Israeli drug delivery firm Foamix has been awarded a US patent for
its OilGel technology, a semisolid matrix which turns into a liquid
when rubbed onto the skin and can be used to deliver a broad range
of therapeutic compounds.
Topigen Pharmaceuticals has launched a new 3rd generation chemistry
technology, which has been designed for improving
oligonucleotide-based therapeutics that has the potential for broad
gene-targeting drug applications.
Batch control systems are becoming increasingly used by the
pharmaceutical and food industries as they increasingly rely on
automation to improve productivity and product quality.
The manufacturing compliance problems affecting US generic drug
manufacturer Able Laboratories, which have prompted a huge recall
of its entire product range, show little signs of being resolved,
reports Phil Taylor.
UK-headquartered pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline says it has overcome
the manufacturing problems that caused it to voluntarily withdraw
its antidepressant Paxil CR (paroxetine) and diabetes drug
Avandamet (metformin and rosiglitazone)...
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has finalised a new procedure
designed to make the process for the development, consultation,
finalisation and implementation of pharmaceutical guidelines
clearer.
An ionic silver complex designed for human antimicrobial use has
received a US patent, in a move that could well see increased usage
of this technology that exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial
qualities as well as displaying a lack...
Dutch nucleic acid specialist, Qiagen, has entered into an
agreement to acquire Nextal Biotechnology, a provider of sample
preparation tools which make protein crystallisation more
accessible. The deal also signals Qiagen's intention...
Suppliers in the RNA purification market seeking to win market
share are posed with the challenge of overcoming strong levels of
customer loyalty. A survey reveals that Qiagen and Invitrogen came
out top as to primary suppliers to...
The European Union has started a research project, backed with €7
million, to develop high barrier polymer films using nanocomposites
for a broad range of packaging and other industrial applications.
Biopharmaceutical company, deCODE genetics, has provided an update
on its lead clinical and preclinical drug development pipeline,
emphasising the role human genetics is playing in broadening its
preclinical portfolio in areas of...
Pharming has licensed rights to its protein production technology,
based on the use of transgenic animals, to AgResearch, the largest
government owned research organisation in New Zealand, reports
Phil Taylor.
Eastman Kodak has announced it will offer a virtual colonoscopy
application for use with its Kodak Directview PACS System 5,
automatically processing CT images into 3D models for viewing,
diagnosis and report generation.
Corgentech announced that its drug candidate was effective in
preclinical studies in reducing disease activity in models of
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis-both also referred to as
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which...
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US,
have developed a method of creating what they claim are the world's
smallest manufactured particles for delivering drugs and other
organic materials into the...
Scientists in the drug discovery arena, who need to assess cellular
function, in particular, mitochondrial membrane potential, cellular
proliferation and activation of caspase 3/7 or 8 enzymes, are set
to benefit from Guava Technology's...
German pharmaceutical firm, Schering took the opportunity, during
the company’s annual financial meeting, to provide an update on its
drug development pipeline, which concentrates on the disease areas
of hormonal therapies, cancer...
The rise of the biotechnology industry is set to create additional
pressure on pharmaceutical companies, who already have to deal with
unreasonable expectations, where even common molecule failure in
the R&D stages result in loss...
French public prosecutors have expanded their criminal
investigations into alleged accounting irregularities by specialty
chemicals maker Rhodia, with a raid on the country's Ministry of
Finance.
Another week, another Indian acquisition of a European or US
pharmaceutical company. In the latest case, Torrent Pharmaceuticals
has agreed to acquire Heumann Pharma Generics of Germany through
its wholly owned German affiliate, Torrent...
German pharmaceutical firm Schering is planning to close down half
its production facilities in the coming years as it strives to
boost profitability and growth to a level that will beat its peers
in the industry, reports Phil Taylor.
US biotechnology major Genentech has provided further detail on its
plans to dramatically increase production capacity in the wake of
its $408m acquisition of Biogen-Idec's Oceanside facility.
Bayer Healthcare has entered into a licence agreement with DxS and
BTG in a deal that grants Bayer Diagnostics use of the companies'
DNA diagnostic technology to develop pharmacogenomic assays for the
$1.9 billion (€1.6 billion)...
Chiral Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daicel Chemical
Industries, of Japan, has licensed a chromatography column
technology that promises to be particularly useful for the
separation of chiral drugs.
Researchers have used new laboratorial techniques that allowed them
for the first time to derive unlimited numbers of purified
mesenchymal precursor cells from human embryonic stem cells
(HESCs). The cells can be used for regenerative...
Sud-Chemie Performance Packaging has started manufacturing a line
of scented packaging products for the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical
and food industries.
Shares in German generic drugmaker Stada rose last Friday after
rumours resurfaced that Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries was gearing up to launch a €2 billion bid for the
company.
The pharmaceutical industry faces an uncertain future in which high
clinical development costs coupled with declining drug discovery
success rates are causing efficiency levels to fall, halting the
flow of new products in the R&D...
Belgian chemicals and pharmaceuticals company Solvay has launched a
bid to acquire at least a 51 per cent stake in German
pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients company Girindus,
reports Phil Taylor.
Astex has announced that the United States Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has approved its Investigational New Drug
(IND) application for the clinical development of its cell cycle
inhibitor, AT7519, for the treatment of cancer.
Researchers, for the first time, have revealed the forms taken by
structures of tubulin during the construction of microtubules. The
discovery is of use to drug researchers and developers as tubulin
is a target for anticancer drugs,...
Olympus has introduced a new confocal laser-scanning microscope,
which employs a higher resolution than conventional optical devices
by combining UV microscopy and confocal scanning technology.
In the US, the New York Senate last week passed that would prohibit
the administration of any vaccine containing more than a trace
amount of mercury to children under the age of three or pregnant
women.
European researchers have discovered that treatment with an
antibody preserved the beta cell function, decreasing the insulin
need for at least 18 months in people with recent-onset type 1
diabetes. The discovery represents an important...
Pfizer has started production at a newly opened $90m plant
expansion in Ireland that will make torcetrapib, a cardiovascular
drug in late-stage clinical testing, reports Phil Taylor.
MorphoSys Antibodies by Design, ProQinase and the Natural and
Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) have announced the start of a
collaboration to develop an adenoviral siRNA-kinome-chip (ASK
chip), that could revolutionise the analysis...
The activities of animal extremists took a sinister turn as it was
revealed the broker to the drug company Phytopharm quit after a
bomb exploded beneath the car of one of the firm's executives.
A new laboratory application for detecting tuberculosis, which cuts
waiting time from 24 hours to three minutes using a technique that
identifies TB antigens, has been made available by Proteome
Systems. The application is set to...
Reaxa, a new catalyst technologies company, has formally commenced
trading following a successful spin-out from UK-headquartered
chemicals company Avecia, reports Phil Taylor.
Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) has announced positive results
of its human anti-IL13 monoclonal antibody, to be used as a
potential treatment for severe asthma. The Phase I clinical trial
of CAT-354 represents research towards...
The Biosystems Informatics Institute (Bii) and Lucidyx have
announced a joint agreement to develop new bioinformatics tools to
integrate data storage and Lucidyx's genomic search engine
technology to better contextualise off-target...
Clinical Data is to acquire Genaissance Pharmaceuticals in a deal
worth $56 million (€46.3 million). The merger allows Clinical Data
to add pharmacogenomic diagnostics and tools to its burgeoning
portfolio as it prepares to enter...
US packaging specialist Chesapeake Corp has launched a design
studio and product development group in the UK, dedicated to
pharmaceutical and healthcare packaging, to strengthen its position
in paperboard packaging in Europe.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals has demonstrated in its latest study with
Menopur, resulted in five more pregnancies per 100 women treated,
compared to current infertility drug treatments, bringing hope to
the 60-80 million couples worldwide...
Agilent Technologies introduces a high-capacity human protein
removal system for proteomics research, that removes up to 99 per
cent of the six most common proteins from human blood serum.
