Outsourcing Services Group (OSG) has announced it has sold its
contract manufacturing subsidiary OSG Norwich Pharmaceuticals to a
US private equity firm for an undisclosed amount.
Sanofi-Aventis' disposable insulin pen SoloStar has been launched
across the US for use with the company's 24-hour basal insulin
Lantus (insulin glargine), despite patent infringement claims
emanating from fellow insulin...
A novel spring-powered inhaler system to deliver the blockbuster
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) treatment Spiriva
(tiotropium) has successfully completed the EU approval process,
paving the way for its introduction into...
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced the creation of the second of
its two new business units, Nabi Pharmaceuticals, a month after
spinning off its Biologics segment.
Despite numerous media reports of an impending patent infringement
suit, Sanofi-Aventis has yet to formally hear anything from
plaintiff Novo Nordisk, who claims the French firm's SoloStar
insulin pen violates patents covering...
The world's number two manufacturer of rubber components for
pharmaceutical products, Helvoet Pharma, has broken ground on a new
facility that promises to double or even triple its capacity to
supply the fast-growing markets...
Start-up UK biotech firm Circassia technology has had a major
result in bagging 30-year industry veteran and former
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) chairman, Sir Richard Sykes, as its new
chairman of the board.
German packaging firm Gerresheimer has been awarded another prize
for its innovative safety-conscious rigid needle shield, this time
winning the World Packaging Organisation's renowned WorldStar
award.
A new recombinant combo treatment that could help some of
the rising number of women experiencing fertility problems,
has now been approved for use in the Europe.
British contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) NextPharma
Technologies has announced a €30m fundraising round and the
acquisition of Bioserv, another CMO based in the US.
The finishing touches are being added to the new Bradman Lake
Group's packaging machinery facility in Norwich, Norfolk, as the
company continues on its global expansion plan.
Bespak, one of the two contract manufacturers of Pfizer's inhaled
insulin Exubera, has announced it will cut a "significant" number
of jobs as sales of the once-touted blockbuster are falling short
of expectations.
US biotech company Alexion has been given the green light by
European regulators to market its new orphan drug Soliris
(eculizumab) - the first therapy to be approved under the EU's new
fast-track review process.
Microtest Laboratories and Texcel Medical have teamed up to offer
biopharma firms services to help them overcome the hurdles of
developing "combination products" - a fast-growing market.
The contract manufacturing business that Cardinal Health sold
earlier this year has just been launched as an independent
operating company rebranded as Catalent Pharma Solutions.
US pulmonary drug delivery specialist Respirics has decided to sell
its assets relating to its MD Turbo product to focus on its
Acu-Breathe powder inhaler platform.
Major packaging player Rexam this morning announced that it will be
scooping up the plastics business of beleaguered firm
Owens-Illinois in a deal worth almost $2bn (€1.5bn).
Amgen will strengthen its drug portfolio aimed at fighting renal
disease after agreeing to acquire Ilypsa, a private biotechnology
company which is developing a novel drug for the treatment of
elevated blood phosphate (hyperphosphataemia)...
Schreiner MediPharm, a leading manufacturer of 'intelligent' labels
has chosen Datalase's flagship Packmark printing technique for its
customers in the pharma industry.
A magic bullet for the pharmaceutical supply chain has entered the
stage as radio frequency identification (RFID) technology attempts
to fix up its teething problems.
Alcan Packaging Kreuzlingen is the latest company to receive
certification for the new ISO standard for primary packaging,
becoming the first flexible packaging firm in the world to achieve
the accreditation.
With Asia increasingly becoming the destination of choice for
manufacturers and the domestic market blossoming, a major
components manufacturer has singled out its Singapore facility for
a multi-million dollar expansion.
UK biotech firm Acambis has decided to bring the manufacturing of
its soon to be approved smallpox vaccine in-house while its
agreement with contract manufacturer Baxter comes to an end.
Bosch Packaging Technology has launched the FLT1020 vial filling
system, a scaled-down version of full-sized filling units that is
geared specifically to use in the early stages of clinical trials.
Swiss drug major Roche is facing a delay in bringing its EPO drug
Mircera (continuous erythropoietin receptor activator) to market in
the US after the Food and Drug Administration sent it an
'approvable' notice for the product.
A UK-based technology company is part of a trio leading the way in
innovative supply chain solutions by combining real-time
temperature monitoring with a radio frequency identification (RFID)
tag for the pharmaceutical industry.
The decision of the US Supreme Court not to hear Amgen's appeal in
a patent infringement case against Sanofi-Aventis and Shire,
involving the anaemia drug Epogen (epoetin alfa), may weaken
Amgen's position in keeping another...
Outsourced pharmaceutical R&D spending is set to increase
at twice the expected rate of general R&D expenditure
for the next five years, according to new research published this
week.
German packaging company Klockner Pentaplast (KP) is investing more
than $20m (€15m) in a new pharmaceutical films manufacturing
facility in Aurangabad, India, in a bid to up its presence there.
US diabetics will soon have a new alternative to the predominant
needle and syringe method of administering insulin, now that the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval
to Sanofi-Aventis' Lantus SoloStar.
Italian glassware specialist Stevanato Group has consolidated the
engineering side of its business through the acquisition of fellow
Italian company Optrel.
Active packaging specialist Multisorb Technologies is in the midst
of developing a new desiccant product that will offer a novel
built-in solution to producers of dry powder and metered dose
inhalers.
Owens-Illinois, the US company best known as a manufacturer of
glass containers, has finalised a 50/50 joint venture with Pavisa
Industries to manufacture and sell plastic healthcare containers in
Mexico and other Latin markets.
A crop-based alternative to regular plastics that is biodegradeable
and compostable, developed by biotechnology firm Metabolix and
agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midland, is to be developed for
pharmaceutical applications.
Successful applications of cold-form film and security foil helped
the Pharma/Healthcare division of Austria's Constantia Packaging to
deliver above-average growth in 2006, the company reported.
Biotech giant Amgen has posted healthy results for the first
quarter following a positive performance by its blockbuster anaemia
drug Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa).
While technology cost and lack of a demonstrated return on
investment constitute the biggest barrier to adoption of radio
frequency identification (RFID) in the pharmaceutical industry, the
lack of a frequency standard runs these...
ATMI LifeSciences, a Belgian company that manufactures and supplies
film-based single-use packaging products for the biopharmaceutical
industry, has set up a joint venture, ATMI Austar LifeSciences,
Ltd, in the Shanghai area of China.
A new integrated dose counter is being launched this week by 3M's
drug delivery systems business, providing a new solution to recent
regulatory requirements for metered dose inhalers.
Avant Immunotherapeutics will reduce its workforce by a third as
part of a "painful" restructuring aimed at cutting operational
costs, the US-based firm announced this week.
Switzerland's Bobst has introduced a new system for embossing
Braille characters on pharmaceutical packaging that moves the
process down the production line from die-cutting to the folding
and gluing stage.
