In-PharmaTechnologist.com reports its periodic round-up of new
appointments in the pharmaceutical sector, headlined this week by
the appointment of a new head of manufacturing at US drugmaker
Merck & Co.
French plant extracts supplier Naturex said today it will buy US
rival Pure World for around $37 million (€30m), or $4.30 per share
in cash, reports Dominique Patton.
US generic company Alpharma has turned to an Indian company to
supply its finished products and active pharmaceutical ingredients,
saying that this could cut its costs in half, reports Phil
Taylor.
The European Union is to part-finance the creation of a European
Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF) to advance collaboration
across the continent in the field of nanotechnology, reports
Phil Taylor.
BioProgress has appointed Richard Trevillion as chief
executive, bolstering its executive management just over a month
after the dosage film specialist issued a trading statement that
sparked a 40 per cent slump in its UK-listed shares,...
Chiral Quest has opened up a production facility near Shanghai in
China, to tap into the trend by pharmaceutical companies to site
manufacturing operations in the region, writes Phil Taylor.
Fonterra subsidiary Lactose New Zealand will supply GlaxoSmithKline
with half its global requirement for inhalation-grade lactose from
a newly opened plant, reports Phil Taylor.
Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva has decided to opt out of the
proprietary medicines business and refocus its business on the
generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients sectors, reports
Phil Taylor.
DSM is to close down production of bulk vitamin C in the US and cut
costs at its plant in Dalry, Scotland, as part of a series of
measures to ease pressure on its vitamin business, reports
Dominique Patton.
French chemicals company Rhodia, already facing two separate
investigations for alleged accounting irregularities and insider
trading, has become embroiled in further legal fights just as it
starts to lift itself out of financial...
Swiss chemicals company Clariant saw its operating profit decline
by nearly a third as higher raw material costs took their toll,
although net profit rose 18 per cent, boosted by lower
restructuring charges compared to the same period...
Roquette has introduced pyrogen-free versions of its sodium lactate
and sodium gluconate products for applications in the
pharmaceuticals industry, reports Phil Taylor.
Germany's chemical companies have reported improved sales and
earnings in the first quarter of the year, and are optimistic of an
improved operating environment through 2005, reports Phil
Taylor.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' active pharmaceutical ingredients
(API) business is on track to become a $1 billion enterprise this
year, although growth in the first quarter of this year was almost
entirely from in-house sales,...
UK-based contract researcher Synprotec has been acquired by India's
Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals in a move that marks a
continuing expansion of the latter firm into foreign markets,
reports Phil Taylor.
The European Generic Medicines Association has criticised proposals
by the European Commission to offer six months' additional patent
protection to companies conducting trials of their drug products in
children.
Canadian researchers have a developed a new chemical reaction that
could greatly accelerate pharmaceutical production, while also
cutting costs and toxic by-products.
Solutia has elected to retain its Pharmaceutical Services Division
(PSD) despite suggestions that a spin out or sale of the business
were being considered, reports Phil Taylor.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is to acquire the entire business of
fellow Indian pharmaceutical company MJ Pharmaceuticals in another
example of the consolidation affecting the country's fragmented
pharmaceutical sector, writes...
The US Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban the use of
chlorofluorocarbon propellants in albuterol metered-dose inhalers
(MDIs) from the end of 2008 will effectively mean the market will
revert to one of branded rather...
The chemicals subsidiary of Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim is
expanding its manufacturing capacity for the nasal decongestant
phenylephrine hydrochloride to tap into what it said is growing
demand worldwide.
Belgian chemicals company Solvay is planning to expand its
production of sodium bicarbonate to improve supplies into the
European market, reports Phil Taylor.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set the end of 2008 as
its deadline for the complete phase-out of albuterol inhalers using
ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as propellants,
reports Phil Taylor.
Rhodia is facing two separate investigations for alleged accounting
irregularities as well as insider trading, just as the financial
difficulties afflicting the French chemicals group have started to
abate.
UK speciality chemicals firm C6 Solutions has said that it will be
stopping production operations by the end of 2005 and has put its
entire manufacturing plant and equipment up for sale.
In France, sales of generic drugs are continuing to grow, helped by
a favourable regulatory regime and a wave of patent expiries on top
branded drugs, reports Phil Taylor.
French pharmaceutical company Pierre Fabre is to invest €30 million
in its plant at Idron near Pau to bolster its contract
manufacturing activities for injectable drugs.
Teva Hungary, a subsidiary of number two generic company Teva
Pharmaceuticals, is to build a $100 million (€75m) factory for the
production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in
Sajobabony, Hungary.
Italy's Recordati has reported flat turnover but a rise in
operating income in 2004, while its pharmaceutical chemicals
business managed to return to profit, reports Phil Taylor.
German chemicals giant BASF reported strong earnings increases
across the board yesterday, helped by pricing increases. The
companies activities in pharmaceuticals, part of its chemicals and
fine chemicals units, also did well, report...
Johnson & Johnson is planning to acquire TransForm
Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company that specialises in the
discovery of improved formulations and novel crystalline forms of
drug molecules, in a cash-for-stock deal valued...
Sales of amino acids used in synthesis applications will reach
nearly $1 billion in 2009 and represent the fastest-growing
category in the $7 billion amino acids market.
UK speciality oils supplier Croda International said sales to
cosmetics and supplement customers rose 8 per cent last year,
helped by expanded capacity in fish oil concentrates and new
product launches.
Cerestar Food & Pharma Specialties Europe has launched an
excipient that it claims allows tablets to be produced using lower
compression force, which should result in reduced wear and tear on
tabletting machinery and operational...
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) has praised the Food
and Drug Administration for validating the science of generic
biopharmaceuticals and making significant progress in establishing
requirements to approve these medicines.
The bad press surrounding the pharmaceutical industry continues
with claims that Merck & Co executives were concerned about
infant exposure to mercury in vaccines several years before the US
Food and Drug Administration made the...
The European approval of a new high-potency vaccine for hepatitis B
virus (HBV) marks the debut on the marketplace of a new adjuvant
ingredient that can significantly improve the effectiveness of
immunisations, reports Phil Taylor.
Finnish chemicals company Kemira is planning to buy Verdugt BV of
the Netherlands in a move that will triple its sales of organic
acids at a stroke and make it the number one company in the sector.
Hungary's Richter Gedeon reported rises in both overall sales and
profits in 2004, although its active pharmaceutical ingredient
(API) business remained under pressure in the US.
The pharmaceutical excipients industry urgently needs a system of
European master files, already used by the active pharmaceutical
ingredient sector (API), to stimulate innovation in the sector and
bring Europe's regulatory stance...
Akzo Nobel has reported a sharp rise in profits for 2004, but
warned that 2005 would be tough and that further divestments in its
chemicals portfolio are planned.
Danish researchers have come up with a virtual model for catalyst
research that could do away with the need for large, expensive
screening experiments.
Merck KGaA is planning to sell its electronic chemicals business to
BASF for €270 million, freeing it up to focus on its
pharmaceutical, chemical and liquid crystal businesses.
The European Parliament embarked on a new round of deliberations
over the controversial REACH legislation last week, amid intense
lobbying by groups representing the chemicals industry, animal
rights activists and environmentalists.
Three chemicals companies - Akzo Nobel, the Hoechst unit of
Sanofi-Aventis and Total subsidiary Arkema - have been fined €217
million by the European Commission for operating a cartel in the
market for monochloroacetic acid (MCAA).
Croda Healthcare's medical grade lanolin ingredient - used in a
number of dermatological brands including the top-selling emollient
product in the UK - has outperformed the industry standard
emollient, petrolatum, in clinical...
Wacker-Chemie is to acquire German biotechnology company ProThera,
based in Jena, to boost its presence in the biologics manufacturing
sector. ProThera will now operate as Wacker Biotech.
A new safety training scheme, designed to deliver accredited
'safety passports' for service engineers and other outside
contractors working in pharmaceutical, healthcare, toiletries and
cosmetics factories has been introduced...