Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has invested in a tablet
manufacturing plant in Egypt, which could form a launching pad for
an expansion into emerging markets.
Almost 130 jobs will be lost at BASF's Minden site as the company
succumbs to growing pressure from the Asian generic active
pharmaceutical ingredient (API) market.
A new 'glass' making technique that improves stability and
durability could lead to novel coatings and improvements in drug
delivery, according to researchers at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and the National Institute...
Dutch researchers have developed a new way of making a Parkinson's
disease drug using an inexpensive ionic liquid method that could
yield cost savings of €11.3 million per annum.
Rockwood Holdings announced last week that it has reached an
agreement to sell its subsidiary Groupe Novasep to a consortium of
buyers in a transaction valued at €425m.
Canadian pharma manufacturer Bioxel has announced it has received
several orders for its paclitaxel product - a taxane-based drug
effective to treat cancer - from two European customers
representing a total of CAD$630,000 (€420,000).
British chemical products and technologies firm Reaxa has launched
a new encapsulated catalyst for market trials. Platinum EnCat is a
platinum nanoparticle catalyst encapsulated within polymer beads,
intended for the hydrogenation...
Major drug companies across the US have scrambled to reformulate
their over-the-counter cold medications in time for a new law that
came in to effect in September, however, there are claims that the
new formulations are a flop.
Granules India and Biocause have signed an agreement to create a 50
: 50 joint venture entity to manufacture and sell pharmaceutical
APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients), starting with Ibuprofen.
Singapore has successfully completed the first phase of its
biomedical science (BMS) initiative and is now pushing the second
phase forward in order to drive growth in its pharma industry
further.
Canadian pharma manufacturer Bioxel has announced the filing of a
second international patent application to secure the synthesis of
paclitaxel and decetaxel - two taxane-based drugs effective against
cancer.
The US government to pass new measures that make prosecuting
animal-rights activists who target enterprises much easier. The
move has lead critics to warn that peaceful demonstrators would be
labelled as terrorists.
Dor BioPharma has announced it has made progress with the
formulation of RiVax, a new drug that could be the world's first
vaccine for the deadly ricin toxin.
India's Aurobindo Pharma has decided to cut loose its bleeding
Chinese pharma subsidiary - while still holding on to its
ingredients making operation - and instead focus on a new
investment in India.
A group of researchers have come together to form a coalition,
which aims to campaign for the revision directives on the
protection of animals used for scientific research.
Asterand is to make available novel research materials to be used
in the investigation of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis,
cancer and other diseases making available a range of cell material
that is currently difficult to obtain.
California's Health and Human Services (HHS) has decided to
temporarily suspend a ban on mercury-based flu vaccines given to
children under three, citing a vaccine shortage caused by
production delays.
Merck Sharp & Dohme has just announced a €100m investment in
South Tipperary, Ireland to build a new formulation R&D centre
and drug manufacturing plant.
Researchers have developed a more efficient and cost-saving method
to make cladribine, a drug used for the treatment of certain types
of leukaemia and potentially efficient against multiple sclerosis
(MS).
Genomics-based drug discovery company Galapagos, has struck a deal
with LEO Pharma in an agreement that will see the firm use its
natural compound collection for high throughput screening, hit
verification, and profiling of selected...
Canadian drug maker LAB International has announced its plan to
acquire Texan PharmaForm in order to speed up the manufacture of
its inhalable anti-pain drug, which will reach late stage clinical
trials next year.
Scientists are looking into the possibility of using bacteria to
make a new library of anti-cancer compounds that are usually too
difficult to create synthetically. The discovery could provide the
basis for developing useful new anti-cancer...
French pharma company Servier has announced the launch of a new
manufacturing facility and also the expansion of its existing
operation in Ireland, an investment totalling €184m.
Italian pharmaceutical company Recordati has reported a net profit
growth of 6.5 per cent to €18.5m in its third quarter results, as a
slump in sales was offset by lower costs.
A year after it published its five-year strategy: Vision 2010 -
Building on Strengths - DSM's commitment is showing no sign of
slowing as is continues to invest in the expansion of its
pharmaceutical production capabilities around...
Although manufacturing is the most established of the pharma
outsourcing segments, many service areas are still rapidly
evolving. OutsourcingPharma.com gives a brief run down of the
current state of play.
Charles River Laboratories has been awarded a $111.6m (€89m),
10-year contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), doubling
the size of the company's current contract with NCI.
Drug maker Eli Lilly has completed the first phase of a $560m
(€446m) expansion of its biotech facility in Indianapolis, US, in
order to match the growing number of biological drugs in its
pipeline.
Eli Lilly has splashed out $2.1bn (€1.7bn) to buy ICOS, who the
drug giant has been involved in a joint venture with to manufacture
and sell Cialis (tadalafil) - the number two erectile dysfunction
drug behind Viagra (sildenafil).
Two new drug manufacturing facilities have been launched in global
areas that don't usually see much pharmaceutical manufacturing
activity - Bangladesh and The Gambia.
UK Biopharma company Evolutec has signed a deal with Wacker Biotech
to produce Evolutec's new autoimmune disease drug candidate rEV576
for clinical trials.
Two trade associations of the world's two largest pharma economies
- Europe and the US - took the unusual step of banding together at
the CPhI in Paris to condemn their regulatory authorities for poor
regulation of foreign active...
Using a processing technique described as "revolutionary," DSM is
accelerating its activity in the anti-infective arena and targeting
new active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that it can develop
into cost-competitive...
Service provider Saltigo is reinforcing its position in the
stabilising fine chemical custom manufacturing industry by
investing in the expansion of its German facility.
Sigma-Aldrich Group member SAFC made its presence felt at the
recent CPhI in Paris with announcements regarding its expansion
activities in transgenic manufacturing and India.
Pfizer CentreSource has decided to outsource the manufacture of some of its active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to two Asian contract manufacturers and intends to work with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) during the process.
Excelsyn Molecular Development claims to have made a "major
advance" in a protein intensification process that can be used to
slash the manufacturing costs of a range of amino acids.
Italian pharma company Indena is strengthening its position in the
"natural drug" market - where drug molecules are derived from
plants - a potentially lucrative niche area of pharmaceuticals.
British pharma company Aesica has bought a chemical manufacturing
facility from Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), Merck's UK subsidiary,
in a bid to increase it manufacturing capacities.
In its ambition to become one of the top three global players in
custom manufacturing, the UK subsidiary of drug-maker Nicholas
Piramal (NPIL) has created a new "innovation unit" in Europe.
Codexis is using India as a springboard to launch it into direct
sales of high-value generic pharmaceutical intermediates, to be
sold into unregulated markets for use in patented drugs.
Rhodia was present at this year's CPhI, alerting the industry to
its latest product updates, spawned out of the market demand to
provide products that allow its customers to better address process
and handling requirements.
Indian biopharmaceutical company Wockhardt has signed a deal with
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to establish
a special economic zone (SEZ) in Aurangabad, India, in order to
expand its manufacturing capabilities.
The European Commission continues to be accused by European
industry of pushing 'green policies' that are stifling progress and
global competitiveness - the controversial REACH chemicals
legislation remains a sore point.
Merck has been forced to delay marketing plans for its combination
cholesterol drug MK-0524B following problems in formulating its
top-selling statin Zocor (simvastatin) with a new promising
compound under development, MK-524A.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new advice to
aid manufacturers in developing safe and effective cell-based viral
vaccines, hoping it can modernise America's manufacturing network
and speed up production.
Drug developing services provider Aptuit has acquired the
pharmaceutical services division of technology firm EaglePicher,
enriching its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and drug
substance manufacturing offerings.
Fine chemicals firm Degussa has decided to spin off its NCN
business in Bavaria into a new legal entity known as AlzChem
Trostberg, hoping a new name will lead to new opportunities.