Germany's mg technologies has completed the sale of Dynamit Nobel's
five business units on schedule at the end of July, marking its
exit from the fine chemicals and ingredients sector.
The identification of an oncogene, which is associated with brain
cancers, could lead to the development of targeted molecular
therapeutics, controlling brain cancer development through
regulation of the errant gene.
Varian has introduced a mobile washing station that can clean
pharmaceutical dissolution vessels in place, reducing the time it
takes to carry out the process and reducing the risk of expensive
breakages.
Technology holding company Coastal Holdings, has purchased a
significant equity interest in another biotechnology business,
adding to its portfolio of acquisitions and investments in the
biotechnology and nanotechnology fields.
A new screening technique has been developed to target genes that
change patients' responses to cancer drugs and other medications.
By identifying genetic factors affecting patients drug responses,
customisable treatment plans...
The advent of smaller, less expensive marking and engraving lasers
means that packaging firms can expect better performances, claims
Purex marketing manager Jon Young. But in all cases, some form of
fume extraction system is still...
A unique approach to microdosing, providing drug data ahead of
schedule and with improved accuracy, could herald a new era in drug
development in which human ADME data is involved in candidate
selection or deselection.
Speciality chemicals group Noviant has developed a certified
GM-free disintegrant for use in tablets, allowing supplement makers
to continue supplying a full range of products without having to
add labels required under new European...
The first grants given in the UK for drug development in early
phase clinical experiments have been awarded to gene therapy trials
that may herald a breakthrough in intra-abdominal cancer which has
an average survival rate of less...
Life sciences company Tepnel has signed a conditional agreement to
acquire OpiSAS' (Opi) subsidiary Diaclone Research, a company that
produces monoclonal antibodies for in vitro studies and
diagnostic purposes.
Despite Thermo Electron reporting a Q2 revenue growth of 12 per
cent, organic revenue growth declined from 5 per cent in 1Q04 to 3
per cent in the second quarter, due in part to the company's sale
of its Optical Technologies...
A potential new drug target for treatment of cancer has amazed
scientists who believe it plays such a key role in preventing
cancer onset that it opens up a range of different targeting
options for multiple types of cancer.
Locus Pharmaceuticals have acquired the drug discovery company
Protein Mechanics, which brings together novel technologies that
broaden the scope of drug targets and further strengthens its
position as a leading company in computational...
A new drug target, which blocks the reproduction of cancerous cells
without the side effects commonly associated with existing cancer
drugs, has been discovered by scientists who believe this target is
linked to other diseases including...
In a defiant gesture to animal activists, Britain's pharmaceutical
companies have joined forces to launch a £4m research fund to
finance animal experiments in universities.
UK biotechnology company CellFactors has entered administration
following its failure to raise additional funds to further develop
its product Skeletex, a biological matrix derived from human cells
that induces new vascularised bone...
A US biophysicist has won an award for developing a new process
that simplifies the production of proteins in the widely used T7
gene expression system.
US firm Altair Nanotechnologies has filed two new patent
applications on its TiNano Spheres drug delivery system, which it
claims can deliver a large amount of drug, improving reaction
rates.
A novel approach to treating tuberculosis (TB), focusing on a
potential drug target in the cell walls of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, a disease that is
reappearing as new, multiresistant drug-strains.
The Irish government is joining Johnson & Johnson subsidiary
Centocor in a €650 million investment in a new manufacturing
facility, it said this week. The move comes as some have questioned
the country's capacity to remain...
Contract service provider, GeneLogic, has formed a partnership with
Millenium Pharmaceuticals acquiring a technology program and an
associated research team as part of the deal. Millenium becomes the
first customer for this new service...
Scientists who have discovered the binding site for the
anti-epilepsy drug Keppra have confirmed that the drugs mechanism
of action places it in a new class of central nervous system (CNS)
drugs.
The reality of the violence of some UK animal activists became
apparent after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Europes's biggest drug maker,
warned that investment and jobs would be driven out of the country
by their actions.
UK chemicals group Croda said strong demand for its marine and
plant-derived oils in the personal care and healthcare sectors
lifted sales and helped improve first half operating profits.
Celera Diagnostics announced it has entered into a collaboration
with Merck to identify novel targets for drug discovery and
diagnostic markers related to Alzheimer's disease.
Dutch group DSM, one of Europe's top three ingredient suppliers to
drug makers, increased sales of pharma products during the second
quarter but continued losses from the antibiotics market halved the
Life Sciences operating...
Switzerland's Lonza Group said yesterday that it will use a novel
process developed by US-based biocatalysis company Codexis for the
synthesis of a key chiral pharmaceutical compound used in one of
the world's major human...
Bayer Biological Products has unveiled a number of new product
developments as part of its major campaign to combat product
tampering and counterfeiting.
An antibody drug candidate to treat autoimmune diseases has been
exclusively in-licensed by KaloBios Pharmaceuticals who hope to
develop this compound into a practicable treatment for rheumatoid
arthritis (RA), which currently...
US researchers have found a delivery method for gene therapy that
reaches all the voluntary muscles of a mouse - including heart,
diaphragm and limbs - and reverses the process of muscle-wasting
found in muscular dystrophy.
A US-based aerosol drug specialist has signed an agreement with
Switzerland's Phares Drug Delivery for use of a technology that can
improve the delivery of inhalation-therapy drugs and overcome
delivery incompatibility in combination...
Avecia has launched a new precious metal scavenging resin, designed
to minimise metal loss and pollution in processing as well as
residual metal contamination of a product or intermediates.
Pharmaceutical instrument supplier Argonaut believes its Isolute
ppt+ protein precipitation plates can overcome two major obstacles
holding back the purity of protein precipitation prior to LC-MS
analysis of drugs and metabolites...
The chief executive of leading pharmaceutical company, Astra
Zeneca, has issued a bleak warning to European governments: improve
the business environment, or we'll take our investment elsewhere.
The battle to gain control of the lucrative cholesterol-lowering
drug market intensified after Merck and Schering-Plough joined
forces to win Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for their
new entrant, Vytorin.
Pharmaceutical instrument supplier Argonaut has introduced the
Isolute PPT+ protein precipitation plates, created with the
intention of accelerating drug research and development.
US biotechnology company Invitrogen reported record second-quarter
revenue but warned that top-line growth for the rest of 2004 would
be less than expected, citing an increasingly competitive business
environment.
A novel approach to traditional drug design has led to a new drug
which prevents eye scarring after glaucoma surgery. The discovery
brings hope to half a million people in the UK who suffer from what
is the most common cause of irreversible...
Ciphergen Biosystems has introduced its next generation ProteinChip
System, Series 4000, primarily designed to enable rapid biomarker
discovery and development of predictive, high throughput
SELDI-based assays.
Pharmaceutical investment in antibiotic research and development
(R&D) must be reinvigorated so doctors have access to medicines
needed to combat the ever-growing threat of antibiotic resistant
infections.
Researchers in the UK are developing an oral tuberculosis vaccine
for badgers based on alginate gel beads, which protect the bacteria
from stomach acid until it reaches the intestine. They say the
technology could also work for human...
Pressure on pharma ingredient supplier Lonza has continued into the
first half of the year, with consistently low use of custom
manufacturing capacity and weak demand for biomanufacturing
contributing to a 37 per cent drop in operating...
Belgian pharmaceutical and chemicals company UCB, fresh from its
€2.25 billion acquisition of UK biotech Celltech, has divested its
films business in a move that takes it another step closer to
becoming a biopharmaceutical pure-play.
Drug discovery company Ablynx is to enter into a partnership with
Proctor and Gamble Pharmaceuticals. The agreement will make use of
Ablynx's Nanobody platform to develop drug candidates against a
G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR)...
Chiral Quest has forged an alliance with DSM to accelerate the
take-up of its catalysis products, used in the synthesis of
chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
