US firms Sepragen and Neugenesis are teaming up to develop a
high-throughput platform for monoclonal antibody and influenza
vaccine production that is rapid, scalable and flexible enough to
respond to a potential pandemic.
Germany-based Gene Bridges has licensed its Red/ET Recombineering
technology to Novozymes for genetically engineering recombinant
micro-organisms for use in industrial applications.
GEA Pharma Systems' Collette unit will present Consigma, its new
continuous high shear granulation and drying system, at the
Interpack exhibition in Düsseldorf later this month.
Eli Lilly plans to cut 500 jobs, mainly in manufacturing, as it
attempts to restructure its operations to mitigate against the
losses from inhaled insulin.
Stiefel Laboratories, Biopharm Services, Multisorb Technologies,
the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Catalent
Pharma Solutions and Chromatide have all had people on the
move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Two products aimed at enhancing the efficiency of process
development in biopharmaceutical manufacturing are the latest
offerings from GE Healthcare, the UK-based medical technology and
services company.
The use of disposable manufacturing equipment in pharmaceutical
production and greater need for containment equipment were
recurring themes at the Interphex show in Philadelphia last week,
and both were addressed by new equipment...
Waters Corp unveiled a new concept in Process Analytical Technology
(PAT) at Pittcon 2008 when it released the new Patrol UPLC (ultra
performance liquid chromatography) process analyser, which can be
incorporated directly into a process.
Millipore used Interphex in Philadelphia as a platform to launch a
new product in its Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) range aimed at
removing impurities from biologic products.
The generic pharmaceutical industry has given short shrift to the
latest congressional attempt to construct a viable approval pathway
for biosimilars in the US.
Outsourcing-Pharma.com compiles the news that has featured in the
clinical contract community of late, involving PRA International
and Premier Research.
The pharmaceutical industry has lost confidence in the UK as a
place to do business to an "alarming degree" and the
situation is only set to deteriorate, reveals new research.
They showed promise in everything from drug delivery to the
development of superconductive compounds, but so far fullerenes
have been difficult to produce and purify in sufficiently large
quantities for useful applications.
Dutch biotech Crucell and its US partner DSM Biologics have
achieved a record yield of 15 grams per litre with their PER.C6
cell line technology for the production of monoclonal antibodies
and recombinant proteins.
Alfa Laval has introduced new plate technology for the continuous
production of pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals and speciality
chemicals that has "the potential to start something of a
revolution in the chemicals industry",...
Dissolved charged particles frequently form the waste product of
both industrial and biological processes, but while it has been
easy to remove positive ions (cations) without disturbing the
surrounding solution, it has been significantly...
Dutch biotech Pharming has solidified its patent position in the
use of transgenic cattle to produce protein therapeutics through a
licence agreement with Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), a US company
developing stem cell therapies...
Bosch Packaging Technology will be rolling out a range of new and
recently launched processing and packaging solutions at the
Interpack 2008 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany this April,
including a new line for high-potency compounds.
Bayer Healthcare is to deploy a new technique, developed by
Millipore, for genetically engineering cells to produce
pharmaceutically useful proteins that could both increase the yield
and accelerate drug production.
Germany's rap.ID Particle Systems has launched a new lab-ready
particle identification device capable of identifying around 400
particles an hour from 5µm and up. The company says the device is
suited for development and quality...
With 40-60 per cent of a global drug manufacturing industry worth
more than $380bn captured by the North American marketplace, the
region offers sustained opportunities for suppliers of
pharmaceutical water and wastewater treatment...
Questions are hanging over the role of a Chinese manufacturing
facility in the Baxter heparin scare after it has emerged that the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never inspected the
facility.
Copapharm Europe, the pan-European alliance of pharmaceutical
packagers, has significantly raised its game in the Spanish market
with a new member, Artes Graficas Nekar.
Pfizer's announcement of plans to create a new €130m inhaled
medicines unit at its facility in Amboise, France suggests that the
firm is still intent on investing in inhalation technology, despite
its disappointment with Exubera.
Germany put in a strong showing as category winners were announced
for the fourth annual Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA)
recognising innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing projects.
With increasing pressures on pharma pipelines leading to greater
interest in compound licensing, firms can be caught out by failing
to give scalability issues due attention, according to Joseph
D'Antuono speaking at last week's...
Spirax Sarco Engineering, the UK-based group focused on systems for
the use and control of steam and industrial fluids, is boosting its
activities in the biopharmaceuticals sector through the acquisition
of Denmark's Flexicon...
Cellexus Biosystems, the UK company that designs, manufactures and
sells disposable cell growth technology for the biopharmaceutical
industry, is extending the rental plan offered on its CellMaker
Lite2 single-use bioreactor in response...
Researchers can now reduce the cost and time taken to breed goats
that can produce therapeutic proteins using gene therapy.
Experts say these transgenic animals could cut the cost of insulin
and other cancer-fighting proteins.
Novartis has been given a warning by US regulators detailing
significant failures in its investigation into tracking down the
source of contamination in some of its vaccines.
US contract manufacturer Catalent Pharma Solutions has leveraged
its partnership with Secure Symbology (SSI) for track and trace
barcode technology to help biopharmaceutical company Biogen Idec
comply with California's pending...
At this week's Informex show in New Orleans, experts at a packed
out session discussed the potential of up-and-coming continuous
processing technologies and posed the question: is batch processing
yesterday's technology?
In any laboratory, or indeed in any pharmaceutical manufacturing
facility, one of the major expenses will be solvents. And just like
the price of petrol and diesel it just keeps going up and up.
Huw Kidwell examines how a new recycling...
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals this week announced that is considering a
possible sale or merger of the company, with 'multiple entities'
apparently interested in the business.
With the price of crude oil going up almost every day it is no
surprise that this has a knock-on effect to the price of raw
materials for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. But DSM
and Roquette have developed a process that...
Israeli generics behemoth Teva is following the market and banking
on the promise of biologics with its purchase of Human Genome
Sciences biotech spin-off, CoGenesys.
Canadian vaccine specialist ImmunoVaccine Technologies (IVT) has
scored a multi-million dollar grant to go towards developing its
potent immune enhancement systems.
Processing specialist Sartorius Stedim Biotech today announced a
cooperation and supply deal with systems manufacturing firm Paul
Mueller Company for the US market, with a production facility in
Pennsylvania set to close as a result.
Diagnostics firm bioMérieux has announced plans to shift activities
at its facility in the Netherlands to France, shutting down the
Dutch site as it continues to haemorrhage cash.
Drug delivery specialist Antares Pharma has landed its fourth deal
with Israeli generics behemoth Teva, this time to develop a novel
pen injector for two Teva products.
Millipore has announced the first fruit of its collaboration with
testing specialist Gen-Probe, with the launch of a new contaminant
detection system for biopharmaceutical manufacturers.
Dutch firm Crucell last week announced that it has entered into an
agreement with vaccine specialist Sanofi Pasteur for its next
generation rabies antibody cocktail.
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...