KBI BioPharma, a start-up biopharma contract manufacturer, has
signed an agreement to buy a facility in North Carolina that could
be online in 6-9 months.
Cobra Biomanufacturing has signed an agreement to supply Advaxis
with clinical and commercial supplies of its Listeria
monocytogenes-based cancer vaccine.
A conference on batch process automation and asset management in
the pharmaceutical industry is scheduled to take place in Cork,
Ireland, on 22-23 October.
Italy's Recordati has said that it plans to sell off its
pharmaceutical chemical activities over the next few months in
order to concentrate on pharmaceuticals.
KS Biomedix has confirmed that it is in negotiations that may lead
to a merger and add to the mini-wave of consolidation sweeping over
the UK industry.
Argonaut sells its HPLC business to Grace Vydac as it refocuses on
supplying consumables for companies working on drug discovery.
Reports reduced losses in first half.
Pliva has continued its rapid expansion with the opening of a new
R&D facility in the USA that will carry out formulation work on
generic pharmaceuticals.
DSM reports a disappointing set of second quarter results and says
it is unlikely to meet its 2002 operating profit level this year;
the group blames weaker demand for its products and negative
currency factors. Restructuring drive...
LGC has acquired Germany's Mikromol, a specialist in pharmaceutical
impurities and metabolites used as reference materials, to create
its first non-UK lab.
The pharmaceutical industry is failing to increase efficiencies in
core areas of its business - such as clinical trials and sales -
because of an enormous pressure from investors to drive revenues,
according to Datamonitor.
The difficulties facing Lonza came into clear focus today as the
company published its half-year results, with sales down across its
custom manufacturing, organic chemicals and polymers businesses.
Chemical major BASF has expanded the range of products it offers to
pharmaceutical clients with the $65 million (€58m) purchase of
Callery Chemical from Mine Safety Appliances.
Scotland's PPL has started a mass slaughter of its flock of sheep
engineered to produce alpha-1 antitrypsin in their milk. The cull
could spell the end of the firm's ambitions in transgenic
production.
Lonza Biotec is to manufacture PEGylated antibody fragment-based
drugs for Celltech under the terms of a new agreement between the
two companies. The two companies have also reached an agreement on
a prior deal relating to Celltech's...
Danish pharmaceutical companies increased their sales to overseas
countries by 20 per cent in the first four months of this year
compared with the same period of 2002, according to Invest In
Denmark.
Chiron's has completed its acquisition of UK vaccine and drug
delivery specialist PowderJect, making it the second-largest
manufacturer of flu vaccines worldwide.
Whatman has decided to wind down the operations of its German
subsidiary Biometra, taking a £10.1 million charge in the process.
The move fends off a patent infringement challenge from Applied
Biosystems.
Caliper Technologies has been given the go-ahead by the US federal
Trade Commission for its $71 million cash and stock acquisition of
Zymark, a specialist in laboratory automation and robotics
equipment.
DSM has taken a 25 per cent interest in Nijmegen, Netherlands-based
Chiralix in move which both expands DSM's capabilities in
early-stage drug development and Chiralix' position in
stereochemistry
Microbiology specialist Biotrace has continued its expansion into
the healthcare sector with the acquisition of Denmark's Maltec,
helping it to target Scandinavia's strong pharma sector
Pfizer is considering the sale of its Pharmacia Diagnostics
business, acquired alongside the rest of Pharmacia in a $60 billion
deal that concluded in April.
Former Yugoslav prime minister Milan Panic, who until recently had
been at the helm of ICN Pharmaceuticals for 42 years, has bought
the ICN Biomedicals division for $15 million.
Novo Nordisk has sent out the first batch of bulk insulin from a
new facility at its site in Kalundborg, Denmark, that is producing
more than a third of the world's supply.
The resurgence of merger and acquisition activity in the biotech
industry shows little sign of letting up, with US companies IDEC
Pharmaceuticals and Biogen the latest to step up to the altar
The market for cell culture products is getting a lift from
stringent regulations from the US FDA and Department of
Agriculture, restricting the importation and usage of foetal bovine
serum
There is a growing trend towards patients self-medicating with
over-the-counter products rather than asking their doctors for a
prescription medication, and this promises to benefit companies
involved in pharmaceutical packaging,...
KS Avicenna, the Canadian unit of KS Biomedix of the UK, launched a
newly expanded contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in
Canada, to service both North American and European clients, at the
start of the BIO 2003 meeting,...
Applied chemistry company Solutia has completed the latest phase of
a new containment facility to support the supply of highly potent
active pharmaceutical ingredients
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...
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
The demands of the pharmaceutical industry are driving strong
growth in the market for outsourced chiral technologies, according
to a report from Frost & Sullivan
