Argos Therapeutics has announced that dosing has been initiated in
a Phase I/II clinical trial to test the activity and safety of
AGS-003, a personalised immunotherapy for advanced kidney cancer
(metastatic renal cell carcinoma).
Alantos Pharmaceuticals has initiated a Phase I trial for its lead
compound for diabetes, a disease that commands a global market
estimated at $11bn (€8.6bn) and is expected to grow by more than 50
per cent by the end of the decade.
Researchers believe they have discovered how the HIV virus avoids
the human body's natural defences paving the way for a HIV-specific
cell drug treatment that vastly improves on the drugs that are
currently available.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals has been issued with a patent that covers the
novel use of mTOR inhibitors that are designed for the treatment of
cancers including soft-tissue and bone sarcomas; prostate, breast,
pancreatic, brain, lung and...
Nexcelom Bioscience, a provider of instruments for cell-based
assays, has just launched a new cell counter to make the cell
counting process quicker and easier.
Dendreon has finished the construction of its New Jersey
manufacturing facility which it will use to produce its
investigational active cellular immunotherapy for advanced prostate
cancer, hoping to be the first to bring it to patients.
Albany Molecular Research (AMRI) has announced a multi-year drug
substance manufacturing agreement with New River Pharmaceuticals,
as its attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicine
looks set to hit the market.
Pharma firms may soon have the chance to use US prisoners in
clinical drug trials after a new report by a panel of medical
advisers at the Institute of Medicine recommended government laws
against the practice be loosened.
Canada's Allied Research International (ARI) has expanded its Phase
I testing capabilities in response to the continued need for extra
capacity in this area.
Spurred on by the frustration of drug manufacturers, governors from
four US states have petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) for clarity in their requirements for the production of
generic versions of insulin and human...
US manufacturers must stop shipping prescription drugs in bulk
containers, leaving pharmacies to repackage them, as this practice
makes the supply chain more vulnerable and leads to medication
errors, the Healthcare Compliance Packaging...
Pennsylvania environmental regulators have accused Merck of
hampering their investigation of a chemical discharge from its West
Point facility that resulted in a major fish kill on the local
creek and threatened the water supplies...
The convenience of non-invasive insulin delivery methods is set to
overcome their high cost and concerns about safety and efficacy,
with the greatest beneficiary being the European inhaled insulin
market which is predicted to swell...
The use of eClinical software in clinical trials is gaining in
popularity with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and contract research
organizations (CROs), as seen by the recent financial results of
two major industry providers.
Varian makes available its new HPLC columns that are designed for
use in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in pre-clinical
development, increasing productivity by enabling more products to
be purified in less time.
Biogen has revealed details of a potential new pathway in
rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that could provide unique insights into
the disease process and eventually a new approach to developing RA
therapies.
Covance, the world's largest provider of drug-development services,
is bracing itself for the onslaught of protests by animal rights
activists who are demonstrating against the building of a $100m
(€78.6) laboratory in the US.
Agricultural firm Embrex has installed its in ovo delivery
system and egg remover at the production facility of Shenzhen
Neptunus Interlong, believed to be the largest and most advanced
human influenza vaccine manufacturing plant...
Researchers have developed a new light microscope that is so
powerful ituses a nanometre-scale resolution to spot individual
proteins in a cell byusing a fluorescent labelling method.
India's potential to further boost its already dominant role in
global generics production, as well as an offshore location of
choice for contract manufacturing, presents an opportunity worth an
estimated $48bn (€38bn) in 2007,...
More problems at Patheon's Puerto Rican production facilities in
the third quarter of 2006 are expected to reduce the contract
manufacturer's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation (EBITDA) by more...
IBM has unveiled a radio frequency identification (RFID) system for
the tracking and tracing of pharmaceuticals, confident it will
accelerate the adoption of the technology by the drug industry.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has censured three
American national pharmacies for using the traditional practice of
compounding as a ruse in order to operate as drug manufacturers,
producing thousands of unapproved copies...
Millipore launch its version of a tangential flow filtration (TFF)
device for the filtration of monoclonal antibodies and other
therapeutic proteins that form an integral part of the drug
discovery process and development cycle.
Guava Technologies aim to simplify antibody screening with its new
range of quantitative bead-based kits designed to quantify either
mouse or human IgG antibody (Immunoglobulin G) during hybridoma
screening.
AM Pharma has been awarded a US and EU patent for its antimicrobial
peptide to be used in the development of a novel class of drugs
with high efficacy against a broad spectrum of bacterial, fungal
and viral infections.
US biotech firm Genzyme has been given a green light by the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin manufacturing its kidney
drug at its Waterford facility in Ireland.
Researchers have theorised that a peptide found in primates could
halt the HIV-1 virus from infecting blood cells. The discovery
could form the crux of an effective drug therapy, which may
overcome resistance exhibited by current...
Gentronix has been granted a research award, which is to fund a
potentially viable alternative to animal testing, reducing the need
for their use during drug development.
IDBS and In Silico Discovery have announced the formation of a
partnership in which the deal aims to integrate drug discovery data
and providing flexible access irrespective of where it is stored.
A new ethics report has raised concerns about using animal-human
embryonic hybrids in drug testing in which the creation of these
chimeras are creating exciting avenues of research as well as
controversy.
While Lonza's biopharmaceutical business has taken off, tough
competition from cheap Asian competitors is eating away at its
exclusive synthesis business - meanwhile, the whole business is
being hit by rising raw material and...
Quintiles has turned its latest investment back towards home soil,
announcing plans to open a new US clinical data processing centre
in Williamston, North Carolina.
Drug manufacturers are increasingly turning to specialised
providers of analytical services for the solid state
characterisation of their formulations, seeking answers to
processing issues, drug delivery challenges and even protecting...
Contract research organisation iNovacia is expanding its compound
library by increasing the number of compound storage modules in a
bid to cope with new contracts.
When selecting a pharmaceutical formulation, the conventional
wisdom has been to manipulate a drug delivery platform to make it
compatible with a drug's properties, yet the opposite approach may
have several benefits if enough...
Researchers have found that a simple and inexpensive test can help
determine which patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) are at
low risk for recurrence and can therefore avoid unnecessary and
potentially dangerous long-term anticoagulant...
Pharmaceutical manufacturers will be among a number of exporters
and importers operating within the EU that face paying tens of
millions of euros to comply with a new regulation aimed at reducing
terrorism, fraud and counterfeit products.
The excipients used in a protein formulation and the method of
production can impact not just the physical and chemical stability
of biologics but also their in vitro and in vivo
performance, cautions Durect's executive director...
The global demand for virgin activated carbon is tipped to rise
five per cent per year to reach 1.2m metric tons by 2010, fuelled
by increased use in the pharmaceutical sector.
A new service introduced on the back of customer demand has been
launched by Aviva Systems Biology which make available a method for
genome-wide detection of promoters and enhancers that interact with
proteins or carry modifications.
A new finding has the potential to pave the way for better
treatment options for autoimmune diseases as researchers discover a
signalling molecule can yield a rapid, inexpensive way to make
large numbers of immune cells.
In their hunt for DNA that is amplified in cancers, researchers
have discovered a new cancer-promoting role for a gene that has
been shown to transform mammary epithelial cells into cancerous
ones.
Pharmaceutical excipients can have a profound impact on the release
profile of drugs, driving fine chemical companies to raise their
game since they realise their clients see excipients as more than
inactive ingredients.
West Pharmaceutical Services has reported a huge surge in both
sales and profits for its second quarter, spurred on by the
increasing demand for injectable drugs as well as the lucrative
Exubera manufacturing contract, which helped...
