Dow AgroSciences has received the world's first regulatory approval
for a plant-made vaccine for animals, which not only represents a
new category of plant-made vaccines but also paves the way for
human vaccines made in a bio-contained...
Commercial packaging and clinical trials services provider Brecon
Pharmaceuticals has completed the doubling in size of its facility
in Hereford, responding to growing demands from its pharmaceutical
customers.
Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), the largest supplier of custom
nucleic acids in the US, has bought Texan oligonucleotide (oligo)
supplier Synthegen, making further inroads into this fast-growing
specialty market.
Outsourcing-Pharma: Focus on Phase IIIB-IV research
The spate of recent high-profile drug recalls, culminating in the
dramatic high profile withdrawal of Vioxx in 2004, has fuelled a
trend of consolidation within the Phase IIIB-IV clinical trials
outsourcing sector that looks set to...
Affymetrix and Iconix have formed a collaboration to develop new
solutions for assessing the toxicological and pharmacological
properties of drugs and drug candidates.
Molecular Devices has launched its proprietary system, which offers
Fluorescence Polarisation (FP) and Time Resolved Fluorescence
Resonance Energy Transfer (TR-FRET) detection, allowing researchers
to select between these two well-known...
A UK university has joined forces with a major pharmaceutical
company in a unique collaboration, worth £2.5 million (€3.6
million) ensuring drug researchers of the future will be trained in
'magic bullet' drug R&D, which...
Evotec has announced the successful completion of the single
ascending dose component of its phase I trial for its
subtype-specific NMDA receptor antagonist drug candidate for the
treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Cardinal health experienced a 42 per cent jump in quarterly profit,
helped by renewed growth in its drug distribution and sterile
manufacturing operations, which have both experienced problems that
dragged down earnings in previous...
ARTEL announces a new laboratory innovation to improve the
performance of automated liquid handlers, introducing a system
capable of verifying multichannel instrumentation using non-aqueous
test solutions, such as Dimethyl Sulfoxide...
Laboratory equipment maker Thermo Electron saw its Q4 net income
fall 53 per cent to $56.5 (€47.2) m from $121.1 m a year ago due to
one-time tax charges, but new acquisitions and a surge in demand
for its instruments, particularly...
Agilent's breakthrough HPLC-Chip technology forms the basis of its
new reusable microfluidic chips, designed to compliment the
company's high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) chip/mass
spectrometry (MS) modules.
Biocrystal has upped the stakes in the cell culture market with
Opticell, a product it claims brakes away from traditional cell
culture concepts and promises to reduce costs through increased
efficiency.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Patheon has reaffirmed its dominant
position in the outsourcing market with the announcement of a
five-year master supply agreement with drug giant Merck.
Amgen are to create a European Development Centre in the UK,
significantly increasing UK R&D employee numbers. Amgen's
announcement echoes the UK Government's commitment to attract more
R&D investment with a view...
Oxygen therapeutics company Biopure has announced another $3
million (€2.5 million) public offering to boost its working
capital, despite its major drug for humans, Hemopure, an artificial
blood product, being licensed only in South...
Agilent have dived in to grab a slice of the growing $1.3 bn mass
spectrometry market with the launch of a series of new liquid
chromatography-based mass spectrometry (LC/MS) systems that are
cheaper and faster.
Supplier of small-scale pharmaceutical equipment Isopak has
launched what it claims is the smallest vacuum mixer with cooling
and heating facilities in Europe for mixing dry powder, cream,
ointments, paste and lotions in batches between...
A technology partnership between ARTEL and Caliper Life Sciences
aims to enhance automated liquid delivery standards improving
laboratory data integrity. The collaboration aims to manufacture
technology to a level that is outlined...
Bayer CropScience will use Cresset BioMolecular Discovery's
molecular field technology to identify novel early-stage active
compounds to develop into new agrochemicals for the crop science
industry.
Croatian drug firm Pliva has sold its Dresden production plant to
Italy's Menarini Group as it tries to recover losses suffered by
its failed venture in proprietor drugs and an end to most of the
royalties it receives.
Quest Diagnostics, the US's leading provider of diagnostic testing,
information and services announced better than expected fourth
quarter results after increased clinical testing activity helped to
offset a weakness in its test...
Animal extremist activity in the UK may be on the wane after 2005
saw incidents of damage to company, personal and public property,
halve compared to 2004. The figures indicate the effectiveness of
the Serious Organised Crime Act,...
Outsourcing-Pharma: Focus on Phase IIIB-IV research
Phase IIIB-IV clinical research in the US is now booming, growing
20 per cent annually, compared with only 7 per cent for Phase
II-III research, driven by a surge in public drug safety concerns
and increased drug market competitiveness.
According to a new report, automation technologies and integrated
systems are set to fuel growth in the clinical laboratory analyser
markets, accelerating the movement towards increased workstation
consolidation and more streamlined...
Amgen are to create a European Development Centre significantly
boosting UK drug R&D. The announcement echoes the UK
Government's commitment to attract more R&D investment with a
view to making the UK a leader in biotechnology.
GE Healthcare has launched a new line of uncharged IMAC media
suitable for both research and process scale-up applications, which
combines high flow rate and high binding capacity, which give
researchers the power to select the metal...
Surmodics has announced that as a result of a collaboration with
the Donaldson Company, the first of a collection of new synthetic
nanofibrillar cell culture surfaces have been produced that will
improve cell culture, cell-based bioassays...
AstraZeneca, Baxter BioPharma Solutions, Daiichi Asubio Pharma,
Janssen Pharmaceutica and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals are the finalists
competing for this year's Facility of the Year Award, which
recognizes innovation and cost effectiveness...
On your marks, get set go! The FDA has fired the starting gun and
Pfizer is finally off and running after the long-awaited approval
of Exubera - the world's first non-injectable insulin - expected to
hit the US market by mid-year...
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a
small handheld device that makes finding veins easier and quicker,
saving time and money.
Scientists have reported a discovery at the cellular level that
suggests possibilities for drug therapy for kidney disease. This
discovery could open up new avenues of laboratory research into the
disease that could help the 600,000...
Munich-based Sud-Chemie is set to expand its pharmaceutical
packaging business to German-speaking markets with a joint venture
with Swiss company Plaspaq SA.
Japanese health care firm Eisai will make Hatfield its European
headquarters, in a major £75 million (€105 million) investment that
demonstrates the UK's appeal for big pharmaceutical companies.
Ingenuity Systems have launched the Ingenuity Pathways Analysis
(IPA) 3.1, a web-based software application that enables biologists
and bioinformaticians to understand biological mechanisms, pathways
and functions.
Pharmion and MethylGene has announced the formation of an
international licensing agreement potentially worth $272 million
(€224 million) for new class of compounds that inhibits gene
expression providing a tumour and haematological...
As proof of microdosing's potential in drug development,
bioanalytical CRO, Xceleron, is to lead the European Union
Microdose AMS Partnership Programme (EUMAPP) having additionally
been awarded €2.1 million to further develop...
As contract research organisations (CROs) continue to search for
cost-effective countries in which to operate, the clinical trials
market is increasingly expanding into emerging economies. Central
and Eastern Europe are continuing...
Covance closed 2005 on a high after net revenues climbed 16.9 per
cent from 2004 to reach $1.19 bn (€1 bn). The current trend towards
outsourcing R&D, coupled with increased productivity and repeat
business has fuelled the company's...
French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis, reported an increase
in sales for the fourth quarter with its vaccine business
continuing to impress. The company's performance precedes two
upcoming decisions later this year that...
Researchers have come up with definitive proof that proteins can be
custom-designed for a new and pre-determined activity, signalling a
new direction in drug production as well as having relevance to the
biotechnological and medicinal...
Sirna Therapeutics has been granted a US patent covering a more
efficient process for the chemical synthesis and manufacturing of
GMP-quality ribonucleic acids (RNA), for use in RNA-based drugs.
Agilent Technologies have upped the stakes in the Liquid
Chromatography (LC) market by releasing its new 1200 series,
replacing the best selling 1100 series with what is claimed to be
the world's fastest and most comprehensive...
Millipore, manufacturers of purification systems used in drug
manufacture, posted lower forth-quarter profits, carrying over the
company's previous quarter's performance, after being hit by a
hefty one-off earnings charge.
Drug delivery company, MedPharm, will carry out a licensed
evaluation for a variety of products in the dermatology market with
its MedSpray technology, which promises greater benefits for the
same cost as semisolid preparations.
After raising £2.1 m (€1.7) in venture capital in December,
Oxford-based Caretek Medical has now also secured the support of a
major global pharma company to help Caretek run a feasibility study
on its innovative needle-free drug...
The big pharma companies may have dreamed of launching the world's
first non-injectable insulin, but it has been Canadian biotech
company Generex that shattered this dream, bypassing EU and US
regulatory processes and launching...
Scientists have devised a way of using live' bacteria in yoghurt to
deliver therapeutics that can prevent HIV infection, potentially
opening up a new avenue for probiotic dairy to play a more
prominent role in drug delivery.
The US advanced drug delivery market will grow more than 18 per
cent and exceed $76 bn (€62 bn) by 2014, spurred on by new
technologies emerging from the biotech and biopharmaceutical
pipelines, according to a new report by Kalorama...
As pharma companies continue to search for new areas of business to
outsource, third party logistics (3PL) is an area tipped for
dramatic growth over the next four years, particularly in Europe
where the practice is still in its infancy,...
