Swiss chemicals firm and contract manufacturer Lonza fulfilled its
promise of stronger financial results in the first half of 2005,
with profits coming in at the lower end of the forecast range, but
still on target, reports Phil Taylor.
The acquisition of Flexible Packaging (FlexPac) of the US by the
Blackard Group will spur the development of the company's
technology into new industrial sectors, including pharmaceuticals.
Chemicals and pharmaceuticals firm Merck KGaA saw turnover rise but
pretax earnings dip in the second quarter of 2005, although the
results were skewed by the gain from its divestment of its
laboratory distribution business VWR International.
Maxim Pharmaceuticals has been issued with a US patent that covers
a novel class of potent apoptosis inducers with vascular targeting
activity that inhibits microtubule formation - a prime drug target
in the fight against cancer.
Lester Crawford was confirmed yesterday as the new Commissioner of
the US Food and Drug Administration, having already served for more
than a year in the post.
The trials and tribulations affecting US generics maker Able
Laboratories took a decisive turn yesterday when the company filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reports Phil Taylor.
The rapporteur trying to finesse the controversial REACH
legislation through the European Parliament, Guido Sacconi, has
formulated a compromise that aims to alleviate fears that the
regulations could pose a heavy financial burden...
New analysis into the gene therapy market reveals that
toxicological complications and poor therapy efficacy have hampered
the growth of this sector in which new ways must be found to
improve clinical efficiency and generate revenue.
A recent study designed to assess biopharmaceutical innovation in
the member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development has found that, in terms of innovation and
biotechnology industry development, Belgium...
West Pharmaceutical Services is planning to buy Israel's Medimop
Medical Projects, which develops disposable medical devices for the
mixing, transfer, reconstitution and administration of injectable
drugs.
Emergent Biosolutions has announced it has acquired Microscience,
in a deal that adds proprietary platform technology in oral vaccine
delivery. The deal also adds to Emergent's European presence in the
growing global vaccine...
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has finalised a new procedure
designed to make the process for the development, consultation,
finalisation and implementation of pharmaceutical guidelines
clearer.
Suppliers in the RNA purification market seeking to win market
share are posed with the challenge of overcoming strong levels of
customer loyalty. A survey reveals that Qiagen and Invitrogen came
out top as to primary suppliers to...
Another week, another Indian acquisition of a European or US
pharmaceutical company. In the latest case, Torrent Pharmaceuticals
has agreed to acquire Heumann Pharma Generics of Germany through
its wholly owned German affiliate, Torrent...
German pharmaceutical firm Schering is planning to close down half
its production facilities in the coming years as it strives to
boost profitability and growth to a level that will beat its peers
in the industry, reports Phil Taylor.
Shares in German generic drugmaker Stada rose last Friday after
rumours resurfaced that Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries was gearing up to launch a €2 billion bid for the
company.
Pfizer has started production at a newly opened $90m plant
expansion in Ireland that will make torcetrapib, a cardiovascular
drug in late-stage clinical testing, reports Phil Taylor.
In-PharmaTechnologist.com presents a round-up of recent
appointments in the pharmaceutical development and manufacturing
arena, headed this week by senior appointments at world number one
drugmaker Pfizer.
United Drug of Ireland has acquired TD Packaging, a UK-based
company which supplies the international pharmaceutical and
healthcare industries, in a deal valued at up to £11.4 million
(€17.1m), reports Phil Taylor.
US biotechnology company Biogen Idec has said that it plans to sell
a California manufacturing plant built to produce its withdrawn
multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri (natalizumab) to Genentech,
reports Phil Taylor.
AstraZeneca has been fined a hefty €60 million by the European
Commission for manipulating patent laws to keep competitors out of
the market, marking the first occasion that antirust laws have been
used to combat patent abuse.
The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of the
first-in-class antibiotic, Tygacil (tigecycline), is set to provide
doctors with an alternative treatment for skin and intra-abdominal
infections that have previously been...
The Supreme Court's decision to allow drug companies to receive
exemptions from patent infringement during key early-stage research
carries wider significance throughout the industry as it reduces
licence negotiation for patented...
Solutia has drawn up an agreement with former parent Monsanto that
could finally bring it out of the state of bankruptcy
reorganisation it has resided in since the end of 2003, reports
Phil Taylor.
BASF, the world's largest chemical company, said on Friday it plans
to buy Orgamol SA of Switzerland as part of an expansion of its
BASF Pharma Solutions unit, reports Phil Taylor.
Arena Pharmaceuticals have been issued with a patent for drug
screening methods for the treatment of metabolic-related disorders,
especially in relation to the niacin receptor. Ligands of the
niacin receptor play a role in regulating...
Spending on pharmaceuticals across the 30 countries in the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has
increased by a third in real terms since 1998, reaching more than
$450 billion (€370bn) in 2003, according to new...
Roche has opened the world's largest polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) manufacturing site in the world, investing more than $150
million and creating approximately 350 new jobs.
Sanitas, Lithuania's largest pharmaceutical producer, signed an
agreement in late May to purchase Hoechst-Biotika, a drug
manufacturer in the Slovak Republic.
The European pharmaceutical sector is falling behind the US in
terms of innovation and R&D expenditure and is increasingly
under threat from newcomers, especially in India and China.
Security printing specialist AlpVision has signed an agreement with fellow Swiss company Serolab to develop packaging that will guard against drug counterfeiting.
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.
Concern over the threat of a new flu pandemic is hiking demand for
Roche's Tamiflu >(oseltamivir phosphate) product to the extent
that the firm needs to build another production plant, reports
Phil Taylor.
According to a recent report, the global bioinformatics market is
currently estimated at about $1.4 billion (€1.1 billion). It is
expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 15.8 per cent
to reach nearly $3 billion by 2010,...
The boundary between the pharma and biotech industries will become
incresingly blurred over the next 10 years, with the latter
enjoying stronger growth, writes Phil Taylor.
The primary difficulty facing anyone given the task of designing a
state-of-the-art laboratory is that they generally don't have
access to a crystal ball to tell them exactly what will be at the
leading edge of technology in...
Novis Pharmaceutical and Science Division (UK) is looking for three
strong sales and business developers to take our award winning
daily online news services to the next level.
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.
Switzerland's Siegfried Group, a specialist in active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), dosage forms and
biopharmaceuticals, has boosted its position in the production of
controlled substances with the acquisition of US-based...
A former editor of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) claims that
medical journals are an extension of the marketing arm of
pharmaceutical companies, placing editors in difficult positions as
company-funded trials are becoming increasingly...