Lonza Biotec is to manufacture PEGylated antibody fragment-based
drugs for Celltech under the terms of a new agreement between the
two companies. The two companies have also reached an agreement on
a prior deal relating to Celltech's...
MolecularNature has forged a drug discovery partnership with Zetiq
Technologies that has already yielded a number of novel cancer
regulatory compounds.
This year's ISLAR meeting - the last ever to be held - will be
replaced in 2004 by a new Association of Laboratory Automation
conference called LabFusion.
Amersham Biosciences has added to its range of CyDye mono-reactive
fluor dyes with two products used for labelling proteins or
antibodies in protein array experiments.
A pilot project aimed at identifying new drug candidates for
central nervous system disorders, initiated by Germany's 4SC and
Spain's Esteve, has grown into a full-blown collaboration between
the companies.
The Karolinska Institute, together with the Swedish academy of
pharmaceutical sciences, is organising BioTech Forum 2003, to take
place from 26 to 28 November in Stockholm, Sweden.
Danish pharmaceutical companies increased their sales to overseas
countries by 20 per cent in the first four months of this year
compared with the same period of 2002, according to Invest In
Denmark.
A new range of cell culture vessels developed by Switzerland's
Integra Biosciences promises to increase production yields in
laboratories making monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins.
A deal with Vaccinex has taken Lonza Biologics beyond its primary
focus of mammalian cell culture-based manufacturing and into the
area of antibody drug discovery.
A US appeals court has reversed an earlier decision to make
Switzerland's Roche pay almost $500 million in damages to Igen in a
dispute over a technology used in clinical diagnostics and
pharmaceutical research.
Danish biotech company Symphogen has obtained a European patent on
its Symphage technology for the development of antibody-based
drugs. Clinical trials of the product candidate are due to start in
2005.
Novartis has agreed to pay GlaxoSmithKline a royalty on sales of a
generic version of GSK's antibiotic Augmentin
(amoxicillin/clavulanate) sold in the USA as AmoxC.
Crestor (rosuvastatin), the 'superstatin' developed by AstraZeneca,
has been recommended for approval by a US Food and Drug
Administration advisory panel.
A technique known as electron momentum spectroscopy may provide a
means of improving rational drug design by allowing direct
measurement of the wavefunction of large molecules.
Chiron's has completed its acquisition of UK vaccine and drug
delivery specialist PowderJect, making it the second-largest
manufacturer of flu vaccines worldwide.
BASF has put forwards environmental and safety standards that will
see it comfortably meet and exceed the pledges for greenhouse gas
emissions laid down by the Kyoto Protocol. The firm stresses the
need for a voluntary system of control,...
In the second piece of news today on RNAi, Qiagen is to collaborate
with Intradigm on RNAi compounds for use as drug discovery tools
and potential therapeutics.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals of the USA has linked up with Germany's
Ribopharma to create what it claims is a world leading company in
the development of RNAi-based therapeutics. First drug may be in
trials this year.
Roche has licensed exclusive marketing rights outside the USA to
Avastin (bevacizumab), a drug for colorectal cancer, from
Genentech. The latter company will retain all rights to the drug in
its home market.
Schering has been granted approval throughout the European Union
for Angeliq (oestradiol and drospirenone), its new low-dose hormone
replacement therapy.
The number of UK cancer patients taking part in clinical trials has
risen over 70 per cent in recent years, but this trend will be
threatened if the EU adopts its proposals on GCP
Exiqon has signed up a new distribution partner, Link Technologies,
for its locked nucleic acid (LNA) phosphoramidate reagents, used in
genomics research.
Whatman has decided to wind down the operations of its German
subsidiary Biometra, taking a £10.1 million charge in the process.
The move fends off a patent infringement challenge from Applied
Biosystems.
Australia's Biotechnology Frontiers is awarded a A$780,000 grant to
develop a microbiological quality control tool that can be used in
the pharma and food industries.
Caliper Technologies has been given the go-ahead by the US federal
Trade Commission for its $71 million cash and stock acquisition of
Zymark, a specialist in laboratory automation and robotics
equipment.
Akzo Nobel received a knock-back from the US Food and Drug
Administration after the agency asked for more information before
approving a ready-to-use version of the firm's fertility drug
Follistim.
DSM has taken a 25 per cent interest in Nijmegen, Netherlands-based
Chiralix in move which both expands DSM's capabilities in
early-stage drug development and Chiralix' position in
stereochemistry
The shift towards full automation with ready-to-use separation
devices is the first step on the path to a completely disposable
manufacturing process, says Millipore
Ultrasound monitoring of process column chromatography can lead to
significant improvements in productivity, lower costs and greater
drug purity, says study
Microbiology specialist Biotrace has continued its expansion into
the healthcare sector with the acquisition of Denmark's Maltec,
helping it to target Scandinavia's strong pharma sector
A UK Phase I trial has been initiated for XR5944 (also known as
MLN944), a DNA targeting agent under evaluation for the treatment
of advanced cancers. The product is under development by USA-based
firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals and...
Finland's Jurilab has developed a new microarray product designed
for use in DME (drug metabolism enzyme) testing, and also signed up
its first customer for the technology.
The UK biotechnology industry is gearing up for yet another bout of
consolidation with the news that British Biotech has made a £48
million (€73m) offer for Vernalis.
Pfizer is considering the sale of its Pharmacia Diagnostics
business, acquired alongside the rest of Pharmacia in a $60 billion
deal that concluded in April.
The European Commission has issued its long-awaited response to the
G10 Medicines Report, intended as a blueprint for improving the
European pharmaceutical industry's competitiveness while ensuring
high levels of public health...
Switzerland's Tecan has introduced a range of laboratory automation
workstations, under the Freedom EVO banner, which are designed to
provide fluid handling applications in genomics, proteomics, drug
discovery and clinical diagnostics.
The market for antibacterial drugs is becoming increasingly
unattractive to major pharmaceutical companies, despite continued
strong worldwide demand for these products and the growing threat
of bacterial resistance, according to...
Former Yugoslav prime minister Milan Panic, who until recently had
been at the helm of ICN Pharmaceuticals for 42 years, has bought
the ICN Biomedicals division for $15 million.
Invitrogen has made a cash offer for fellow US company Molecular
Probes in a deal which would give the firm a very strong presence
in fluorescence reagents for use in labelling molecules for
biological research and drug discovery.
Syrrx has determined the atomic structure of c-Kit kinase, a
receptor-associated tyrosine kinase which has been associated with
a number of malignant cancers.
