Pfizer completes inhaler company acquisition
Drug giant Pfizer has completed its purchase of UK-based drug delivery company Meridica in a move that it says will bolster its activities in allergy and respiratory medicine.
Archives for November 15, 2004
Plastic packaging on the rise in healthcare
Plastics are featuring more often in the packaging of healthcare products, including pharmaceuticals, and this will drive a 28 per cent increase in the volume of plastic resins used between now and 2009 in North America.
Molecular technique kills drug resistance bacteria
A new approach to outwit resistance to antibiotics has been discovered by a team of researchers who hope to apply this knowledge to form new strategies and targets to combat drug-resistant bacteria ubiquitous in both hospital settings and the larger...
UK to hike transparency in drug regulation
A number of measures to help make the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) and the pharmaceutical industry operate more openly and transparently were announced late last week by the country's Health Minister, Lord Warner.
Project seeks membrane protein breakthrough
A pioneering research project could pave the way for more effective drug treatments for diseases including cancer, parasitic, bacterial and viral diseases by visualising, in detail, membrane proteins that have the potential to be novel targets.
COX-2 inhibitor debate rumbles on as Merck accused of delay
A new study suggests that there are important differences between Merck & Co's Vioxx (rofecoxib) and other COX-2 inhibitors and that this may account for variations in cardiovascular safety within this drug class, writes Phil Taylor.
Applera real time PCR patent sparks lawsuits
Applera subsidiary Applied Biosystems was awarded a US patent covering real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instruments at the end of last week, and immediately filed lawsuits against three rival manufacturers.
DharmaFECT transfection reagent launched
Dharmacon has launched a range of small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection reagents designed specifically to enhance transfection efficiency, a crucial procedure in initial drug target identification to late-stage therapeutic development.
Latest Borculo Domo deal targets Scandinavia
Lactose specialist Borculo Domo has teamed up with Univar to ramp up its presence in the Scandinavian pharmaceutical market, part of a concerted effort to improve its standing internationally.