The contract manufacturing sector lagged behind the rest of the
outsourcing industry serving the pharmaceutical sector in 2004, but
there are encouraging signs for the future, reports Phil
Taylor.
Waters Corporation has launched the MassTrak Clinical Solutions, a
system that is aimed at monitoring and measuring drug therapies,
performing toxicology screening and quantifying biomarkers quickly,
reliably and accurately.
Cardinal Health saw a double-digit hike in fiscal third quarter
revenues mirrored by a decline in operating earnings, as gains in
its drug distribution and medical products businesses were offset
by lower profits in sterile manufacturing...
Lonza is planning a major exansion of its peptides manufacturing
capacities at Visp, Switzerland, in response to what it said was
'the increased demand for peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients
worldwide'.
Researchers in the US have found that blocking the COX-1, not COX-2
enzyme, might lead the way to prevent and treat the most common and
fatal form of ovarian cancer.
German drug development company BioGenerix has earmarked up to
$61.5 million (€48m) to develop a new version of an
already-marketed biologic drug using a pegylation technology
developed by US firm Neose, reports Phil Taylor.
GlaxoSmithKline has signed a consent decree with the US Food and
Drug Administration to correct manufacturing deficiencies at its
Cidra, Puerto Rico facility, but could be in a position to return
two drugs made at the plant to market...
A worldwide agreement to develop and commercialise a fully human
monoclonal antibody that could have therapeutic potential in the
treatment of T-cell mediated diseases has been agreed between
Serono and Genmab.
The ongoing Interphex show in New York has seen continued evidence
of the expansion of disposable technologies into areas of
bioprocessing currently dominated by multi-use items, reports
Phil Taylor.
Isis Pharmaceuticals is developing its first inhaled antisense drug
for the treatment of asthma and related pulmonary diseases. The
drug represents a potentially effective therapy for these diseases
that continue to see cases rising...
The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods
(ECVAM), part of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), is seeking to
reduce animal testing as part of the upcoming EU directive that
aims to abolish animal testing in scientific...
Cytopia has received the green light to trial a promising new drug
that could prove effective in the fight against advanced solid
tumours. In animal studies, the drug candidate has already shown
efficacy in killing cancer cells in...
The use of positron emission tomography (PET) and small animal
imaging has the potential to eliminate more strenuous drug
development trials with animals, creating a viable alternative.
BioGenex announces the launch of the Xmatrx, a walk-away system
that automates molecular diagnostics and drug target identification
and validation. The system is specifically designed to enable drug
discovery companies to customise...
Antares Pharma has announced that it has completed formulation and
preclinical activities for its first fast melt oral tablet
incorporating a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) using
its Easy Tec fast melt technology.
Nanogen has been issued with a European patent, which relates to a
nanofabrication technology combining a manufacturing platform and
nanostructures that is set to broaden Nanogen's position in the
nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing...
The Danish NovoSeven Facility has been given the '2005 Facility of
the Year Award' by the foremost representatives of the
pharmaceutical industry's international engineering society.
Sigma, a division of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation has launched a new
offering of Custom AQUA Peptides for use with Protein-AQUA
Quantitative Proteomics, enabling important applications as
differential protein expression, biomarker quantification...
Cardiome Pharma has completed its second Phase I trial for the
controlled release oral formulation of RSD1235, an anti-arrhythmic
drug candidate that could well provide an effective drug therapy
for its 7 million sufferers worldwide.
Millipore has introduced a single-use prefilter for clarification
steps in mammalian cell synthesis that continues the trend towards
increasing use of disposable technologies in the bioprocessing
environment, reports Phil Taylor.
An electronic nebuliser that matches a product formulation, which
was specifically developed to optimise this device's performance,
marks a new advance in the customisation of drug development and
represents a new aerosol delivery...
According to a new report, nanotechnology is set to play a major
part in drug delivery systems especially for tumour therapies. The
report cites nanoparticles as being particularly suited to curing
specific conditions such as cancer,...
Bentley Pharmaceuticals has entered into an agreement with Dong
Sung Pharmaceuticals for the development of an intranasal spray
formulation of insulin for the South Korean market with the view of
extending this deal into additional...
Exelixis has submitted an investigational new drug application
(IND) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for XL820, a
novel small molecule anticancer compound that inhibits receptor
tyrosine kinases (RTKs) implicated in tumour...
Oxford Instruments Molecular Biotools (OIMBL) have introduced an
instrument, which it claims will revolutionise the Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy field by amplifying the baseline
sensitivity of NMR systems by a factor...
Thermo Electron has launched a high performance powder X-ray
diffractometer (XRD) instrument that enables scientists to perform
qualitative and quantitative analyses in central and QA/QC
laboratories with high sample throughput.
Sherwood Technology announces the launch of DataLase Edible, a
solution for laser marking edible products such as pharmaceutical
tablets, which represents a method that is expected to increase
productivity and produce better image...
A recently-launched project by the European Union is aiming to
demonstrate once and for all whether nanoparticles - which underpin
the emerging discipline of nanotechnology - are safe, reports
Phil Taylor.
A research program has released a small molecule binding annotation
and comparison tool, which is expected to accelerate lead
development in antimicrobial drug discovery, as well as allow
chemists to develop safer, more specific...
Researchers have discovered the structural basis for antibiotic
resistance to common pathogenic bacteria, which could herald the
design and development of a new class of antibiotic drugs.
Amcor Flexibles Healthcare has enlisted the aid of Montesino
Associates to market a blister pack simulation technology to the
global pharmaceutical industry.
Scientists have developed a monoclonal antibody that can cure mice
infected with the West Nile virus, which if confirmed, could become
one of the first monoclonal antibodies used as a treatment for an
infectious disease.
Scientists at the Karolinska Institutet (KI) have discovered that a
type of drug, when targeted at muscle cells can prove effective in
the treatment of diabetes patients with insulin resistance.
Gerresheimer launched a crop of new pharmaceutical components at
the Interpack show last week, including a new system for the dosing
of water-soluble dry medications and new devices to improve the
safety and ease of use of its syringe...
Agilent Technologies has announced plans to introduce its DNA
microarray-based genomics technology to India, reaffirming its
plans to expand its presence in medical research, drug discovery,
agro-biotech.The Indian microarray market...
Scientists have identified an enzyme that helps trigger the
development of leukaemia. The discovery, based on research using
bone marrow cells from mice, offers a potential target for new
drugs against this form of leukaemia.
The use of disposable and scalable technologies to purify large
molecule vectors can help manufacturers streamline processes and
overcome many of the unique challenges associated with vaccine
development, according to separations...
Agilent Technologies introduces a high-performance ion trap mass
spectrometer (MS) that allows the identification of 60-80 per cent
more peptides than preceding models in proteomic applications. The
spectrometer will lead to a better...
Xceleron has given the FDA its seal of approval after the
regulatory body drafted a guidance document that favoured a more
flexible experimental approach to early Phase I clinical studies.
German informatics firm LION bioscience is to sell its
bioinformatics business, in a move that reflects its ongoing
restructuring plans that has previously seen an employee cut of at
least 50 per cent.
Scientists at US biotechnology firm Cell Genesys have developed a
gene expression technology that could improve the commercial
production of monoclonal antibodies and other complex therapeutic
proteins, reports Phil Taylor.
According to a new report, the Indian drug sector is evolving
rapidly, creating opportunities both domestic and globally.
However, how Indian drug companies mould their strategies in the
face of product patent protection will determine...
The European Generic Medicines Association has criticised proposals
by the European Commission to offer six months' additional patent
protection to companies conducting trials of their drug products in
children.
ESA will officially launch its universal detector for use with high
performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), based on a technology
called CAD (charged aserosol detector), in Europe at the HPLC 2005
exhibition in Stockholm in June.
The fine chemicals business unit of Lanxess, which was spun-out
from Germany's Bayer earlier this year and provides custom
manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and other industries,
has said it plans to expand its geographic...
Canadian researchers have a developed a new chemical reaction that
could greatly accelerate pharmaceutical production, while also
cutting costs and toxic by-products.
Bruker Daltonics introduces a new system for clinical proteomics
and peptide/protein biomarker discovery and validation, aimed at
cancer research and other clinical and diagnostics research
laboratories engaged in biomarker discovery...
The US Supreme Court's decision as to how much a patent can
restrict research conducted by another company is a question that
is certain to affect the way innovative new drugs are researched
and developed.
