Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva has signed a new three-year
agreement with Pfizer for the bulk supply of azithromycin, the
active ingredient in the antibacterial drug Zithromax.
PANalytical has added a new focusing mirror to its range of PreFIX
optics that for the first time, can analyse macromolecules using a
standard, laboratory-based XRD system, rather than on a synchrotron
beam line or a single crystal...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found itself once
again without a permanent Commissioner after the current incumbent
- Lester Crawford - resigned after 18 months in the post.
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has filed a lawsuit
against France's Sanofi-Aventis, alleging that the latter has
infringed patent protection for an insulin injection system for
diabetes patients.
German packaging company Gerresheimer has announced plans to take
over the pharmaceutical business of troubled Glass Group Inc (GGI)
of the US, after a Delaware bankruptcy court approved the
transaction.
Researchers have claimed that a new microchip could cut animal
testing in the pharmaceutical industry as well as speed up drug
development. By increasing the efficiency of preclinical testing of
new drugs the new chip is also set...
Researchers in the US have uncovered a contributing factor in
interferon resistance of malignant melanoma cells. The finding
represents a step forward in understanding of this type of cancer
and the changes in gene and cellular signalling...
A newly discovered compound, which has revealed new links between
cell signalling pathways and cell migration, may suggest new
avenues for novel pharmaceutical therapies for treating a variety
of diseases, including cancer.
Genentech has announced that studies of Avastin in
platinum-refractory ovarian cancer patients have been discontinued
due to patients developing a serious bowel problem.
Galapagos has announced that its acquisition of BioFocus' would
accelerate its transition to a fully integrated drug development
biopharmaceutical company after the two companies reached agreement
on the terms of a recommended...
Upstate Group has released a new, cost efficient Western blotting
detection kit, which offers the highest signal-to-noise ratios of
any existing luminal peroxidase formulations on the market,
providing improved sensitivity and low...
A US researcher has provided one possible molecular explanation of
how IGF-1 receptor and the IRS-1 protein act as a key growth factor
that regulates cell and body size. The discovery has revealed
details as to how tumour cells proliferate...
The International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE) has
developed a definition of restricted access barrier systems, in
collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration, in order to
clear up confusion in the pharmaceutical...
PD-Rx Pharmaceuticals says it has completed the infrastructure of
an online, web-based pharmaceutical tracking system - called the
Pedigree Security Network - to help combat drug counterfeiting.
PerkinElmer and Invitrogen enter into a strategic agreement to
streamline drug development in which the collaboration will combine
PerkinElmer's technology for ion channel drug discovery and
Invitrogen's voltage sensor probe...
Celsis International has signed a collaboration with BioVentures to
develop a microarray-based microbiological testing system to detect
contamination in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other process
industries.
Researchers have helped pioneer a novel approach to the development
and delivery of an HIV/AIDS vaccine, which involves a
female-controlled vaginal HIV vaccine. The novel method is to be
tried in order to break the infection cycle...
Olympus introduces its CellCut laser microdissection system for the
life sciences industry, which eliminates any direct specimen
contact ensuring totally contamination-free samples.
According to a new report, the biopharmaceutical market is
predicted to increase from $1.4 billion (€1.14 billion) in 2003 to
$2.6 billion in 2006. The market was dwarfed by the pharmaceutical
industry 20 years ago but continues to...
Foamix, an Israeli company specialising in the development of
topical drug delivery systems, has entered into an agreement with
drugmaker Stiefel Laboratories for the development of a foam-based
treatment for scabies.
The US market for pharmaceutical packaging will grow by nearly a
third between 2004 and 2011, driven by the increasing demands
placed on packaging by biologic drugs and novel drug delivery
formulations, according to consulting firm...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has drafted a current
Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulation for the production of
drugs used in positron emission tomography (PET), a diagnostic
tool.
UK microencapsulation specialist Micap has seen the departure of
both chief executive Michael Brennand and non-executive chairman
Ian Gowrie Smith in a bid to cut the executive payroll.
Eisai has become the first Japanese drugmaker to set up a dedicated
subsidiary in India in order to tap into local expertise in
manufacturing and research, according to local press reports.
According to a recent report, pharmacogenetics is unlikely to
become a reality within the next 15-20 years having been 'hyped' by
the media, who are unaware of the many gaps in current
understanding of how genetics relates...
Euroscreen has announced the issuance of a US patent, which covers
the use of a human G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) human P2Y13.
The patent protects screening processes using this receptor to find
compounds that modulate its activity,...
US generics company Andrx, currently in the throes of an
investigation into its manufacturing procedures by the Food and
Drug Administration, announced the resignation of chief financial
officer John Hanson.
Beckman Coulter has introduced its integrated cytometry solution
(ICS), which simplifies and automates customer processes to improve
productivity. The solution. becomes the first integrated system to
offer laboratory information system...
Biotrace of the UK has acquired MicroSafe Group, an Italian
supplier of microbiological testing products for the
pharmaceutical, food and defence sectors, for £2.5 million.
Key Technology has set up a dedicated pharmaceutical business unit,
Symetix, to lend some focus to its efforts to sell automated
inspection and specialised conveying systems to the drug industry.
The consolidation in the generic pharmaceutical industry continues
apace, with companies in the easterly reaches of Europe now getting
in on the act. Czech Republic-headquartered Zentiva has signed an
agreement to acquire 51 per cent...
A previously unknown zinc oxide nanostructure is set to provide a
new building block for creating laboratory equipment that rely on
electromechanical coupling. The material's cost and flexibility
makes it suitable for biomedical...
US scientists have claimed to have developed the next generation of
effective viral-based therapies for cancer in which 'terminator'
viruses are deployed to destroy primary tumours.
MerLion Pharmaceuticals has entered into a large-scale screening
programme with Cancer Research Technology (CRT) to identify new
anti-cancer drug candidates derived from natural product chemistry.
French drug delivery company Novagali Pharma has completed
early-stage clinical testing of an oral formulation of paclitaxel,
a widely used cancer drug usually delivered by intravenous
infusion.
Germany's Merck KGaA has laid out its plans to take on the market
for generic respiratory medicines, revealing that it is the
previously unnamed company that has licensed UK inhaler company
Innovata's Clickhaler device in...
KemFine, the fine chemicals business created via a management
buyout from chemicals group Kemira last year, has acquired Avecia
Fine Chemicals' business based in Grangemouth, Scotland.
Italy's Bonfiglioli has updated its BLI leak testing machine for
blister packaging, first introduced last year, with the ability to
automate sampling between the blister machine and the cartoner for
in-process automatic testing.
A discovery by scientists may provide a novel method to generate
proteins, providing an effective way of generating therapeutic
enzymes and other medically important proteins to produce novel
drugs.
Researchers in the US have constructed a new virus-based gene
therapy delivery system that has uses in cancer treatment. The
findings are said to provide a solution to the problems that have
hampered gene therapy treatments.
Nabi Pharmaceuticals has received a $4.1 million grant to advance
the only vaccine being developed in the US and Europe for tobacco
addiction. The vaccine is being developed to treat nicotine
addiction and smoking relapse with a view...
GlaxoSmithKline has halted clinical trials of its first-in-class
HIV drug after cases of hepatotoxicity was discovered in
treatment-naïve patients. The setback does not mean the end of
development for this drug candidate but suggests...
A new drug candidate, which targets the protein that protects
cancer cells from dying, has been shown to exhibit increased
anti-tumour activity when combined with an existing cancer
treatments. The data gives hope to those who have...
Switzerland's Wilco AG has developed a new version of its award
winning headspace testing system for pharmaceutical vials that
boosts its throughput by 50 per cent.
UK pharmaceutical testing company Cirrus Laboratories has been
acquired by Bodycote Materials Testing, an international provider
of materials testing services to industry.
Applied Pharma Research, a Swiss R&D firm specialising in drug
delivery, has granted an exclusive license to US drugmaker ProEthic
Pharmaceuticals to develop and market two fast-acting formulations
of the painkiller diclofenac...
Medimmune announced the signing of an agreement to acquire
Cellective Therapeutics, in a deal that furthers its strategy of
increasing new drug candidates in its specialist areas of cancer
and autoimmune diseases such as lupus and...
EntreMed has entered into a research and development agreement with
the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to evaluate the role of
HIF-1alpha inhibition in the treatment of cancer. The agreement
aims to establish the relationship between...
