Varian has introduced a mobile washing station that can clean
pharmaceutical dissolution vessels in place, reducing the time it
takes to carry out the process and reducing the risk of expensive
breakages.
A US biophysicist has won an award for developing a new process
that simplifies the production of proteins in the widely used T7
gene expression system.
A novel approach to treating tuberculosis (TB), focusing on a
potential drug target in the cell walls of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, a disease that is
reappearing as new, multiresistant drug-strains.
Switzerland's Lonza Group said yesterday that it will use a novel
process developed by US-based biocatalysis company Codexis for the
synthesis of a key chiral pharmaceutical compound used in one of
the world's major human...
Avecia has launched a new precious metal scavenging resin, designed
to minimise metal loss and pollution in processing as well as
residual metal contamination of a product or intermediates.
Pharmaceutical instrument supplier Argonaut has introduced the
Isolute PPT+ protein precipitation plates, created with the
intention of accelerating drug research and development.
US biotechnology company Invitrogen reported record second-quarter
revenue but warned that top-line growth for the rest of 2004 would
be less than expected, citing an increasingly competitive business
environment.
Pressure on pharma ingredient supplier Lonza has continued into the
first half of the year, with consistently low use of custom
manufacturing capacity and weak demand for biomanufacturing
contributing to a 37 per cent drop in operating...
Chiral Quest has forged an alliance with DSM to accelerate the
take-up of its catalysis products, used in the synthesis of
chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Last week's International Conference on AIDS in Thailand was marked
by a report that pointed to a dearth of innovation in HIV vaccine
research, both from the manufacturing perspective and in terms of
the mechanism of action of...
Sartorius, a German manufacturer of laboratory equipment, is
considering a possible initial public offering for its
biotechnology unit Vivascience in the second half of this year,
according to local press reports.
Swiss fine chemicals company Siegfried has been insulated from the
general downturn in the chemicals industry, but has finally
succumbed and been forced to lose staff and cut back production,
writes Phil Taylor.
Dutch pharmaceuticals and chemicals group Akzo Nobel has reported a
small decline in sales in the first half of the year, although the
cost of ongoing restructuring caused net earnings to slump by
nearly a quarter to €245 million.
Global efforts to develop a vaccine to treat HIV infection could be
derailed because investigators have not considered manufacturing
processes in the design of their candidates.
Swiss chemicals group Clariant, currently in the throes of a major
restructuring exercise, has sold off its UK-based Lancaster
Synthesis unit to Johnson Matthey.
Strahman Valves of the US has expanded its product line and
increased its presence in Europe with the acquisition of MG Process
Valves. Both companies market a range of valves for the
pharmaceutical and other process industries.
Lonza Biologics has licensed rights its proprietary CHOK1SV cell
line to Canadian firm Chromos Molecular Systems for a project aimed
at making improved mammalian cells for biological syntheses.
Codexis has appointed a new head of biocatalysis and chemical
development, shoring up its expertise in what is a small but
fast-growing area of the catalysts market.
Sun Pharma of India has announced plans to buy an ailing
cephalosporin bulk active company, Phlox Pharma, to gain access to
an internationally approved generic active pharmaceutical
ingredient.
Oxford BiomMedica has entered into a partnership with a US company
to try to overcome the primary obstacles to producing recombinant
proteins in eggs, the low level of expression of the gene
transcript coding for the target protein...
Contract research manufacturer Diosynth has forged a joint venture
with a Swiss firm for a technology that could dramatically reduce
the time and cost of developing new cell lines for manufacturing
proteins, writes Phil Taylor.
Bolidt Synthetic Products and Systems of the Netherlands has
launched a new synthetic flooring finish designed specifically to
cope with aggressive chemical and pharmaceutical production
environments.
NovAseptic has upgraded its NovaSeptum range of disposable samplers
to reduce the level of endotoxins to a level that falls well within
strict new guidelines set down by the European Pharmacopoeia.
Colder Products, a provider of connectors to the processing and
packaging industries, has launched a new non-spill connection to
meet smaller size requirements in the chemical and other
industries.
A remote controlled camera system that provides continuous
monitoring of a key processing machine has achieved a hike in
operating efficacy at active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and
fine chemicals company Macfarlan Smith.
Germany's MWG Biotech has launched its own line of small
interfering RNA (siRNA) reagents, siMAX, encroaching into territory
dominated by the likes of Qiagen, Dharmacon, Ambion, Proligo and
Invitrogen.
NovAseptic has launched what it claims is the first high shear
mixer that uses a magnet-driven mechanism, designed to make it
easier to clean and reduce the risk of contamination.
Drug discovery instrumentation and software developer Axon
Instruments announced today the release of its Axoporator 800A
single-cell electroporator, the first commercially available
instrument of its kind, writes Wai Lang Chu.
Neotame, a recently introduced high intensity sweetener developed
by US company NutraSweet, has been approved by the health
authorities in India for use in pharmaceutical preparations.
UK company Laminar Medica has launched a new shipping container for
pharmaceuticals that according to tests does not deviate from the
set temperature range, even after 450 intercontinental
transportations.
Malvern Instruments of the UK has launched a new system that is
intended as an entry level product for companies needing to size
particles in dry powders, suspensions and emulsions.
Despite a dip in the fortunes of the biotechnology industry,
bioinformatics firm BlueGnome has achieved profit in less than
three years since its formation. The firm's fortunes are in
contrast to similar start up firms within...
Switzerland's Chemspeed has launched a new workstation that allows
up to six reactions to be carried out in parallel, which should
speed up process R&D.
Invitrogen subsidiary Protometrix is gearing up to launch a
microarray containing nearly all the 6,200 or so proteins in the
proteome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a commonly
used organism in genomics research.
The UK subsidiary of Japan's Yokogawa has introduced a new FT-NIR
(Fourier transform near infrared) analyser that runs as a
stand-alone system, with no need for an attached PC, making it
easier to install in a process environment.
French drug delivery specialist Ethypharm has won a contract to
apply its melt-in-the-mouth Flashtab technology to two new
over-the-counter analgesic products that will be marketed in Japan
by Kowa.
UK encapsulation specialist BioProgress has signed a license option
deal for a liquid fill technology with the consumer healthcare
division of US drug major Wyeth. If taken to fruition, the
agreement would mark the company's...
3M will no longer manufacture triflic acid and is closing down its
electrochemical fluorination process at the company's Cottage
Grove, site in Illinois, US.
Quadro has introduced a new powder disperser designed to
incorporate difficult to wet powders into a liquid more
efficiently, cutting the amount of powder required by a third and
dramatically reducing batch times.
A number of large pharmaceutical and food manufacturers are
piloting a new data logger with radio frequency identification
(RFID) technology that is designed to track and monitor the
conditions a product is kept in.
The well established Pharmaceutical Substances database of active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), published by Germany's Thieme,
is now available for the first time in an online format.
Applied Biosystems has unveiled a family of reagents that speeds up
proteomics and biomarker discovery experiments by allowing up to
four peptides to be analysed in single sample, writes Wai Lang
Chu.
Rhodia, the French speciality chemicals company, has expanded its
capability to produce N-2,3-trimethyl-2-isopropylbutanamide (more
commonly known as WS-23) with the recent addition of a second
production stream at its UK facility...
A new range of connector accessories for tubing used in the
manufacture of pharmaceuticals, designed to improve the safety of
processes that need high levels of containment, has been launched
by US company Colder Products Co.
