New web based software, which can extract potentially life-saving
knowledge from data in minutes, has bioinformatic research
applications that could prove essential to laboratory technicians
wanting to improve diagnosis and treatment...
The US Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban the use of
chlorofluorocarbon propellants in albuterol metered-dose inhalers
(MDIs) from the end of 2008 will effectively mean the market will
revert to one of branded rather...
Scientists, paving the way for new treatments against Malaria, have
discovered a genetic "camouflage" with which the malaria parasite
hides itself from the immune system of the host. The findings could
lead to the development...
The chemicals subsidiary of Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim is
expanding its manufacturing capacity for the nasal decongestant
phenylephrine hydrochloride to tap into what it said is growing
demand worldwide.
A new signature genetics tool, which allows doctors to personalise
drug therapy, could well have the potential to personalise a
patient's drug regimen based on his/her genetic makeup to minimise
side effects and maximise drug...
Belgian chemicals company Solvay is planning to expand its
production of sodium bicarbonate to improve supplies into the
European market, reports Phil Taylor.
Researchers have identified several proteins on the surface of
cancer cells that contribute to the cells' ability to metastasise.
The finding provides unique drug targets to prevent the cancer
spread and a basis for which new...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set the end of 2008 as
its deadline for the complete phase-out of albuterol inhalers using
ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as propellants,
reports Phil Taylor.
Researchers have identified a serine protease inhibitor as a novel
candidate susceptibility gene for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD). The discovery has major implications, especially in
smokers, where the role of the...
Serono of Switzerland is planning to expand its billion dollar
multiple sclerosis franchise with a new version of interferon beta
that would do away with the need for injections, reports Phil
Taylor.
US researchers have found a compound, TAK-187, is significantly
more effective than the current treatment for Chagas disease, a
parasitic infection in Central and South America and Mexico, that
can infect almost 650,000 people annually,...
REPLICor is developing a broad spectrum antiviral drug, which has
the broadest spectrum of activity in vitro ever reported for a
single chemical entity and has proved to have a devastating action
on the herpes viruses, influenza and...
Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva has forged another
partnership in the generic biopharmaceutical sector, linking up
with US firm Barr Laboratories to develop a generic version of
Amgen's white blood cell stimulator Neupogen...
US company SurModics is evaluating a biodegradeable polymer
technology, developed at Rutgers University, that could improve the
delivery of drugs into the eye.
Ireland's largest home grown pharmaceutical company, Elan Holdings,
could be split up into two separate units, one focussing on
biotechnology and the other on manufacturing and drug delivery,
according to UK news reports.
A new formulation of the over-the-counter decongestant
pseudoephedrine developed by drug delivery company SCOLR Pharma has
successfully cleared a clinical trial, providing a validation of
the firm's technology platform, reports...
US researchers have found that three types of leukaemias are all
caused by acquired mutations that alter a specific enzyme
controlling blood cell proliferation. Identifying the genetic
malfunction may give rise to a targeted therapy,...
Researchers at the Serono Genetics Institute have announced the
identification of 80 genes involved in the inflammatory and
neuro-degenerative pathways of multiple sclerosis (MS) forming a
library of potential targets for future treatments...
UK speciality chemicals firm C6 Solutions has said that it will be
stopping production operations by the end of 2005 and has put its
entire manufacturing plant and equipment up for sale.
Researchers in the US have developed a drug delivery technology
that directs therapeutics directly to bone, raising the possibility
of improved treatment for osteoporosis and other diseases affecting
bone, including cancer, reports...
The prospect of using genomic analysis as a tool for studying
trauma patients is a realistic prospect according to a new study,
which says the tool can be used to predict whether or not a given
patient will respond to a specific course...
French pharmaceutical company Pierre Fabre is to invest €30 million
in its plant at Idron near Pau to bolster its contract
manufacturing activities for injectable drugs.
Swiss drugmaker Novartis says that its renin inhibitor drug
aliskiren (SPP100), which potentially represents the first in a new
class of orally-active drugs for high blood pressure, has shown
promising data in a clinical trial.
A group of US researchers claim to have identified a fundamental
mechanism that may facilitate the design of safer and more
efficacious topical drug delivery systems, reports Phil
Taylor.
Teva Hungary, a subsidiary of number two generic company Teva
Pharmaceuticals, is to build a $100 million (€75m) factory for the
production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in
Sajobabony, Hungary.
A study has suggested the hypoxia inducible gene RTP801 may serve
an important mechanistic role in the development of experimental
chordial neovascularisation (CNV), the principal cause of
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
Biologists have shown for the first time how histatin, the
naturally occurring antifungal agent in saliva, kills the oral
pathogen Candida albicans, a yeast responsible for most
HIV-related oral infections.
Italy's Recordati has reported flat turnover but a rise in
operating income in 2004, while its pharmaceutical chemicals
business managed to return to profit, reports Phil Taylor.
Johnson & Johnson is planning to acquire TransForm
Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company that specialises in the
discovery of improved formulations and novel crystalline forms of
drug molecules, in a cash-for-stock deal valued...
Biopharmaceutical company deCODE genetics, announced the initiation
of trials for a first-in-class compound used to treat
atherosclerosis for which there is currently no effective drug
treatment. The disease strikes almost 20 per...
Sales of amino acids used in synthesis applications will reach
nearly $1 billion in 2009 and represent the fastest-growing
category in the $7 billion amino acids market.
Xceleron has announced the long-awaited results of the CREAM trial
into human microdosing in drug development, which demonstrates that
microdosing provides a valuable insight into the human
pharmacokinetics (PK) of new drug candidates.
US researchers have discovered that cholesterol plays a key role in
anchoring a signalling pathway, which has been linked to cell
division and cancer. The findings could identify cholesterol as an
unlikely drug target.
The emergence of nanotechnology is likely to have a significant
impact on drug delivery sector, affecting just about every route of
administration from oral to injectable, according to specialist
market research firm NanoMarkets.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis
have filed with the US Food and Drug Administration seeking
marketing approval for Exubera, an inhaled human insulin powder,
for the treatment of diabetes.
Metabolex has announced positive clinical trial results for its
oral insulin sensitiser for type 2 diabetes, which is primarily
designed to eliminate the dose-limiting side effects of the
currently marketed sensitisers.
There is no doubt that the introduction of stents, and latterly
those that deliver pharmacological agents, has revolutionised the
treatment of coronary artery disease over the last 10 years and all
but consigned heart surgery to second-line...
A team of researchers have discovered how a key enzyme involved in
repairing DNA is put together and how it works, a development that
opens up new drug therapies for making cancer cells more vulnerable
to attack.
BioProgress of the UK says that the commercial version of its
TABWRAP tablet-coating machine should be launched at this year's
Conference on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI) meeting in
November, reports Phil Taylor.
Neurocrine Biosciences has announced positive Phase I clinical
trial results with its proprietary, orally active small molecule
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist that
could diminish bone demineralisation.
UK company Archimedes Pharma has signed the first licensing deal
for its nasal delivery platform since acquiring the technology from
West Pharmaceutical Services last month.
VIRxSYS report the results of its latest clinical trial, testing
VRX496, a HIV-derived lentiviral vector that could represent a
novel HIV gene therapy. The trial results also showed patients with
multiple-drug resistant HIV responding...
Researchers have found a protein, which plays a significant role in
colorectal carcinoma. The protein blocks the ability of tumours to
activate a natural self-destruct mechanism that would clear the
cancer from the body.
BioPartners, currently leading the line amongst companies trying to
bring copies of off-patent biologic drugs to the European market,
has licensed a needle-free delivery technology for its human growth
hormone (hGH) product.
According to a recent report, projected sales for the worldwide DNA
sequencing and proteomics markets are expected to rise at an
average annual growth rate of 17.6 per cent from $7.8 billion (€5.9
billion) in 2004 to $17.5 billion...
UK speciality oils supplier Croda International said sales to
cosmetics and supplement customers rose 8 per cent last year,
helped by expanded capacity in fish oil concentrates and new
product launches.
Researchers in the US have shed light on how tumours acquire
resistance to kinase inhibitors. The discovery may help explain the
acquired resistance observed in chemotherapy, which currently
blights existing cancer treatments.
Croatia's Pliva, the largest pharmaceutical company in Eastern
Europe, has teamed up with Australia's Mayne Pharma to hasten the
development of two 'generic' biologic drugs.