Bristol-Myers Squibb has reported encouraging data from two
late-stage trials of a new drug for rheumatoid arthritis,
abatacept, the first in a new class of T cell costimulation
modulators.
This week's announcement of the US approval for an implantable
radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip for use in humans as a
prescription device has been met with consternation by a consumer
group, which fears the technology...
A study performed at Tufts University in the US, commissioned by
the Nordic Council of Ministers, has downplayed the impact of the
controversial REACH legislation on the European chemicals industry.
The US Food and Drug Administration this week approved the first
implantable radiofrequency identification microchip for human use,
elevating RFID from a tool for supply chain management into an
enabling technology for improving healthcare...
Spanish pharmaceutical company Lacer has unveiled a new investment
programme at a plant in Barcelona that will dramatically increase
its production capacity.
Serologicals has completed its acquisition of Upstate Group,
acquiring the privately held company for $205 million (€166m) in
cash ($102.5m) and stock.
The older generation is leading the consumption of nutritional
supplements in the US and the aging baby boomers are the population
to invest in, according to a new report, that also shows the
supplement industry is now firmly in the...
In-Pharmatechnologist's periodic round up of personnel moves in the
pharmaceutical sector includes a crop of new chief executives and
senior managers across the pharmachem, drug delivery and
biomanufacturing sectors.
Pharmaceutical company Mayne Pharma has entered into a unique
relationship with Birmingham's Aston University to create a
cleanroom for aseptic production that could improve the delivery of
drugs to the UK National Health Service...
Laborium Biopharma and the Biotechnology Research Institute of the
National Research Council (BRI-NRC) have entered into an alliance,
further boosting the biomanufacturing sector of Montreal in Quebec,
Canada.
AstraZeneca has suffered another disappointment in its late-stage
pipeline, with the news that the filing for approval of Galida
(tesaglitazar), its new drug for diabetes, will be delayed by the
need to carry out more studies.
Stellar Biotechnologies has been awarded $3 million (€2 million)
for the development of production methods, quality standards, and
facilities for its Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH), a key component
of its anti-cancer vaccine.
Engineering firm AK Pharmaceuticals is to open a new Engineering
Centre of Excellence in Ireland, in a move that reaffirms the
healthy position of the Irish pharmaceutical industry. The move is
set to create 220 new jobs over the...
According to a latest report, the growth of the biotechnology
company will continue to outpace that of pharmaceutical companies,
with the seven largest biotechnology companies growing at rates
faster than the pharmaceutical industry's...
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell has initiated legal proceedings
against CEVEC Pharmaceuticals, which claims the company has
violated Crucell's PER.C6 technology's European patent.
The US Food and Drug Administration will start using a risk-based
approach for prioritising site inspections for certain
pharmaceutical products, the agency has announced in a final report
on its current good manufacturing practice...
BASF has threatened to relocate research into 'green genetic
engineering' to other countries if German law continues to restrict
R&D into plant biotechnology, with applications as diverse as
crop biomanufacturing of...
Drug maker Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, has entered into a
collaboration with Pharmaplaz to produce and supply Samiritan's
lead compound and pipeline of drugs that includes treatments for
AIDS, Alzheimer's, cancer and cardiovascular...
Franz Humer, president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical
Industries and Associations and chief executive of Roche, has
issued a plea for a concerted effort at improving Europe's science
base at the European Parliament.
The biotech industry managed to raise almost $6 billion during the
third quarter bringing the total raised this year to $20 billion
(€16.2 billion), an increase of $3.2 billion from this time last
year, reflecting the growing confidence...
The first commercial products from chloroplast transformation
technology (CTT) looks a distinct possibility after Chlorogen
signed a joint development and supply agreement with Sigma-Aldrich
to produce four specific proteins in tobacco...
Drug delivery specialists Merrion Biopharma has announced the
opening of new facilities in Ireland, strengthening its position in
the $24 billion oral drug delivery market and reinforcing the
healthy state of the Irish pharmaceutical...
In a dispute with Stanelco Fibre Optics, Bioprogress Technology has
been awarded outright ownership of a master patent giving it
exclusive rights to the process of making capsules from
non-gelatine materials by means of radio frequency...
The European Commission has published details of a new proposed
regulation aimed at stimulating research into drugs for use in
diseases affecting children.
Chemicals group Lanxess - to be spun out of Germany's Bayer next
year - plans to relocate a plant in Texas to China in order to tap
into the strong growth in the market for chemicals there.
Medivative Technologies, a contract manufacturing and process
engineering services supplier to the life sciences and medical
device industries, has just been cleared for operations by the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A new report into pharmaceutical R&D has identified an emerging
trend favouring outsourcing of discovery research, clinical trials
and formulation manufacturing, providing pressure relief from
consistent, high-growth financial...
Ireland's pharmaceutical industry saw a return to strong growth in
July, after a lengthy period in which the prevailing wisdom was
that the sector had plateaued.
Germany's chemical and pharmaceuticals firm Altana is considering
an acquisition valued at up to €500 million to strengthen its
specialty chemicals division, according to chief executive Nikolaus
Schweickart.
Germany's Girindus is this year's recipient of the Product
Differentiation Award sponsored by consulting firm Frost &
Sullivan for its innovative developments in the commercial
production of oligonucleotides.
This week has seen several companies unveil significant capital
investments in new production and research units, and once again
production facilities for biological drugs - currently said to be
suffering from undercapacity - feature...
Researchers at Staffordshire University in the UK have come up with
a new robotic arm that is fully mobile, has accuracy that rivals
industrial fixed robot arms and could cost significantly less.
Switzerland's Serono, Europe's largest biotechnology company, has
said it will close its InterPharm manufacturing plant in Ness
Ziona, Israel, by the end of year.
Australia's Boron Molecular has set up a US agent, Boron Molecular
that aims to promote and increase the sale and distribution of the
company's range of organoboron compounds throughout the US market.
Constant innovation in the field of microfluidics and uTAS has
enabled lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies to successfully enter the
mainstream commercial market especially impacting on
high-throughput screening of drug candidates, point...
Representatives of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries
presented strong opposition to the concept of biogenerics at a
recent meeting convened by the US Food and Drug Administration. As
expected, their argument centred...
Medarex has announced a global collaboration agreement with Pfizer
that will provide for the discovery and development of up to 50
antibody products over ten years including the creation of fully
human antibody products in a variety...
The world's leading pharmaceutical companies are not doing enough
to help improve the health of countries in the third world. They
will also be completely unprepared to face the increasing demand
for drugs for diseases other...
A bitter-blocking ingredient developed by Linguagen has been backed
for use in foods, beverages and oral pharmaceutical dosage forms by
the country's regulatory authorities.
News that B-MS has dropped out of an agreement to develop Basulin,
an improved formulation of insulin which was the subject of a $165
million deal - including $20 million upfront - between the two
companies last year.
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) has urged the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to move forward to accelerate the
approval of affordable generic versions of biopharmaceutical drugs.
Rumours of the demise of Ireland as a hotbed of pharmaceutical
manufacturing may be premature. Pfizer has just unveiled a plan to
spend €240 million to expand its Dun Laoghaire plant in Dublin.
LGC, the independent analytical laboratory, has set up an
initiative alongside the UK Chemical Industries Association (CIA)
to advise chemical companies how to handle the new REACH
legislation.
Cardinal Health has entered into a licensing agreement that gives
it access to an electrostatic tablet-coating process and drug
delivery technologies developed by Phoqus Pharmaceuticals of the
UK.
A groundbreaking new treatment for psoriasis could be available to
patients in Europe as early as next month, providing the European
Medicines Agency (EMEA) follows the advice of its advisory
committee.
Biotechnology Company, Nucleonics, has filed a request with the
Commissioner of Patents in Australia for Re-Examination, which
questions the validity of Benitec's patent concerning
gene-silencing technology claiming ambiguity...
US life science company Serologicals has entered into a €167.6
million merger with cell signallin specialist Upstate, creating a
significant presence in the preclinical drug screening and target
validation market, the fastest growing...
