Fresh evidence that drugs targeting adenosine receptors could play
a role in the treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders has come
from a study looking at the mechanism of action of a herbal remedy.
Italy's Defiante Farmaceutica is in negotiations with BioDelivery
Sciences International for the development of a new formulation of
aspirin that could cut the risks of side effects with the
painkiller.
BASF has claimed a first with the launch of a new pellet form of
triphenylphosphine (TPP), used in the production of active
pharmaceutical ingredients, that minimises dust and improves
handling and processing.
Germany's Azo has developed a new automated system for dosing
additives and minor ingredients in the pharmaceutical production
process that should allow companies to make cost savings.
Sir Tom McKillop, chief executive of AstraZeneca, has delivered a
stinging attack on parallel trade in pharmaceuticals as a factor
that is contributing to the ground lost by European pharmaceutical
companies to their US peers over...
DSM of the Netherlands saw its operating profit slump 23 per cent
to €294 million last year, hit by higher raw material costs and
declining sales of its life sciences products.
Aradigm has selected the final design configuration for its
Intraject needle-free drug delivery system, allowing the company to
press ahead with plans to commercialise the device.
Despite widespread recognition of the dangers of misprescribing,
one in 12 visits to the doctor in the US results in the patient
receiving dangerous medications, according to new data from the
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention...
Schering-Plough last week stopped enrollment in a Phase III trial
of its new anticancer agent, Sarasar (lonafarnib), after saying it
would not provide sufficient evidence of efficacy as a first-line
treatment for non-small cell lung...
Dutch drug delivery company OctoPlus will undergo a significant
change in 2004 as it completes its transformation from a
formulation services company to one firmly planted in drug
development.
A team of international researchers have screened the entire known
genome of the fruit fly (Drospohila melanogaster) for genes
that could play a role in cancer.
The widely used vaccine adjuvant alum is not associated with an
increased risk of adverse events, despite fears to the contrary,
according to a new analysis. The study should allay patient fears
and help maintain immunisation rates...
Swiss-American laboratory instrument company Mettler-Toledo saw its
fourth-quarter revenues climb 7 per cent to $370 million (€290m)
although the weak dollar accounted for a large proportion of the
increase.
Shares in Cobra Biomanufacturing of the UK fell 30 per cent
yesterday after the contract manufacturer of proteins, DNA and
viruses gave a warning on profits.
A US programme aimed at shortening the development time for new
pharmaceutical and biological drugs - which involves close
collaboration between the Food and Drug Administration and the
developer - is now underway.
UK-based Avecia, Europe's largest privately owned chemicals
company, has teamed up with Germany's IEP to develop new synthetic
routes for pharmaceutical intermediates using biocatalysis.
It has the same name and the same active ingredient, but
GlaxoSmithKline claims to have significantly improved its migraine
treatment Imitrex (sumatriptan) with a new formulation that
dissolves rapidly in the stomach.
Drug major Eli Lilly has provided a detailed response to a US
congressional committee request for details of how the firm intends
to tackle the issue of drug counterfeiting.
Israel-based Biodar, a subsidiary of food ingredient company
Lycored, has announced its acquisition of Karma Pharm in a
transaction that boosts its activities in pharmaceuticals.
The cost of implementing the US Medicare Act - which for the first
time provides a prescription drug benefit for the elderly and
disabled - is rising fast and represents a 'cave-in' to the drug
industry by the US government.
Zambon has teamed up with fellow Italian company BioXell to develop
small molecule drugs that antagonise CXCR3, a chemokine receptor
protein which plays a key role in inflammatory diseases affecting
skin, joints as well as the respiratory...
Fisher Scientific, the US-based science and laboratory products
group, hinted earlier this week that it may be looking to make
another acquisition, despite its prediction of a period of
consolidation in the wake of its $714 million...
It is no secret that India is becoming a major force in the world
market for active pharmaceutical ingredients, but recent
developments suggest that companies in the country may be gearing
up to play a similar role in inactive ingredients.
Solvay has doubled the output of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at its
Solvay Interox industrial pilot plant in Povoa, Portugal, using a
new high-yield process.
LION bioscience has delayed the publication of its third-quarter
results after a change in its accounting procedures that will see
licence revenues spread across the term of the contracts, instead
of booked in the quarter they are...
Novartis' generic drugs subsidiary Sandoz has opened two new
manufacturing plants in Austria and Slovenia that mark its entry
into the contract manufacture of biopharmaceuticals using mammalian
cell culture.
Tablet-coating specialist BioProgress formalised its agreement with
US chemicals and machinery group FMC in deal that could be worth up
to $160 million (€128m) in revenues in the first six years.
Pharmaceutical, chemical and coatings company Akzo Nobel reported a
9 per cent slide in net income in 2003 but said the result was
better than expected given the difficult operating environment last
year.
AstraZeneca has launched new production lines at its production
facility in Dunkerque in northern France, following a 24 per cent
growth in its respiratory sales in 2003. The new lines will produce
aerosol-delivered medicines for...
Scientists at Switzerland's Roche have developed a small molecule
that interferes with the binding of p53 - a protein that blocks the
development of cancer - to its natural inhibitor. The discovery
could open the door to novel,...
The widely used food ingredient inulin could be a more effective
alternative to established excipients in stabilising protein-based
medicines and improving their shelf life, according to researchers
at the University of Groningen...
Hyderabad, India-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories has reported
revenues of 5.1 billion rupees (€89m) in the third quarter of
fiscal 2004, up 18 per cent and ahead of analysts' forecasts.
A cell culture vessel designed by Taiwanese company CESCO
Bioengineering can produce the same amount of cells in a single
500ml bottle as would be made in 20 or more conventional roller
bottles, according to the company which is introducing...
US company Incyte Genomics is closing down its Palo Alto-based gene
information division, saying that the availability of free genetic
databases on the Internet has scuppered the unit's business.
Researchers from Vertex Pharmaceuticals have identified the first
crystal structure of Flt-3, a member of the receptor tyrosine
kinase family that is implicated in the development and progression
of leukaemia, paving the way for the...
News that the outbreak of avian flu in Asia today claimed its
twelfth victim - and unconfirmed suggestions that it may be spread
from human to human - has lent additional urgency to efforts to
develop a vaccine against the virus.
Manufacturers of pharmaceutical excipients that are imported into
the US must step up their compliance with new legislation or risk
having shipments turned back at the border.
The UK's Cambridge University has scrapped plans to build a primate
research centre to conduct research into neurological disorders
which caught the attention of the scientific press late last year.
Aventis could hang on to its 15 per cent stake in chemicals company
Rhodia under the terms of a new agreement with the European
Commission. The company will instead sell off its 49 per cent stake
in Wacker Chemie over the next several...
Switzerland's Lonza has negotiated exclusive rights to an
expression system, used in the manufacture of therapeutic proteins,
that could be used to shorten the development time for its
customers' biologic products.
Tecan of Switzerland's US subsidiary has launched Cellerity, a new
system designed to produce a ready supply of cells for cell-based
assays, at the LabAutomation 2004 exhibition, which opened its
doors yesterday.
US packaging giant MeadWestvaco has reported a 38 per cent increase
in fourth-quarter profits, helped by cost-cutting, cash from the
sale of forest land and strong sales of consumer packaging
materials.
Spanish manufacturer of choline salts Algry Quimica has signed
several new research agreements to develop active ingredients for
pharma and food applications.
UK chemical sector growth, including pharmaceuticals, is forecast
at 3.6 per cent for 2004, outperforming the 2.3 per cent growth
estimated for Europe as a whole, according to a study presented at
the Chemical Industry Association's...
Sanofi's hostile bid for larger French rival Aventis may have been
rejected, but there are a number of arguments in favour of a link,
according to analyst Nicole Lamble at market research firm
Datamonitor.
