The pace of change at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is showing no sign of slowing, with new CEO Andrew Witty unveiling the company’s new strategic direction with the release of second quarter results.
US drug giant Merck & Co hopes that an additional $300m (€190m) investment in its vaccine manufacturing plant in Durham, North Carolina will cement its position at the forefront of the global vaccines market
Midas Pharma and Capsulution NanoScience have entered into a long-term cooperation agreement, with contract manufacturing capacity and other services being provided in exchange for access to drug delivery technology.
Praxair China has won the contract to supply the liquid nitrogen
and cooling system for Jiangsu Defeng Pharmaceutical &
Chemical's manufacturing plant.
UK-based Sinclair Pharmaceuticals has entered into a manufacturing
and distribution agreement with Wockhardt, an Indian pharmaceutical
and biotech company.
in-PharmaTechnologist.com's periodic round-up of developments in
the field of pharmaceutical facilities includes news of two
environmental fines, MHRA plant approval and a strike at Teva.
Vivalis has filed the biologics master file (BMF) with the US Food
and Drug Administration for its EB66 vaccine and therapeutic
protein production technology.
European technical services and industrial engineering specialist
Imtech says it has received orders worth around €40m ($64m) from
the Belgian operations of firms such as Janssen Pharmaceutica,
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Schering Plough.
Industrial separation specialist Upfront Chromatography believes
that its new range of disposable absorption chromatography units
will help monoclonal antibody (MAb) makers significantly reduce
production costs.
A recent study conducted by Eli Lilly's research laboratories
division suggests that quantitative ion mobility spectrometry
(qIMS) can offer drugmakers a rapid on-site means of verifying the
cleanliness of manufacturing equipment.
IndiaSoft Technologies, which is headquartered in the city of Pune
in Maharashtra state has won the contract to distribute Performance
Fluid Dynamics' (PFD) DynoChem productivity software to drug
manufacturers in the region.
US technology specialist Honeywell International says that new
features of its POMSnet manufacturing execution system (MES) can
help pharmaceutical firms reduce production errors.
Eli Lilly and Rexam are both investing in their French
manufacturing facilities in preparation for the production of an
insulin pen they are developing.
Commonwealth Biotechnologies (CBI) has planted its first roots in
Japan, as the world's number two pharmaceutical market continues to
attract foreign firms.
Baxter has successfully produced H5N1 influenza vaccine in African
green monkey kidney cells in quantities sufficient for clinical
testing, according to an article published in The New England
Journal of Medicine.
Germany's Uhlmann says that a process offered by its new range of
blister packaging machines that removes the need for an additional
product chain in the cartoner will help drugmakers save time, space
and money.
A company based in the US and Germany has set up what it describes
as a 'Facebook for scientists', in a move that brings the
phenomenon of social networking firmly into the workplace.
Contract manufacturing group Helix Medical hopes that expansion of
its global production capacity will help it corner the
pharmaceutical industry's injection moulding thermoplastics market.
US drug giant Pfizer hopes that its collaboration with student
engineers at New Jersey's Rowan University will help lessen the
environmental impact of its best selling arthritis drug Celebrex
(celeboxib).
Agilent Technologies has licensed BIA Separations' bio-monolithic
technology and intends to use it in the commercialisation of
analytical high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
bio-monolith columns.
The Bio Affinity Company (BAC) has been contracted to create a
purification method for the production of a recombinant protein,
the clotting agent factor VIIa, made in the milk of transgenic
animals.
Genetically modified (GM) maize is the most effective
biomanufacturing platform for the production of monoclonal
antibodies to combat HIV, according to research published in
PNAS.
Germany's Rentschler Biotechnologie and Boehringer Ingelheim have
inked a preferred partnership agreement to jointly offer customers
a more streamlined biopharmaceutical production option.
The opening of ORF Genetics' $1m production site for recombinant
proteins in Grindavik, Iceland, is yet another groundbreaking move
by this year's winner of the Icelandic Centre for Research's
innovation award.
The decision to end manufacturing operations at its facility in
Morgan Hill, California in the next three years may cost
Hospira up to $35m (€22.7m), according to a document the firm filed
with the US Securities and Exchange Commission...
Pfizer's plans for a new €190m manufacturing plant in Shanbally,
Ireland suggest that the firm is intent on fulfilling its pledge to
become a "top five biologics producer in the next eight
years."
Continued weakness in the market for products used in the
manufacture of biologic drugs was the main reason why Millipore
experienced a 'challenging' quarter, according to CEO Martin
Madaus.
GEA Pharma Systems believes that its new Performa P system, which
was presented at this year's Interpack conference in Dusseldorf,
Germany, can help increase output and reduce costs for tablet
manufacturers worldwide.
UK-based AM Technology has developed the Coflore Agitated Cell
Reactor (ACR) which it claims offers significant advantages over
traditional continuous stirred tank reactors.
A new type of latex glove developed by Yulex Corp that is less
allergenic for medical and research staff has been given a green
light by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
ELGA Process Water has launched its new All-in-Pack water treatment
solution for pharmaceutical manufacturers wishing to reduce both
capital expenditure and associated running costs.
US drugmaker Unigene has begun construction of new facilities in
China as part of its joint venture with a state-owned Chinese
pharmaceutical company to establish research, development and
manufacturing capacities in the nation.
Designed as a next generation cellulose-based virus removal filter, Planova™ S20N has demonstrated robust filtration performance for challenging molecules...
Bispecific antibodies (BisAbs), which can bind to two distinct antigens, are prone to high levels of aggregate (10-30%), challenging traditional platform...
Various options exist for freezing biopharmaceutical bulk material, but selecting the most effective and efficient approach for each cold chain can be...