The pharmaceutical industry looks set to be one of the key areas of
contention for the two US Presidential candidates as they square
off ahead of the election in November.
An application that will enable direct measurement of nucleic acids
without the need for amplification has been developed by US
Genomics. The application will also allow researchers to perform
validation and characterization of specific...
Germany's Munich Biotech has reported encouraging data on a new
cancer treatment that takes a tried and tested drug and improves
its safety and efficacy, according to preliminary trial results.
Benitec, the Australian biotechnology firm, has launched patent
infringement suits in a US district court against Nucleonics,
Ambion, and Genscript, alleging that the three companies are
infringing a US patent concerning gene silencing...
A simple urine sample could soon be used to predict the complex
toxic effects of new drugs potentially making clinical trials
safer, more effective, and saving the industry millions of euros.
Germany's Evotec Neurosciences, a subsidiary of Evotec OAI, has
licensed rights to a patent portfolio developed by Roche that
covers a promising - but elusive - drug target for central nervous
system (CNS) disorders, reports...
The enlargement of the European Union to include 10 new countries
has raised fears about the impact this could have on issues such as
parallel imports and intellectual property protection, but it could
reinvigorate the industry in...
China's packaging industry is currently undergoing a growth rate
that is set to turn the sector into one of the country's leading
industries, report Simon Pitman and Phil Taylor.
Researchers in the US have developed a drug delivery technology
that could improve the treatment of cancer, avoid side effects and
even report back on the success of treatment.
Access Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement with an unnamed US
partner for a drug delivery system based on nanoparticle aggregates
that can be used to formulate proteins that are degraded by
solvents.
Debiopharm of Switzerland has won approval for a three-month depot
formulation of Pamorelin (triptorelin pamoate), a drug to treat
prostate cancer, based on its proprietary polymer-based drug
delivery technology.
Switzerland's Novartis has confirmed that it is interested in
joining with Aventis, but will not proceed with a formal bid unless
the French government draws back from its hostile stance on a
link-up, reports Phil Taylor.
US-based biotechnology company Human Genome Sciences is planning to
set up the first protein manufacturing facility in India in
collaboration with local companies.
The opening up of the European market for thermal cyclers earlier
this month has been followed swiftly by the launch of a new product
in the category from Germany's MWG Biotech, reports Phil
Taylor.
Researchers in France and the US have used a technique known as
click chemistry to discover potent new inhibitors of
acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that serves as a drug target in
Alzheimer's disease, writes Phil Taylor.
Researchers in the US have developed a way of self-assembling
liposomes - lipid particles used to carry a drug payload - that are
smaller and more uniform in size than can be achieved using current
methods.
Proposals to introduce a 'scientific visa' to facilitate movement
of third country researchers to and within the EU have been adopted
by the European Commission, writes Wai Lang Chu.
New filtration products for biopharmaceutical development and
production were unveiled at last week's Interphex 2004 exhibition
in New York by two of the main players in the sector - Pall and
Millipore.
Researchers in Austria have deciphered the first steps involved in
the attachment of sugar groups to proteins - a process known as
glycoslation - which could open the door to making a broad range of
human proteins in bacteria, writes...
The pharmaceutical industry in the UK could face a recruitment
crisis if more is not done to encourage students to opt for science
and engineering courses, according to the Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry, writes...
The UK government has promised to protect the large funding
increases for science announced in the country's last Spending
Review and pledged more investment under a new 10-year strategy for
science.
A new machine from Ultrasonic Scientific promises to revolutionise
the analysis of chemical reactions by requiring only a tiny amount
of sample, an important consideration when testing expensive
biologic compounds.
A new means of purifying air based on a simple electronic device
could mount a significant challenge to established players such as
ultraviolet light and HEPA filters, according to analysts.
A brand new chemical genomics facility, one of the first academic
small molecule screening facilities in Europe, has been opened by
the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the German
Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg,...
Fisher Scientific and Apogent Technologies are to merge in a $3.7
billion (€3.01bn) deal that will double Fisher's footprint in the
high-growth life sciences equipment market, reports Phil
Taylor.
Compared with European and US chemical companies, most domestic
Chinese chemical enterprises have remained technologically
challenged with productivity lagging behind international levels.
The US Food and Drug Administration is to develop a blueprint for
speeding up the approval of new medical products to counteract the
slowdown in R&D productivity in the pharmaceutical industry,
writes Phil Taylor.
A new treatment approach could one day make it possible to reverse
the paralysis that can occur after spinal cord injuries, which
occur in around 11,000 people in Europe every year.
Korean company Boo Yoon Tech has been granted a US patent on a
polyester resin that can be used to make environmentally-friendly,
biodegradable pharmaceutical bottles and blister packs.
As the Interphex 2004 exhibition in New York, US, comes to a close,
In-Pharmatechnologist.com takes a look at the crop of new
products rolled out in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.
Microfluidics has launched the first research-scale versions of its
patented High-Pressure Multiple Stream Mixer Reactor (MMR), claimed
to create uniform particles smaller than anything achieved using
current technologies.
Belgium's UCB has been granted approval in the US for the first
chewable formulation of an antihistamine designed to make it easier
to treat children for hayfever.
A team of scientists in the US have identified a molecular target
in which could herald the formation of the first pharmacological
therapy for treating amphetamine addiction, which is estimated to
affect around 9 million Americans,...
A new activity-based proteomics screening technique has allowed
scientists to identify active targets and simultaneously screen for
their inhibitors. The screening technique has already revealed that
orlistat, an anti-obesity drug,...
Researchers in the Netherlands say that a steroid drug formulated
in a lipid droplet and coated with a polymer seems to be more
effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis than the steroid on its
own.
Germany chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer has christened
its chemicals spin-off Lanxess, and says it is on schedule for a
stock market flotation early next year.
A consortium of academic and industry researchers, headed by
scientists from French company genOway, has started development of
genetically-modified laboratory rats that can serve as models for
human diseases.
German chemicals giant BASF has beaten its own sales and earnings
forecasts for 2003, prompting chairman Jurgen Hambrecht to suggest
that the sector may be due for something of a recovery this year,
writes Phil Taylor.
UCB has been awarded a US patent on a formulation technology that
could represent a low-cost means of achieving a difficult task -
making a drug that needs to be absorbed in the stomach suitable for
once-daily administration.
The French government has embarked on a fact-finding exercise to
try to work out ways it can address the country's diminishing
standing as a centre for biopharmaceutical R&D.
Klockner Pentaplast has introduced a film for pharmaceutical
packaging that blocks out 25 per cent more moisture than any other
thermoformed film on the market, according to the company.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals has discovered a series of orally-active
small molecules that, in animal models, reduce the fatty deposits
in blood vessel walls typically associated with atherosclerosis.
Scientists at the California Institute of Technology in the US have
developed a postage stamp-sized chip that can be used to carry out
many of the routine steps involved in isolating and purifying
nucleic acids from cells.
Switzerland's Novartis has confirmed that it is in discussions with
Aventis which could lead to a counter-offer to fend off the hostile
takeover bid from France's Sanofi-Synthelabo.
The need to conform with new European Commission (EC) regulations
and the increasing demand for improved efficiency in process
industries are encouraging greater adoption of flowmeters.
Hosokawa Micron has developed a grinding mill for pharmaceutical
applications that ties in with the industry-wide trend towards
using flexible, multipurpose production units.
New active ingredients are the lifeblood of the pharmaceutical
industry, but with the number of new compounds being launched
tailing off almost yearly, companies are turning to inactive
excipients as a source of product innovation,...
The European Union's Competitiveness Council has adopted the
legislation comprising the new framework for pharmaceuticals, but
its failure to agree on a pan-EU patent system has undermined the
progress made in the reform package,...
