Argonaut Technologies has introduced a new resin-bound reagent,
MP-TsO-TEMPO that enables medicinal chemists to introduce diversity
into chemical libraries with high purity and yields.
Iceland's deCODE genetics has initiated high-throughput screening
on its Neuregulin 1 pathway targets in schizophrenia in
collaboration with partner Roche.
GlaxoSmithKline has opened an ultra-high-throughput screening
facility at its site in Tres Cantos, Spain, marking a significant
milestone in the company's bid to develop a more industrialised
approach to the process of drug discovery.
Novo Nordisk has sent out the first batch of bulk insulin from a
new facility at its site in Kalundborg, Denmark, that is producing
more than a third of the world's supply.
A new formulation of GlaxoSmithKline's Parkinson's disease drug
Requip (ropinirole), developed with UK drug delivery specialist
SkyePharma, has entered Phase III testing.
Italian drug delivery specialist Eurand has made a foray into the
market for fast-melt oral tablets that dissolve quickly in the
mouth without chewing or the need for water.
A closed system that prevents the exposure of healthcare workers to
hazardous anticancer drugs, developed by Sweden's Carmel Pharma,
has been introduced in the USA by Baxa.
For the first time, German chemicals and pharmaceuticals major
Bayer is offering a range of products and services from its
biotechnology division to third-party customers
The resurgence of merger and acquisition activity in the biotech
industry shows little sign of letting up, with US companies IDEC
Pharmaceuticals and Biogen the latest to step up to the altar
Brookfield has introduced the YR-1 Rheometer, designed to provide a
simple to operate, low-cost alternative to full-featured laboratory
rheometers for quality control applications
The market for cell culture products is getting a lift from
stringent regulations from the US FDA and Department of
Agriculture, restricting the importation and usage of foetal bovine
serum
Centocor forged a deal with Biolex in which the latter firm will
examine the feasibility of producing three therapeutic proteins
using a proprietary plant-based expression system
There is a growing trend towards patients self-medicating with
over-the-counter products rather than asking their doctors for a
prescription medication, and this promises to benefit companies
involved in pharmaceutical packaging,...
A conference on 1 July will provide an update on the UK Medicines
and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Best Practice Guidance on
the Labelling and Packaging of Medicines
US company Nashai Biotech has developed a new process that
preserves and protects theaflavins, compounds found in tea, when
they are formulated into powders or liquids
KS Avicenna, the Canadian unit of KS Biomedix of the UK, launched a
newly expanded contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in
Canada, to service both North American and European clients, at the
start of the BIO 2003 meeting,...
Amarin Development has won a new contract to apply its formulation
and manufacturing services to a neurological drug candidate
developed by Acadia Pharmaceuticals
While the procedure for designating drugs for orphan diseases has
improved dramatically in the EU, further progress must be made,
says EU biotech group
Applied chemistry company Solutia has completed the latest phase of
a new containment facility to support the supply of highly potent
active pharmaceutical ingredients
UK informatics company Inpharmatica has added a whole new suite of
ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion)
capabilities to its drug lead optimisation services with the
purchase of a lab and intellectual property...
GeneMedix and Penang Development of Malaysia have signed a letter
of intent that will see the two establish a new company in the
latter country's second city, at a cost of $34 million (€29m), for
the development, manufacture...
MediGene is relocating the entire research department of its US
subsidiary to Germany, delighting those who lament the "brain
drain" of scientific talent flowing in the other direction
CT Consulting Group has developed a new electronic logbook system
for the drug industry that enables R&D teams and quality
control labs to maintain lab and GMP notebooks on computer
US biotechnology company Biogen has decided to postpone
construction of a large production plant at Hillerød in Denmark,
just three months after breaking ground on the facility
Transgenic drug production company PPL Therapeutics has been rocked
by a decision by Germany's Bayer to walk away from their protein
development partnership, placing the future of the Scottish firm at
risk
Canadian label printer Invesprint has sold its 65 per cent interest
in Jay Packaging Group, handing 100 per cent control of the latter
firm to its senior management team
Germany's BASF has been awarded a US patent covering a new coating
agent, binder and/or film-forming excipient, based on
polyether-containing polymers, which can be used in pharmaceutical
formulations
UK-based laboratory instrumentation supplier Presearch has added a
new evaporator to its product range that is claimed to allow for
rapid evaporation of solvent from samples
The demands of the pharmaceutical industry are driving strong
growth in the market for outsourced chiral technologies, according
to a report from Frost & Sullivan
Laureate Pharma of the USA has commissioned a new automated
chromatography system for Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant
purification of protein products
BASF has announced that later this summer it will temporarily
suspend production of the amino acid lysine at its facility in
Gunsan, Korea, due to essential maintenance work
DSM Biologics has dissolved its relationship with Qiagen and
Valentis regarding the pAlliance, a consortium supplying
ultra-pure, stable DNA plasmids and formulated DNA
There has been a steady increase in the number of diabetes-related
R&D projects in recent years, and one area of particular
interest is the pulmonary delivery of insulin, says a new report
Great Lakes Fine Chemicals has invested $8 million ($6.7m) in a
program aimed at upgrading its pharmaceutical ingredient
manufacturing facilities in Holywel, Wales
Switzerland's Novartis has been awarded a US patent for a novel
means of extending the shelf life of pharmaceuticals. The invention
describes the use of a plastic bottle made from a polymeric
material that is impregnated with...
The UK has launched a new study to examine in detail the benefits
and risks of nanotechnology and make sure that any necessary
regulatory framework is in place early on
Researchers in the USA have generated designer metal oxides with
specific surface properties that can be used as catalysts in the
manufacture of pharmaceuticals and chemicals
Avantium Technologies of the Netherlands, a specialist in
developing high throughput process R&D techniques for customers
in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, has been signed up
by Eastman Chemical for the discovery...
Unigen Pharmaceuticals has expanded its sales presence in Europe
and Latin America by signing agency and distribution agreements
with six international corporate partners
ConjuChem, a company specialised in improving the formulation of
peptide drugs, has said that it is aiming to raise around C$12
million (€7.6m) in a new private placement round
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell has announced a new project
aimed at developing a vaccine for West Nile virus, a flu-like
illness that can cause a brain infection with a mortality rate of 1
per cent
Tepnel Life Sciences sees its shares soar after announcing the
first sale of its Nucleopure DNA purification system to an unnamed
UK pharmaceuticals group
Canadian chromatography and mass spectrometry specialist Waters has
introduced a series of new products at the ongoing ASMS meeting in
Montreal, Canada
Switzerland's Bachem SA, which specialises in the manufacture and
sale of bulk peptides and related organic chemicals as active
ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry, has announced that it
expects full-year sales growth...
Bruker Daltonics has forged an alliance with the US Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory to develop and commercialise mass
spectrometry for high-throughput proteomics research
