Growth in Asian and South American markets boost sales for Danish
firm Chr Hansen, counterbalancing a fall in revenue in North
America for the first quarter of the year.
Three chemicals companies - Akzo Nobel, the Hoechst unit of
Sanofi-Aventis and Total subsidiary Arkema - have been fined €217
million by the European Commission for operating a cartel in the
market for monochloroacetic acid (MCAA).
An emerging trend has identified an emergence of combination drugs,
which could be a solution to patient non-compliance, a major factor
in the rise of drug resistant microorganisms in the industrialised
nations.
The ability of Applied Biosystem's 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR System
to reduce experimental time by almost three times from 2 hours to
approximately 35 minutes, in an industry standard 96-well format,
demonstrates the progress this...
The identification of an oncogene, which is associated with cancers
such as leukaemia, could lead to the development of targeted
molecular therapeutics, controlling cancer development through
regulation of the errant gene.
German biotechnology company MorphoSys' acquisition of two
Biogenesis antibody technology companies elevates it to one of the
largest European suppliers of antibodies to the life sciences
research community.
Pfizer and Rigel Pharmaceuticals have entered into a collaboration
to develop a novel class of compounds for the treatment of allergic
asthma and other respiratory diseases that continue to see cases
rising in Europe and the US.
A new study has revealed the pathway in the learning impairment
caused by liver disease may lead to a drug treatment that would
restore learning ability and provide a viable alternative to
Sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra.
The world's largest drug company, Pfizer, has been fined $22,500
for failing to properly notify state and federal officials about a
chemical release at a Connecticut research and development plant.
Excipient company JRS Pharma, part of the Germany's J Rettenmaier
& Sohne Group, has introduced a new gelling agent to stabilise
suspensions and emulsions, writes Phil Taylor.
The drug control authorities in Vietnam are being aided in the
fight against counterfeit drugs by a mobile laboratory system
developed by the German Pharma Health Fund (GPHF).
Switzerland's Sotax, a specialist in dissolution and physical
testing equipment, has introduced a new ceramic piston pump
designed for use in flow-through dissolution testing of dosage
forms.
Drug discovery company Cambrex' intention to enter a key segment of
the drug discovery arena was substantiated by its purchase of
immortalised cell lines, related technology and equipment.
Applied Biosystems has launched a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
system that allows real-time PCR runs to proceed three times
faster. The system's quantitative results are available immediately
without gel runs, purifying PCR...
Australia's CSL, the world's largest manufacturer of blood plasma
products, has agreed to sell its JRH Biosciences division to
Sigma-Aldrich for $370 million (€283m) in cash. JRH makes cell
culture and sera products used...
UK packaging equipment supplier Isopak has introduced an all-in-one
system designed to eliminate the difficulties of handling and
packing pharmaceuticals, foods and cosmetics in sachets.
New Year, new job. Busy times for personnel in the pharmaceutical
technology sector, with a series of new appointments.
In-PharmaTechnologist.com provides a round-up.
A new report identifies the nucleic acid (NA) therapeutic market to
reach over $210 billion (€161bn), illustrating a solid and
potentially very profitable approach to treatment of cancer,
rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular conditions,...
UK company The Medical House has entered into a deal with Swiss
biotechnology firm Serono for a needle-free injector system for the
delivery of human growth hormone.
Fine and specialty chemicals company Avecia is planning to spin out
part of its pharmaceutical technologies portfolio into a new
company to be called Reaxa. The move should complete before the end
of this quarter.
Croda Healthcare's medical grade lanolin ingredient - used in a
number of dermatological brands including the top-selling emollient
product in the UK - has outperformed the industry standard
emollient, petrolatum, in clinical...
Wacker-Chemie is to acquire German biotechnology company ProThera,
based in Jena, to boost its presence in the biologics manufacturing
sector. ProThera will now operate as Wacker Biotech.
Despite burgeoning demand for biopharmaceutical drugs, little
progress is being made toward the improving efficiency and reducing
costs in conventional biomanufacturing processes using microbial or
mammalian fermentation systems.
Medical device company Boston Scientific has launched a new
cardiovascular stent designed to deliver the drug paclitaxel in 18
countries around the world, stealing a march on arch-rival Johnson
& Johnson.
Materials testing specialist Stable Micro Systems has launched a
texture analysis device which promises to increase productivity and
improve cost-effectiveness where higher volume, repetitive quality
testing is required.
The pharmaceutical industry took further damage to its reputation
after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and healthcare
professionals were warned of the anaemia drug Aranesp, after
studies on similar drugs showed higher doses...
A new safety training scheme, designed to deliver accredited
'safety passports' for service engineers and other outside
contractors working in pharmaceutical, healthcare, toiletries and
cosmetics factories has been introduced...
Fine chemicals company Rohner is to work together with
Switzerland's Solvias on the provision of development and
manufacturing services for complex active pharmaceutical
ingredients (APIs).
Scientists researching pharmaceutical treatments for Parkinson's
disease are invited to submit study information to a new patient
website, which is intended to improve access to information on
Parkinson's clinical trials,...
Ampac Packaging is continuing its acquisitive spree into 2005 with
the purchase of Flexicon, a maker of flexible packaging materials
for the pharmaceutical, medical and other industries.
German BioMicroscopy supplier ibidi GmbH has launched a range of
"Lab-on-a-Slide" micro-slides (µ-Slides) that can be used for cell
analysis and biomolecules. The slides allow cell culturing and
high-resolution microscopy...
A current trend towards systems biology and analysis and
interactions of proteins and nucleic acids has led Qiagen to
introduce a method that reduces the complexity of proteomics
samples. Currently, researchers use primarily home...
GeneGo has launched an ADME/Tox platform which combines software
for predicting metabolites and over 40 ADME/Tox properties
properties with visualization and analysis of toxicogenomics and
metabolomics data.
US chemicals company Aceto has broken cover and is now racing to
develop a leading player in the market for generic versions of
biologic drugs, even though the regulatory route to approval of
these products is far from established.
The marriage between US chemicals group Dynamic Synthesis and
French separations specialist Novasep has been completed, creating
what the new company claims is a unique company to serve the life
sciences industry.
Researchers have shed new light on the activation of a protein key
to the development of cancers, particularly breast and prostate
cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States.
Applied Biosystems launches the latest addition to its API family
of triple quadrupole analysers that aims to add to the sensitivity
and accuracy of mass spectrometry for small molecule
quantification, essential for DMPK and ADMET...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given clearance to a
new product, which simplifies the process, offers improved
specificity and decreases the time to result in the identification
of methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus...
Scandinavian biopharmaceutical company deCode Genetics intends to
initiate a Phase I clinical trial of the first-in-class treatment
of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) which represents a
promising therapeutic approach...
Peptide drugs look like they may finally fulfil their promise,
after years of what has largely been disappointment, if figures
released in a new market research report prove accurate.
Applied DNA Sciences, a specialist in the use of DNA as a security
and anti-counterfeiting technology, is to work with the US
Department of Energy to develop an improved process for identifying
its marker technology that should bring...
The market for low-cost generic drugs looks set to be buoyant for
the foreseeable future, both in Europe as a whole and in France,
according to Hubert Olivier, president of the French subsidiary of
the leading German generics group...
A new European project on the emerging discipline of
nanobiotechnology aims to tackle the thorny issue of safety as well
as develop new materials for drug delivery and other medical uses,
reports Phil Taylor.
Chiron said yesterday that the UK and US regulatory authorities are
expected to conduct a series of inspections of its manufacturing
facility in Liverpool, which was forced to cease production of
influenza vaccines last year, leading...
Qiagen has announced a new product line for the separation,
purification and handling of nucleic acids, an essential process in
drug discovery, which aims to improve over current applied methods,
which suffer from decreased sensitivity...
A revolutionary new treatment for depression has been granted
marketing authorisation by the European Commission. The new therapy
is said to be able to treat the full spectrum of depressive
symptoms.
Drug giants GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Galapagos have entered into a
target identification collaboration identifying viable drug targets
in the area of respiratory and inflammatory diseases.
Thermo Electron has launched a new FT-IR spectrometer specifically
targeted at quality control and assurance laboratories in the
pharmaceutical, chemical and polymer industries.
Switzerland's Romaco has introduced a new laboratory scale product
that provides vacuum mixing, dispersion and homogenisation and
should be of particular value for formulation development in the
pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors.
