A new study holds much promise for a new approach to drug therapy
after researchers have revealed details of a mechanism that
actually modifies the effect of a major drug class.
Celesio has bought a 30 per cent stake in Pharmexx, the number two
contract sales organisation in Europe, in a bid to get a foothold
in this market segment and diversify its business.
US-based Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has secured an exclusive supply
and contract manufacturing deal with French-based vaccines giant
Sanofi Pasteur to streamline the production of its rabies vaccine.
Outsourcing-Pharma focus on: Phase IIIB-IV research
The US Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) drive to clear the
mounting backlog of post-marketing (Phase IV) drug trials signals
good news for the clinical research organisations (CROs) who are
poised to benefit.
PPD has announced it has signed an agreement with PDL BioPharma in
which the contract research organisation is to perform
comprehensive molecular profiling to discover biomarkers.
Researchers at Michigan State University have found that
second-generation taxols, which currently rely on assembly by
semisynthetic organic chemistry approaches, can be produced in a
cheap and environmentally friendly fashion using...
After failing to reverse falling sales at its Pharmaceutical Fine
Chemicals (PFC) division, Clariant has decided to sell the unit to
private equity firm Towerbrook for around SFr110m (€70m).
Bosch Packaging Technology will be launching new packaging and
processing technologies for pharmaceutical applications at Achema,
with products that cover pharmaceutical production, validation, and
packaging.
Leica Microsystems were active at the recent Analytica show in
Germany as it presented its microscopy and imaging system solutions
for research and industry.
Ferring has opened a new production plant in Switzerland as it
tries to cut costs by centralising its manufacturing network.
In-PharmaTechnologist.com visited the site to see how the drugmaker
is streamlining its supply chain.
Greiner Bio-One presents its cell culture AutoFlask at the
Analytica show, which uses a robot accessible entry septum that
prevents coring by pipette tips and ensures sterility of the flask
contents throughout solution exchanges.
Bruker BioSpin has launched the world's highest field actively
shielded NMR magnet at 950 MHz, which allows higher sensitivity and
unrivalled spectral dispersion whilst maintaining same size
cryostat and identical cryogenic performance...
Covance has made a major expansion in its US Phase I/IIa drug
development capabilities, buying eight early-phase clinical
development sites from Radiant Research, who now plans to focus on
its Phase II-IV business.
Perbio Science took the opportunity to provide a company update at
this year's Analytica show in Munich with details of new product
launches for drug discovery.
Outsourcing-Pharma focus on: Phase IIIB-IV research
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating ways
of boosting the completion rate of new drug post marketing
commitment studies in the wake of ongoing controversy over the
agency's lack of enforcement. The answer,...
Ilypsa has completed the first stage of its novel phosphate-binding
agent designed to treat hyperphosphatemia, as the company plough
forward with its pioneering research into next-generation
nonabsorbed polymeric drugs for renal and...
Contract manufacturer Dalton has announced the completion of its
oligonucleotide (oligos) manufacturing facility, in a $500,000
(€400,000) investment drive to dominate pilot and large-scale DNA
and RNA oligo synthesis.
Speciality pharma company Bioprogress has launched new anti-snoring
and caffeine products based on its edible film drug delivery
technology, offering an effective alternative to conventional
formulations.
The UK's chemical industry has given a cautious welcome to the
government's national allocation plan (NAP) for Phase 2 of the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), warning pharma could see a rise in
the price of active pharmaceutical...
Drug giant Merck & Co has seen flat sales and a rise in
operating costs in the first quarter of 2006, as its restructuring
initiative, which contract manufacturers welcomed, takes its toll
on the company.
Surface technology firm CSMA has developed the only commercially
available way of seeing the differences between drug tablets of the
same composition that have been manufactured by two different
routes.
China-based Natural Pharmatech has formed its first research
contract with a Japanese company, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical -
another step forward in Natural Pharmatech's plans to bring its
botanical R&D services to the global...
The number of new drug submissions has halved since 1995, while at
the same time, pharma companies are spending three times as much
money on R&D - a hole this industry needs to dig itself out of,
and fast.
A deal has been finalised making MDS Pharma Services the preferred
contract research organization (CRO) of the Multiple Myeloma
Research Consortium (MMRC) in the US, with further opportunities in
Europe to follow.
Chronic diseases account for 70 per cent of the healthcare budget
in the UK alone. New drugs in unment chronic disease areas offer
real blockbuster potential for companies willing to take on the
challenge.
Bespak is now ramping up manufacturing of Chiesi Farmaceutici's new
dry powder inhaler (DPI), in preparation for clinical trials of the
device in patients with asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease).
Materials science firm Datalase has announced it has expanded its
UK facility, targeting the pharmaceutical industry by applying its
colour change technology in secondary packaging and on-product
tablet marking.
Chemicals firm Lonza has vowed to spend $200m (€160m) over the next
few years to expand in southern China, further limiting its
dependence on external suppliers of intermediates and active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
The US Navy has extended an existing deal with Austrian biotech
company CEL-SCI to further investigate the company's novel drug
compound, CEL-1000, that could offer 100 per cent protection
against Malaria.
Thermo has unveiled a new blend measurement solution for the
real-time analysis of pharmaceutical blending processes in solid
dosage form manufacturing which can be easily moved from blender to
blender and used on any size pharmaceutical...
Polymer Laboratories have launched a new Evaporative Light
Scattering Detector (ELSD) that it claims will improve the analysis
of pharmaceutical compounds at low temperatures.
A target-seeking molecule that can be used to visualise and treat
cancer tumours is set to improve detection and treatment of the
killer disease, which is a lot more successful if therapy begins at
an earlier stage.
Scientists think that their latest discovery could result in the
production of new drugs to treat Kaposi sarcoma tumour growth,
which is the most frequent tumour in AIDS patients and is caused by
infection of the patients with the...
British catalyst technologies firm Reaxa has slashed the prices of
its encapsulated catalysts by two-thirds following increased demand
for production scale quantities in pharma applications.
An AstraZeneca collaboration has identified the location of a
schizophrenia gene that is set to offer hope for more effective
drugs. The gene appears to affect the production of myelin, the
material that insulates nerve fibres.
Determined to focus on its fuels and lubricant additives business,
specialty chemical firm Lubrizol has sold its active pharmaceutical
ingredient (API) and intermediate compounds division to Auctus, a
German private equity firm.
Silicone product provider Busak and Shamban, showcased a variety of
solutions at this year's Interphex event, highlighting the
stringent demands made by the pharma industry are met by its range
of sealing and bearing products.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has begun distributing Trizivir tagged with
radio frequency identification (RFID) technology as it intensifies
efforts to combat counterfeiting.
British drug delivery firm Vectura has inked a deal with Boehringer
Ingelheim to develop a dry powder inhaler (DPI) for a range of
proprietary respiratory products of the German company,
intensifying competition in a burgeoning asthma...
Discovery Partners International is offloading its unprofitable
contract drug discovery operations and merging with Infinity
Pharmaceuticals to create a new public company focused on cancer
drug discovery and development.
A pioneering website has been set up that enables members of the UK
public to express their support for medical research that uses
animals as subjects.
Researchers think they have found a gene, which when disrupted
interferes with the ability to absorb lipids through the intestine.
The discovery has added to new insights into mechanisms behind
lipid and cholesterol processing, and...
GE Healthcare has launched a new contract offering that it claims
will cut the cost of running the service operations in life science
R&D labs by up to 20 per cent, at a time when pharma and
biotech firms are facing intense cost...
Bertin Technologies makes available its solution for biological
sample preparation to extract nucleic acids (DNA & RNA), and
proteins - a crucial process in drug discovery and development as
well as having implications in the...
US-based contract research organisation The Smithers Group,
announced the acquisiton of UK company Rapra Technology in a deal
that seals the fate of Rapra, which was forced into Administration
last month.
Invitrogen and Signalomics have agreed terms to develop
nanotechnology-based laboratory approaches to cancer diagnostics in
a move that is set to make the identification of tumours easier and
quicker.
