The US Food and Drug Administration has failed to reach a decision
on approving a growth hormone (hGH) product developed by Novartis'
generics subsidiary Sandoz in what is emerging as a test case for
the development of generic...
China has defended its decision to overturn Pfizer's patent on its
blockbuster drug for erectile dysfunction, Viagra (sildenafil), in
a ruling that was seen as a blow to hopes that the country would
enforce intellectual property...
Cardinal Health says it plans to expand and restructure several of
its facilities around the world after what it describes as
'heightened customer demand for clinical supply services, such as
design, packaging, labelling, storage...
The cumulative effect of patients failing to adhere to their
treatment regimens is costing the pharmaceutical industry in excess
of $30 billion a year, says a new report from Datamonitor which
proffers some solutions to the problem.
The number one drugmaker - Pfizer - has stepped up its legal
campaign against the trade in counterfeit versions of its
top-selling drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), one of the most copied
drugs on the market.
After two difficult years, there are more signals in 2004 that
trends are turning in the economic situation of German
biotechnology companies, according to Prof Peter Stadler, chairman
of the German Association of Biotechnology Industries...
A new approach to treating obesity which blocks brain signals that
control cravings has shown promising results in human subjects
during advanced clinical trials paving the way for further testing
and an eventual launch date.
A team of researchers has issued a plea that that
microarray-derived gene expression data should be available in a
public repository in the same way that gene sequence data is
collated for use by all.
The US Food and Drug Administration has stepped up its activities
in combating drug counterfeiting by bringing charges against drug
wholesalers for failing to carry out measures designed to safeguard
the pharmaceutical supply chain.
UK-based Lock Inspection Systems, a leading manufacturer of
weighing and metal detection system, has announced the opening of a
regional commercial office for Asia-Pacific to meet with growing
demand for its products across the region.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) became the first major drug maker to disclose
details of its clinical drug trials effectively settling a lawsuit
filed by the New York state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, who
accused them of concealing information...
The emergence of cases of mad cow disease in North America has not
raised any public health concern from animal-derived medicinal
materials such as bovine blood derivatives and gelatin.
French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Synthelabo on Friday formally
announced the birth of Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third-largest
pharmaceutical company, ranking number one in Europe.
In an open letter to the British medical Journal, the director of
the UK Cochrane Centre Sir Iain Chalmers has added his voice to
those calling for complete disclosure of clinical trials by
pharmaceutical companies.
In-Pharmatechnologist's periodic round-up of personnel moves in the
pharmaceutical sector includes a change in leadership at the
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and a new
managing director at tabletting and...
Companies from Europe, the US and Japan have announced the
construction of new facilities this month, suggesting that despite
a difficult operating environment big pharma is still making
significant capital investments.
Israeli generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)
company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced yet another
acquisition earlier today, this time for Pfizer's Italian generic
pharmaceutical marketing company Dorom.
Fisher Scientific has completed its €3bn merger with Apogent
Technologies, continuing an acquisitive period which has seen it
become one of the top companies in the market for research tools.
German biotech company Evotec OAI boosted its second quarter
revenues by 18 per cent to €17 million, despite the difficult
operating environment for companies supplying drug discovery
technologies, continuing its recovery from a weak...
Germany's mg technologies has completed the sale of Dynamit Nobel's
five business units on schedule at the end of July, marking its
exit from the fine chemicals and ingredients sector.
Life sciences company Tepnel has signed a conditional agreement to
acquire OpiSAS' (Opi) subsidiary Diaclone Research, a company that
produces monoclonal antibodies for in vitro studies and
diagnostic purposes.
Despite Thermo Electron reporting a Q2 revenue growth of 12 per
cent, organic revenue growth declined from 5 per cent in 1Q04 to 3
per cent in the second quarter, due in part to the company's sale
of its Optical Technologies...
The Irish government is joining Johnson & Johnson subsidiary
Centocor in a €650 million investment in a new manufacturing
facility, it said this week. The move comes as some have questioned
the country's capacity to remain...
The reality of the violence of some UK animal activists became
apparent after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Europes's biggest drug maker,
warned that investment and jobs would be driven out of the country
by their actions.
Dutch group DSM, one of Europe's top three ingredient suppliers to
drug makers, increased sales of pharma products during the second
quarter but continued losses from the antibiotics market halved the
Life Sciences operating...
Bayer Biological Products has unveiled a number of new product
developments as part of its major campaign to combat product
tampering and counterfeiting.
The chief executive of leading pharmaceutical company, Astra
Zeneca, has issued a bleak warning to European governments: improve
the business environment, or we'll take our investment elsewhere.
The battle to gain control of the lucrative cholesterol-lowering
drug market intensified after Merck and Schering-Plough joined
forces to win Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for their
new entrant, Vytorin.
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...
Belgian pharmaceutical and chemicals company UCB, fresh from its
€2.25 billion acquisition of UK biotech Celltech, has divested its
films business in a move that takes it another step closer to
becoming a biopharmaceutical pure-play.
Major pharmaceutical and generics players are continuing to invest
in plants for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients,
with Pfizer, Ivax, Berlex and Protein Design Labs all announcing
new ventures in the last few days.
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.
The drive towards achieving better energy efficiency in UK
manufacturing was given fresh impetus this week following the
latest government spending review, writes Anthony Fletcher.
The European Union is sponsoring a new initiative aimed at
producing pharmaceuticals in genetically modified crop plants such
as maize, and hopes to start the first clinical trials of a product
by 2009. But the news has been met with...
A new Sino-American joint venture for manufacturing
pharmaceuticals, HBBenda, has started operations in Guangshui,
China, after being granted Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
approval.
A case currently going through the European Court of Justice could
have worrying implications for companies that use reformulation and
drug delivery as a way to extend the patented lifespan of their
drugs.
The US Food and Drug Administration claims drug companies have
violated government law by failing to disclose the existence of
clinical trials to a government database, writes Wai Lang
Chu.
Much has been written on In-Pharmatechnologist.com about the
impact on China of accession to the World Trade Organisation and
the effects on the domestic pharmaceutical industry of the
resulting need to comply with international intellectual...
Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim has completed the validation process
for its new biopharmaceutical production plant in Biberach with a
positive inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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.
Although Europe is a world leader in chemical production, holding
28 per cent of the world market, its proportion of global trade has
dropped by 4 per cent over the past decade. The time has come to
take action, according to two industry...
The market for pharmaceutical fine chemicals will remain static
until 2005 and overcapacity will continue to be a problem, predicts
Global Pharmaceutical Fine Chemicals - Industry and Market
Analysis, a new report from Urch Publishing.
In the UK, a groundbreaking partnership between government and
industry has led to the creation of a National Biomanufacturing
Centre, designed to make it easier for fledgling biotechnology
companies to get access to contract manufacturing...
UK business has attacked the government for handing out what it
claims is a £4 billion annual bill as a result of 'sloppy'
environmental laws, report Anthony Fletcher and Phil Taylor.
Finnish chemicals group Kemira has agreed to sell off its fine
chemicals business to a private equity firm, exiting from what it
sees as a non-core sector, reports Phil Taylor.
The accusations levelled at GlaxoSmithKline and Forest Laboratories
that negative trial results on their products have been buried has
prompted the US industry to set out its own code of practice.
Charles River Laboratories has made a $1.5 billion (€1.2bn) bid to
acquire Inveresk Research in a deal that will create a contract
research powerhouse with nearly $1 billion in annual revenues,
writes Phil Taylor.
New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer has continued in his
crusade to investigate pharmaceutical company practice by
requesting information from Forest Laboratories which is accused of
promoting its products for "off-label"...
