The latest research included in the proceedings of the annual
scientific meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) means
that diabetic treatments and other therapies for the disease
feature strongly in DrugResearcher's...
Arena Pharmaceuticals have been issued with a patent for drug
screening methods for the treatment of metabolic-related disorders,
especially in relation to the niacin receptor. Ligands of the
niacin receptor play a role in regulating...
Varian has introduced what it says is the industry's first range of
ultra-low-bleed columns for monitoring solvent residues in
pharmaceutical preparations.
The founder, chairman and chief executive of French drug delivery
company Flamel Technologies has been lambasted by disgruntled
shareholders who want to bring in a new management team, writes
Phil Taylor.
Spending on pharmaceuticals across the 30 countries in the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has
increased by a third in real terms since 1998, reaching more than
$450 billion (€370bn) in 2003, according to new...
Roche has opened the world's largest polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) manufacturing site in the world, investing more than $150
million and creating approximately 350 new jobs.
Novartis has announced the formation of a collaboration with Anadys
Pharmaceuticals to develop Hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis B (HBV)
therapeutics in a deal worth at least $570 million (€466 million).
EMBiology, an online resource launched this week, aims to become
the main research library for pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies, reports Ahmed ElAmin.
An inhaled formulation of the widely-used immunosuppressant drug
cyclosporine has been deemed safe by a US Food and Drug
Administration advisory committee, but the jury is still out over
the efficacy of the treatment, reports Phil...
Pharmaceutical company Novartis has started building a pilot plant
at its Stein site near Basel in Switzerland to supply sterile
dosage forms for clinical trials.
A new device is set to shorten drug development times by
incorporating a method that details protein structure and
interactions with drugs and medical devices. The device will be
useful for the pharmaceutical industry, particularly...
UK-based Stanelco has acquired Biotec, a company based in Germany
that makes starch-based polymer packaging for the pharmaceutical
and food industries.
An opportunity to develop drugs by targeting a recently discovered,
and potentially vulnerable, intermediate stage of the viral life
cycle, could result in a new pharmaceutical treatment in the fight
against HIV and other similar...
US scientists researching cancer have stumbled across a new
technique that could help them to distinguish between cancer types.
The discovery is set to change the landscape of cancer genetics by
providing laboratories with a procedure...
Lanxess is to transform its fine chemicals business out into a
legally-discrete subsidiary as part of a programme to increase its
competitiveness in the market for pharmaceutical and agricultural
chemicals, reports Phil Taylor.
BioProgress has allowed the exclusive partnership with US drugmaker
Wyeth on over-the-counter applications of its SWOLLO oral dosage
form technology to lapse, reports Phil Taylor.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US have
developed a device that has the potential to reduce the time needed
to analyse proteins, shorten development times for new drugs and
bring down the overall cost of...
Surface Logix has commenced Phase I clinical trials for a novel
PDE-5 inhibitor for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases,
including endothelial dysfunction and erectile dysfunction.
Living Cell Technologies (LCT) are set to put a major dent in the
market for diabetic treatments after they announced the retrieval
of live, insulin-producing cells, from a patient, in a transplant
that did not require the use of...
Taiwanese company Panion & BF Biotech has been awarded a US
patent on high-grade ferric citrate that could be used as an active
pharmaceutical ingredient for the treatment of iron deficiency
diseases, renal failure and elevated...
New anti-breast cancer drugs could be developed after latest
research suggested that Omega-3, a fatty acid found in oily fish,
could be combined with an anaesthetic to reduce the ability of
breast cancer cells to develop into malignant...
A drug delivery system that promises to improve the treatment of a
range of eye diseases, in development at French pharmaceutical
company Novagali Pharma, has won a Kaye Innovation Award.
Caliper Life Sciences launches a high-volume liquid handling
system, which enables independent control of fluid delivery to
individual microplate wells, becoming only one of a handful of
liquid handlers currently on the market that...
Thermo Electron has launched its new bi-directional digital
interface that promotes compliance with Good Laboratory Practice
(GLP) standards and 21 CFR Part 11 electronic records keeping
regulations.
Agilent Technologies has launched what it says is the industry's
first gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) system with a
user interface that allows the electronic sharing of application
methods.
Chinese vitamin C manufacturers are preparing their defence to an
anti-trust case filed by two American firms that allege
price-fixing and control of the market since 2001, writes
Dominique Patton.
'Smart' blister packaging that can record when medicines are taken,
developed by Canada's Information Mediary Corp, is being launched
into the European market with the help of French contract research
organisation ABR...
Dublin City University in Ireland and pharmaceutical major Wyeth
have started a four-year research collaboration aimed at improving
the production of biopharmaceuticals, reports Phil Taylor.
Scientists in the UK have developed a way to harness magnetic
fields in a way that allows some of the heaviest solid materials to
be levitated, raising the prospect of a new way to separate and mix
particles in the pharmaceutical...
Sanitas, Lithuania's largest pharmaceutical producer, signed an
agreement in late May to purchase Hoechst-Biotika, a drug
manufacturer in the Slovak Republic.
One of the biggest challenges in catalysed chemical reactions is to
remove and recycle the catalyst once the process is complete. A new
approach, using Teflon, could make recovery simpler and cut down on
the use of solvents, writes...
The European pharmaceutical sector is falling behind the US in
terms of innovation and R&D expenditure and is increasingly
under threat from newcomers, especially in India and China.
Security printing specialist AlpVision has signed an agreement with fellow Swiss company Serolab to develop packaging that will guard against drug counterfeiting.
In-PharmaTechnologist.com reports its periodic round-up of new
appointments in the pharmaceutical sector, headlined this week by
the appointment of a new head of manufacturing at US drugmaker
Merck & Co.
Dynal Biotech has announced two product releases from its new
proteomic preparation range, which use magnetic bead chromatography
technology to prepare for mass spectrum analysis without the
requirement of columns.
Researchers have identified the first gene in patients who have
epilepsy, which is associated with a movement disorder. The study
provides the first direct genetic evidence that the co-existence of
these conditions represents a new...
Nanostream, has introduced a fraction collector add-on to its
Veloce system, transforming it into a front-end sample preparation
tool that lets users rapidly perform MS assays.
Scientists have successfully achieved the production of a
functional humanised antibody in the whites of eggs laid by a
transgenic hen, opening the door to using transgenic flocks as an
alternative to mammalian cell culture for the...
Researchers have come up with a unique method of detecting cancer
in which gold nanoparticles that were bound to a specific antibody
displayed a 600 per cent greater affinity for cancer cells than for
noncancerous cells.
French plant extracts supplier Naturex said today it will buy US
rival Pure World for around $37 million (€30m), or $4.30 per share
in cash, reports Dominique Patton.
Chiron and the multiple myeloma research consortium have announced
the initiation of a phase I clinical trial for CHIR-258 - the first
drug candidate to undergo clinical study through the MMRC - an
organisation that integrates leading...
The use of DNA as a vaccine has been an exciting but elusive
prospect in drug development for many years, held back by problems
with effectivness and difficulties in production. But this could be
about to change, reports Phil Taylor.
Researchers have discovered that a certain virus appears to cloak
itself with a recently discovered gene-silencing device to evade
detection and destruction by immune cells. The study is the first
to show how a virus uses the gene...
GWC Technologies claims that its new SpotReady chips enable labs to
carry out label-free array analysis of proteins and other
biomolecules, reports Anthony Fletcher.
Agilent Technologies has introduced the industry's first GC/MS
system that allows researchers to electronically download and share
application methods, accelerating the transfer and method
standardisation across laboratories...
Niro Pharma Systems unit Courtoy has improved its MODUL rotary
tablet press range with the launch of the MODUL D, a double-sided
version that ramps up the unit's production capabilities, writes
Phil Taylor.
Troubled dosage form company BioProgress has taken its first action
to restructure its finances in the wake of its recent problems with
increasing overheads and slower trading at its US subsidiary.
