Process manufacturing industries are not responding to a clear need
to improve the information flow between the different parts of
their businesses leading to costly plant shutdowns, says a new
survey commissioned by BASF IT Services.
Affymetrix releases into the public domain what it says is the
first significant SNP database that includes genotype data and
allele frequencies across the entire human genome.
General Electric is the company offering to buy Amersham of the UK,
it was confirmed today. The US group is offering £5.7 billion for
the life sciences group, and said it has no plans to hive off
Biosciences.
After Amersham confirmed yesterday that it had received a bid from
an unnamed suitor wishing to buy the entire company, its shares
rose more than 16 per cent; both J&J and Roche are in the
rumour mill.
DRI and Tecan UK forge an alliance to use the former's CST reagents
on Tecan's liquid-handling devices. The collaboration will provide
automated nucleic acid purification systems.
Scientists at Berlex Pharmaceuticals, the US subsidiary of
Germany's Schering, have identified a biologic marker for
Alzheimer's that could form the basis of a diagnostic test.
Axon has licensed rights to Cellectricon's electroporation
technology to enhance the performance of its Axoporator products,
used to deliver DNA and other large molecules into cells.
New microarray products covering the human genome have been
launched by MWG Biotech and Agilent Technologies, adding to the
choice of products available to researchers.
Amersham will no longer act as a distributor for Epoch Bioscience's
MGB Eclipse range of probe systems after failing to meet sales
targets, according to the latter company.
Thermo Electron has teamed up with IBM to launch an offensive on
the LIMS marketplace. The collaboration will focus on LIMS systems
based on IBM's eServer system hardware.
Epigenomics and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute are to press
ahead with the first phase of the Human Epigenome Project following
the successful completion of a pilot study funded by the European
Union.
Troubled chemicals group Rhodia sees its CEO depart as the company
announces another restructuring round that will see €600m in
divestments by end-2004.
The US FDA's task force on counterfeiting of drugs issued its
preliminary report on schedule at the end of last week, and said
that it would be preparing a final document for early in 2004.
Erweka has redesigned its Multicheck system for measuring tablets'
sample weight, thickness, diameter and hardness. The machine can
cope with irregular-shaped and coated tablets.
French company genOway has become the first in the world to clone
rats, opening the way towards genetically-modified animals that can
be used as reliable, reproducible models of disease processes.
Cardinal Health is to acquire 100 per cent ownership of protein
production specialist Gala Biotech for $15.5 million (€13.2m)in a
move to bolster its drug development services business.
NextGen Sciences of the UK has launched two new technologies that
it maintains have the potential to revolutionise protein research
and accelerate drug discovery.
BASF has started work on a combined heat and power plant at its
site in Ludwigshafen that will help the company meet its long-term
environmental targets.
Serono has initiated Phase I clinical testing of TACI-Ig, a soluble
receptor-based drug that may have a role to play in the management
of autoimmune diseases.
CalbaTech has signed an agreement to acquire privately-held
Molecula Research Laboratories, a company developing gene silencing
technologies for gene and protein function studies.
Ytron-Quadro officially launched its new Quadro Comil model U5, a
scaleable laboratory model conical screen mill, at last week's PPMA
2003 show in Brimingham, UK.
BioFocus has entered into an agreement with Switzerland's Roche for
the design of a several custom kinase libraries for use in the
latter's drug discovery efforts.
Degussa and Shionogi set up a new joint venture company in Japan to
sell precipitated silica, silica gel and matting agents, used as
pharmaceutical additives.
Germany's Bayer has continued the revamp of its business units by
setting up its chemicals, technology services and healthcare
activities as three separate legal entities. The move follows the
carve-out of Bayer CropScience a...
Iceland's deCODE Genetics saw its US-listed shares rise more than
10 per cent yesterday after it reported the discovery of a gene
that appears to play a role in whether people are lean or fat.
Another drug targeting epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase -
Roche's Tarceva, has failed to live up to early promise as a
treatment for lung cancer.
Bayer Biological Products will start shrink-banding its liquid
drugs produced in vials, starting with its Gamunex IGIV product, to
make them more tamper-evident and improve their safety. The move
follows an FDA initiative on counterfeiting.
The British Pharmacopoeia 2003 is due to be available in the next
few days, and from today can be ordered online; updates have also
been released from the European equivalent.
A consortium of companies and academic researchers has completed
the first phase of a mammoth screening programme designed to
discover a small-molecule drug candidate for smallpox.
