SkyePharma is looking towards a positive future despite a pre-tax
operating loss of £14.1m (€20.3m), announced in the UK company's
unaudited six-month results.
Roche has just had the child-size, lower strength version of its
blockbuster flu treatment Tamiflu (oseltamivir) approved by EU
authorities, though possibly just a little too late for this year's
flu season.
Almost 700 jobs are to be lost at Belgian firm Janssen
Pharmaceutica, as the Johnson and Johnson subsidiary falls victim
to a restructuring drive at its parent company.
French processing and synthesis specialist Groupe Novasep is
heading to the sun with the acquisition of Bahamas-based
ingredients and intermediates firm PharmaChem Technologies.
ZaCh Systems has acquired PPG Industries' fine chemicals business
for approximately $65m (€46.9m), which includes a pharmaceutical
fine chemicals facility in Texas.
Swedish speciality pharma company Meda AB has announced its new low
dose of Soma (carisoprodol) has been approved by the US Food and
Drugs Administration (FDA).
Wyeth has signed a license agreement with French firm Flamel
Technologies to apply the company's second innovative drug delivery
technology to one of its protein therapeutics.
Yet another production site has fallen to the unrelenting axe of
big pharma's consolidation drive as Pfizer announces that its only
UK manufacturing plant is to be closed down.
German firm Biotest has bought up Nabi Biopharmaceuticals biologics
division in a multi-million Euro deal, less than three months after
the unit was created following Nabi restructuring efforts.
Denmark-based Chr. Hansen has sold its excipients and coating
division to US company Colorcon for an undisclosed sum to
concentrate on its food business.
Britain's Eden Biodesign has been selected by Cancer Research UK as
the beneficiary of two new biomanufacturing contracts as its
biomanufacturing business continues to grow.
Millipore has released a new kit that allows researchers to quickly
generate arthritis mouse models for screening and evaluating
anti-inflammatory therapeutics.
Boehringer Ingelheim is voluntarily recalling all worldwide
products containing clobutinol hydrochloride, which has been on the
market for 46 years, following a report questioning the drug's
safety.
Reformulations of pseudoephedrine- and ephedrine-containing drugs
in the UK look unlikely following the announcement of less extreme
restrictions on the sale of the pharmaceuticals.
Merck Serono's new and improved version of its blockbuster multiple
sclerosis (MS) drug Rebif (interferon beta-1a) has been approved in
the EU, providing a little added protection to the company's MS
franchise.
In the latest phase of growth at chemical firm SAFC's flagship high
potency active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs) facility in
Madison, Wisconsin, the site will be treated to another
multi-million dollar expansion and new...
Results from a Phase II study of a prolonged release formulation of
octreotide look encouraging for the treatment of acromegaly,
according to Ambrilia Biopharma.
Pfizer announced today it is breaking ground on a $50m expansion of
its biologics pilot plant in Chesterfield in a move that comes at
time when the drug giant is cutting back in other business
areas.
Swiss firm Novartis has gained US approval of its once-yearly
treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis, with EU approval
expected to follow hot on its heels.
Solvay Pharmaceuticals still believed it was on track for meeting
US regulatory deadlines for pancreatic insufficiency drugs despite
receiving an approvable letter for its own newly formulated drug
Creon.
Danish diabetes care specialist Novo Nordisk has expanded an
agreement with biotech supplier Millipore, granting exclusive,
long-term distribution rights to the company's insulin
products for cell culture applications.
The US launch of the hotly touted, next-generation mouthwash,
Decapinol, has stalled following the decision to reformulate the US
product as a "precautionary measure".
UK Hikma Pharmaceuticals has acquired Egyptian pharmaceutical
company Alkan Pharma in a deal worth $60.5m (€44.2m), and
establishes the London-based company in the Egyptian market.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has suffered a blow in the advance of its top
selling pharma drug Advair after US regulators issued a not
approvable letter for an increased strength in the treatment of
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
An improved inhalable insulin product developed by collaborating UK
and US firms has just completed a glucose clamp study in the US,
with results suggesting that the product could pose a significant
threat to Pfizer's Exubera...
Japan's Chugai Pharmaceuticals is voluntarily recalling almost 2000
bottles of Vesanoid capsules (tretinoin) after the drug was found
to contain unapproved bovine-derived material from Canada.
Solid-dose specialist Colorcon has hooked up with materials science
firm DataLase to develop a new no-touch on-tablet marking technique
specifically for film-coated tablets, helping to defend branded
tabs from counterfeiting attempts...
GPC Biotech has withdrawn its hotly touted satraplatin New Drug
Application (NDA) for accelerated approval following last week's
less than glowing recommendation to hold off on its approval.
The concept of a "Super Combination Traveler's Vaccine" has come
one step closer to reality with the initiation of a Phase II study
on a single dose, oral typhoid fever vaccine.
A novel drug delivery technology capable of delivering large
molecules in oral tablet form is set to gain patent protection in a
number of countries through an international patent treaty.
Biovail has this week sought to reassure its investors after the
news that US regulators issued the company with a Non Approval
letter for its new bupropion salt anti-depressant.
German speciality chemicals firm CABB has scooped up Swiss company
SF-Chem in a deal set to create a leading European supplier of
chlorine and speciality intermediates.
Canadians finally have access to the controlled-release formulation
of naproxen sodium, which has been on the US market for more than
10 years for the management of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid
arthritis.
At a packed out session at last week's Controlled Release Society
meeting in the US, two experts battled it out to win one of the key
debates in gene delivery: which is superior - viral or non-viral
delivery?
Research being carried out at the University of Utrecht in the
Netherlands to replace standard vaccination schedules with a
single-shot alternative could do away with the need for repeated
jabs.
Biopol Laboratory is acting to meet the demand of sneezes, itchy
eyes and running noses as it consolidates its five allergen
production facilities into one main building in Idaho.
US biopharmaceutical company VGX has strengthened its position in
the plasmid DNA area with the award of two new patents covering the
use and manufacture of plasmid DNA.
An Israeli drug delivery firm is developing a new vaginal drug
delivery system, making use of bio-adhesive foams to offer a more
convenient and effective treatment option for women with
gynaecological complaints.
A novel technology set to overcome the challenges of the blood
brain barrier is being developed in a bid to open the gates to
previously unusable compounds for the treatment of central nervous
system (CNS) disorders.
