increases that overcame
flat volumes.
Acambis has commenced clinical trials of its investigational
vaccine against Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) - a common
hospital-acquired infection, in which a new virulent strain has
emerged, causing sharp increases in the number...
Scientists from the University of California have discovered three
molecules that show great potential in the development of new
Alzheimer's drugs. The new therapy targets a protein that
accumulates in Alzheimer's victims...
UK company Diurnal has received orphan product designation from the
European Commission for a novel treatment that uses a drug delivery
technology to match the body's circadian rhythms.
Provectus Pharmaceuticals are to begin phase 1 clinical trials of
new cancer treatment, PV-10, the company's new drug candidate for
the treatment of metastatic melanoma (the most aggressive form of
skin cancer), in which 53,000...
Cardiff-based drug delivery company Q Chip has extended its
collaborative research deal with Biocompatibles International, a
medical device company focused on the treatment of cardiovascular
disease, cancer and benign tumours.
UCLA chemists have created the first nano valve that can be opened
and closed at will to trap and release molecules. The nano valve
could potentially be used as a drug delivery system, trapping and
releasing therapeutic molecules...
Biosensors International Group has announced that its
Netherlands-based subsidiary, Occam International B.V. has received
Conformite Europeene (CE) Mark approval for the Group's first drug
eluting stent (DES), Axxion.
A first-in-class small molecule with a novel mechanism of action
that selectively induces cancer cell death is to undergo phase I
clinical trials. Its makers, Cylene Pharmaceuticals have claimed
the drug candidate has shown efficacy...
Sigma-Aldrich has launched a handful of laboratory equipment and
technological developments that could prove useful in drug
discovery. The life science company is currently in the midst of a
reorganisation of its operating structure...