West Pharmaceutical Services’ operating income fell by 33 per cent in Q2 but the company reported that demand for some of its drug delivery technology is strong.
OmniComm has acquired Logos Technologies’ electronic data capture (EDC) assets, the second deal of this type it has made in the past 6 weeks, further strengthening its presence in the market.
Eli Lilly is among the organisations partnering to provide training for the Rozdravnadzor, Russia’s equivalent of the FDA, which is seeking to improve its knowledge of manufacturing standards.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has teamed up with China’s Fudan University to set up a Master’s degree programme in clinical data management and statistical programming.
Ecron Acunova’s global partnering team had a busy end to July with the Indian CRO entering into collaboration deals on both sides of the Atlantic to further expand its global reach.
US firm Isogen says the combination of aseptic filling, engineering and containment know-how on offer at its new Science Center is unique among facilities serving the clinical market.
Sanofi-Aventis is continuing to expand in emerging markets by agreeing to acquire Indian vaccine manufacturer Shantha Biotechnics in a deal that values the company at €550m ($784m).
US group Cambridge Major Laboratories (CML) will begin transferring API production to its 125,000 sq ft manufacturing plant in Germantown, Wisconsin at the end of next month.
Clinical trials in the developing world meet the same standards as those in Europe and the US and are vital for accelerating drug development says the Association of Clinical Research Organisations (ACRO).
Australian group Amcor has confirmed that talks about a takeover of Alcan’s pharmaceutical packaging business are still ongoing but says that no binding agreement has yet been reached.
Rumours suggest that US drug giant Pfizer is considering a bid for Turkish generics group Abdi Ibrahim as part of its strategy of expanding in emerging markets.
French biopharmaceutical group LFB has contracted Lonza’s biopharmaceuticals division to make trial supplies of its candidated monoclonal anti-RhD antibody.
US software company Velos hopes its new “software as a service” (SaaS) internet offering will attract CROs and Pharma firms seeking low-cost trial management solutions.
The Oxford, UK, biomarker laboratory facilities of India’s Veeda CR have been taken over by Icon Development Solutions, in a deal which both consolidates existing customer relationships for the buyer and opens up new product areas to focus on.
US CRO PPD has laid off around 80 people at its HQ in Wilmington, North Carolina and may cut another 200 jobs from its North American workforce, according to local media reports.
US contract research organisation (CRO) QPS has been called in by the Taiwanese Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) to provide support services for biotech firms operating in the region.
US biotechnology group OSI Pharmaceuticals will move HQ to a facility in Greenburgh, New York due, according to observers, to the high cost of land at its current base in Long Island.
The number of CROs operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to rise, according to an expert on the region, as companies are attracted by the cost effectiveness and presence of big pharma.
India and China share many similarities as outsourcing locations but there are also significant differences that are important to understand before making a commitment, according to a report.
BASF and Sinopec are to invest $1.4bn (€1bn) in expanding their Chinese specialty chemical joint venture, adding 10 plants and increasing capacity at three existing sites.
Northern Irish pack testing specialist Sepha has moved forward with plans to enter the Japanese market, showcasing its BlisterScan platform at Interphex Japan in Tokyo last week.
The USP is revising monographs of four pharmaceutical excipients in light of hazards associated with diethylene glycol contamination and is seeking comments from interested parties.
US CRO Charles River (CRL) has unveiled a raft of executive changes and plans to restructure its PCS unit to provide customers with a more centralised approach to global drug development.
Medidata has followed up its successful IPO by inking a deal with Roche, which is reported to be pulling out of PhRMA and the ABPI, to provide the Swiss pharma with an enterprise-wide electronic EDC system.
The Spanish Ministry of Health is leading a €60m ($84.9m) programme that will build the country’s first vaccine production facility and use Novavax’s recombinant virus-like-particle (VLP) technology.
US raw materials supplier Originates has boosted its pharmaceutical bovine hide gelatin manufacturing capacity with the addition of two new ISO 9000/9001 certified, GMP-standard production facilities in South America.
Rising demand in China has led to Toray Fine Chemicals (TFC) establishing a joint venture to produce dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), a reaction solvent in pharma production.
Synteract will open an office in Prague in the Czech Republic, joining the growing number of CROs to offer sponsors access to treatment naive populations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
The growth of the Chinese vaccine market is set to outstrip the country’s pharma sector, according to a Frost & Sullivan (F&S) report that predicts 14-15 per cent CAGR.
The number of pharma employees in New Jersey, US fell by 1,400 in 2008, with R&D expenditure, capital investment and product trials also declining, according to a report.
Physicians say a lack of information about candidate drugs often prevents them referring patients for clinical trials, according to a new survey by sector analysts CenterWatch.
As rumours of a failed Sanofi Aventis’ bid for a US rival circulate, F&S’ analysis of M&As is well timed, even if its conclusions will be difficult reading for a Big Pharma sector set on replenishing pipelines via big deals.
Icon has entered into a collaboration with the Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation (CMFT) to establish a purpose built translational medicine facility in the UK.
UK CRO Quintiles Transnational has set up an office in Accra, Ghana in a move it claims allows it to recruit trial participants from sub-Saharan Africa’s estimated 760m residents.
Large pharma companies will increase the level of supply chain activities they outsource in the next few years but smaller businesses are predicted to keep them in-house, according to a report.
US group DZS Software Solutions says its new web ClinPlus CTMS technology will help sponsors and CROs ensure that trial procedures are being followed and eliminate redundant study management systems.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is looking to establish itself as a prime location for pharmaceutical companies, with “massive amounts of money and huge incentives” being used to attract business.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) believes that an effective FOB approval pathway and laws preventing “pay-for-delay” deals are the only ways of reducing the cost of biologic drugs.
Demand for biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing will grow 16 per cent a year over the next five years, according to analysis by US market research group HighTech Business Decisions.
