A whole new generation of drug treatments and therapies for stroke,
migraine, Alzheimer's and other brain disorders could be created
after the discovery of a mechanism for regulating brain blood flow
was made by researchers.
A new method to improve the accuracy and speed of protein
visualization has been developed. The technique, which uses a novel
set of biosensor dyes, promises to dramatically increase the
accuracy and speed of the technique, used in...
Research into many human diseases and its corresponding drug
treatments will be made easier after an innovative new method to
expand mouse T cells without autologous antigen-presenting cells
and antigen was launched by Dynal Biotech.
Drug delivery company Nektar Therapeutics has bounced back from a
recent share slump after reporting encouraging new data supporting
the safety of its inhaled insulin product Exubera.
Nestec of Switzerland, a subsidiary of food giant Nestle, has been
awarded a US patent on a new way of producing the whey protein
glycomacropeptide (GMP) that could open up its use as an ingredient
in pharmaceuticals, dental compositions...
A collaboration agreement to identify and develop an improved
variant of CT500, a non-antibody protein with antagonist activity
against HMGB1 has been established, paving the way for
applications, to treat tumours and autoimmune diseases.
The first natural human model for specific Hodgkin's and
non-Hodgkin's lymphomas has been identified by scientists whose
studies into cancer immunity in chickens could pave the way for an
effective drug therapy to treat...
US drug delivery company MAP Pharmaceuticals has raised $30 million
in a second-round stock financing with several top-tier
biotechnology investors and says it will use the proceeds to
progress its inhaled steroid and Tempo Inhaler...
MannKind has presented new data on its inhaled insulin product that
suggest it may not only make dosing the drug more convenient, but
also improve efficacy compared to insulin injections.
Plans to sell German food ingredients business Nutrinova are on
hold as chemical company Celanese opts to keep the producer of
Sunett sweetener, for now.
BASF says it has entered into a multi-million pound management
buyout deal for its specialist pharmaceutical ingredients
manufacturing business at Cramlington in Northumberland, UK.
Unichem Laboratories of India, a major supplier of active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished pharmaceuticals in
the country, has entered into an alliance that could see it
supplying generics into the US market.
Ashland of the US has signed an agreement to sell the ingestibles
line of business of Ashland Distribution - which includes
pharmaceutical actives and excipients and food and beverage
additives - to Japan's Mitsubishi Corp.
Germany's Bayer has reported a mixed set of results for the second
quarter with fine chemicals offshoot Lanxess contributing to an
unexpected 44 per cent hike in earnings before interest and tax
(EBIT).
Rhodia Pharma Solutions' Chambers Works facility in New Jersey is
now up and running. The company supplies preclinical and clinical
trial materials and launch volumes of active pharmaceutical
ingredients (APIs) and intermediates...
Akzo Nobel has unveiled a plan to 'fix' its troubled
pharmaceuticals businesses, hit by patent expirations, safety
concerns with some core product lines and a difficult operating
environment for contract manufacturing of...
Scientists have discovered a highly effective method to produce
novel aminocoumarins, antibiotics that are useful in the fight
against drug-resistant bacteria that could represent a new
antibacterial class to tackle the growing problem...
Allegations that companies from Europe and Mexico are selling the
ingredient carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) at greatly reduced prices
in the US have prompted an investigation by the country's
International Trade Commission.
Researchers have claimed proteome mining could make the discovery
and development of cancer, hypertension, diabetes, inflammation and
infectious disease drugs enormously more effective, fast tracking
protein targets that can be tested...
Scientists have determined the precise molecular structure of a
potential new target for treating prostate cancer, a disease driven
in part by abnormal testosterone activity, which affects one in six
American men.
Faced with a raft of consolidation in the market for generic
pharmaceuticals, Germany's Merck KGaA has entered the fray with an
agreement to acquire most of NM Pharma, the Scandinavian generics
business of top drugmaker Pfizer.
BASF has officially inaugurated a new production plant for the fine
chemicals intermediate citral at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany.
The world-scale plant, which has an annual capacity of 40,000
metric tons, replaces an existing...
The discovery of a naturally occurring protein could play a pivotal
role in the fight against autoimmune diseases with the possibility
of developing this compound into a practicable treatment for
rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which currently...
BioProgress, a company specialising in the manufacture of films for
use in drug formulations, has teamed up with encapsulation company
Micap to develop a new type of treatment for those wanting to stop
smoking.
Australian drug delivery company Acrux is hoping to raise A$30
million (€18m) in a float on the Australian Stock Exchange to
support the development of its novel transdermal technology that
does not require the use of adhesive patches...
Genex Pharmaceutical has unveiled a plan to buy fellow Chinese
company Tianjin Zhongjin Pharmaceutical, one of the world's largest
producers of vitamin B1.
The potential to use a phenomenon known as RNA interference (RNAi)
to selectively switch off genes associated with disease has
captured the attention of drug developers, but as with antisense
before it, delivering the agents is the...
Drug delivery specialist SkyePharma has decided to press ahead with
the development of new drug products based on an encapsulation
technology developed by fellow UK company Micap.
Fine chemicals maker Bachem has reported higher sales in the first
half of the year, but profits were slightly weaker as unfavourable
exchange rates took their toll.
Scientists in the UK and Germany have discovered that drugs that
inhibit enzymes known as metalloproteinases have the hallmarks of a
new treatment for the common skin diseases psoriasis.
UK-based BioProgress, the manufacturer of 'dissolve in the mouth'
films, has bought two soluble film casting lines allowing it to
boost its production capacity to meet growing demand for the novel
delivery format.
The race to develop an inhaled formulation of insulin - and provide
the first alternative to injections for the millions of people
worldwide who suffer from diabetes - is getting closer.
Netherlands-based Qiagen achieved organic growth of 32 per cent for
the second quarter of 2004, but profits fell by a fifth as the cost
of restructuring took its toll.
BioDelivery Sciences International has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire all of the capital stock of fellow drug
delivery firm Arius Pharmaceuticals.
In spite of pressures from rising oil prices in the last few
months, German specialty chemicals group H&R Wasag is
maintaining its growth forecasts for the year on the back of price
increases.
The European Commission has started a discussion on its strategy
for developing Europe's nanotechnology industry, and is seeking
comments on its proposals put forward in June.
US biotechnology company Cephalon says that the US Federal Trade
Commission has approved its $385 million acquisition of CIMA Labs,
nearly a year after it outbid aaiPharma for the drug delivery
specialist.
Genes, which are linked to either resistance or sensitivity to four
major cancer drugs used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
(ALL) has led to the suggestion that these genes determine
treatment outcome and may represent future...
Solvay Chemicals has said that it will increase off-list prices for
all grades of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in North America from 15
September in the face of escalating demand.
Scientists may be fighting a losing battle to develop alternative
treatments to drug resistant pathogens, as research reveals the
evolution of drug resistance in bacteria is a trait that is
favoured through the process of natural...
Building on a stronger start to the year, Germany's third largest
chemicals group reports continued growth into the second quarter
with an increase in demand pushing up sales and earnings.
The market for oligonucleotides is set to more than double in the
next few years, promising rewards for those companies that can meet
the demand for custom ingredients and manufacturing services.
New treatment strategies for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) based on a
specific combination of genes that directly give protection against
HCV without the necessity for additional treatment for a virus that
affects 170 million people...
Pharmaceutical companies seeking to design more effective
chemotherapy drugs will be encouraged by the latest discovery that
has isolated the independent mechanisms of action of two anticancer
drugs. This revelation provides drug...
A report into the protein biochip industry identifies a major trend
emerging in protein production, either driven by gene approaches or
research purposes for therapeutic drug production. The report cites
growth in the US market to...
Shares in drug delivery company Nektar Therapeutics fell through
the floor yesterday after it was suggested that regulators in
Europe were not prepared to approve an inhaled insulin product for
diabetes based on its technology.
Borculo Domo Ingredients has forged an alliance with Univar USA to
act as the exclusive distributor for all of BDI's pharmaceutical
lactose products in the US, the world's largest pharmaceutical
market.
The German chemicals giant BASF has announced a successful second
quarter, though the company's nutrition and agricultural products
division turned in a poor performance with minimal sales growth and
reduced earnings from the...
Research into obesity treatment and its related disorders took
another step forward after two studies isolated drug targets that
could prove effective for the millions who suffer from
obesity-related problems.
