While the procedure for designating drugs for orphan diseases has
improved dramatically in the EU, further progress must be made,
says EU biotech group
Applied chemistry company Solutia has completed the latest phase of
a new containment facility to support the supply of highly potent
active pharmaceutical ingredients
UK informatics company Inpharmatica has added a whole new suite of
ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion)
capabilities to its drug lead optimisation services with the
purchase of a lab and intellectual property...
GeneMedix and Penang Development of Malaysia have signed a letter
of intent that will see the two establish a new company in the
latter country's second city, at a cost of $34 million (€29m), for
the development, manufacture...
MediGene is relocating the entire research department of its US
subsidiary to Germany, delighting those who lament the "brain
drain" of scientific talent flowing in the other direction
CT Consulting Group has developed a new electronic logbook system
for the drug industry that enables R&D teams and quality
control labs to maintain lab and GMP notebooks on computer
US biotechnology company Biogen has decided to postpone
construction of a large production plant at Hillerød in Denmark,
just three months after breaking ground on the facility
Transgenic drug production company PPL Therapeutics has been rocked
by a decision by Germany's Bayer to walk away from their protein
development partnership, placing the future of the Scottish firm at
risk
Canadian label printer Invesprint has sold its 65 per cent interest
in Jay Packaging Group, handing 100 per cent control of the latter
firm to its senior management team
Germany's BASF has been awarded a US patent covering a new coating
agent, binder and/or film-forming excipient, based on
polyether-containing polymers, which can be used in pharmaceutical
formulations
BioProtein Technologies has licensed rights to technologies
developed by GTC that will improve its intellectual property
position in transgenic protein manufacture
UK-based laboratory instrumentation supplier Presearch has added a
new evaporator to its product range that is claimed to allow for
rapid evaporation of solvent from samples
The demands of the pharmaceutical industry are driving strong
growth in the market for outsourced chiral technologies, according
to a report from Frost & Sullivan
Laureate Pharma of the USA has commissioned a new automated
chromatography system for Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant
purification of protein products
BASF has announced that later this summer it will temporarily
suspend production of the amino acid lysine at its facility in
Gunsan, Korea, due to essential maintenance work
DSM Biologics has dissolved its relationship with Qiagen and
Valentis regarding the pAlliance, a consortium supplying
ultra-pure, stable DNA plasmids and formulated DNA
There has been a steady increase in the number of diabetes-related
R&D projects in recent years, and one area of particular
interest is the pulmonary delivery of insulin, says a new report
Great Lakes Fine Chemicals has invested $8 million ($6.7m) in a
program aimed at upgrading its pharmaceutical ingredient
manufacturing facilities in Holywel, Wales
Switzerland's Novartis has been awarded a US patent for a novel
means of extending the shelf life of pharmaceuticals. The invention
describes the use of a plastic bottle made from a polymeric
material that is impregnated with...
The UK has launched a new study to examine in detail the benefits
and risks of nanotechnology and make sure that any necessary
regulatory framework is in place early on
Researchers in the USA have generated designer metal oxides with
specific surface properties that can be used as catalysts in the
manufacture of pharmaceuticals and chemicals
Avantium Technologies of the Netherlands, a specialist in
developing high throughput process R&D techniques for customers
in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, has been signed up
by Eastman Chemical for the discovery...
Unigen Pharmaceuticals has expanded its sales presence in Europe
and Latin America by signing agency and distribution agreements
with six international corporate partners
ConjuChem, a company specialised in improving the formulation of
peptide drugs, has said that it is aiming to raise around C$12
million (€7.6m) in a new private placement round
PowderJect Pharmaceuticals of the UK has announced plans to invest
£85 million in its facilities in Liverpool. in order to expand its
vaccine development and manufacturing capabilities
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell has announced a new project
aimed at developing a vaccine for West Nile virus, a flu-like
illness that can cause a brain infection with a mortality rate of 1
per cent
Tepnel Life Sciences sees its shares soar after announcing the
first sale of its Nucleopure DNA purification system to an unnamed
UK pharmaceuticals group
Canadian chromatography and mass spectrometry specialist Waters has
introduced a series of new products at the ongoing ASMS meeting in
Montreal, Canada
Switzerland's Bachem SA, which specialises in the manufacture and
sale of bulk peptides and related organic chemicals as active
ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry, has announced that it
expects full-year sales growth...
Bruker Daltonics has forged an alliance with the US Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory to develop and commercialise mass
spectrometry for high-throughput proteomics research
Belgian pharmaceuticals and chemicals group UCB has said it expects
its profit in 2003 to be at a level comparable to those of the
previous year, influenced by the unfavourable economic climate, but
especially affected by the fall...
Agilent Technologies has introduced a TOF (time of flight) mass
spectrometer to complement its existing quadrupole and ion trap
systems at the ACMSAT meeting in Montreal.
As regulators increase their scrutiny of manufacturing and quality
control, the key to avoiding non-compliance notices lies in
well-trained, knowledgeable personnel, says new report.
Caliper Technologies has announced its intention to acquire
laboratory automation, liquid handling and robotics specialist
Zymark in a deal valued at around $71 million in cash and stock.
Germany's Chiracon, a specialist in novel raw and starting
materials for high-value pharmaceuticals, has joined the circle of
Startup-Partners, the central capital marketing agency for Berlin.
Sam Waksal, the disgraced former chief executive of US
biotechnology company ImClone Systems, is due for sentencing today
and could receive a jail sentence as well as significant fines.
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has
asked for prescribing restrictions on GlaxoSmithKline's
widely-prescribed antidepressant Seroxat.
Owens-Illinois has launched a line of child-resistant 'squeeze and
turn' packages that incorporate a closure and bottle system
suitable for solid oral dose uses
Protherics has said that it plans to expand its plant in Llandysul,
south Wales, to reduce the manufacturing cost of its products and
boost its profits
A meeting organised by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency has heard calls for rapid microbiological methods
to be used routinely in the drug industry
Isis Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly say they have reached a mutually
beneficial renegotiation of their manufacturing relationship for
cancer drug Affinitak
Millennium Pharmaceuticals has said that it plans to cut around 600
jobs and wind down some of its manufacturing operations as it seeks
to reach profitability by 2006
Nature Technology has launched an improved delivery technology for
DNA vaccines that is now available for license by companies working
in this fast-growing area
ICOS has entered into a biologics manufacturing agreement with Eli
Lilly, in which the Bothell, Washington-based firm will manufacture
two clinical candidates
Pharmaceutical company mergers and acquisitions plus industry-wide
cost cutting has squeezed investment into manufacturing, which may
lead to GMP non-compliance and fines, warns a new report.
Patheon Italia has extended its manufacturing services agreement
with Roche to continue to supply the Swiss firm with solid, liquid
and sterile products for the European market.
