The International Pharmaceutical Excipient Council (IPEC) has unveiled plans to set up a worldwide Federation later this year to address the increasingly global excipient supply chain.
Contract drug development group Systems Biology Worldwide (SBW) says the acquisition of Finnish data management specialist 4Pharma will facilitate its entry into the clinical trials sector.
The pharmaceutical rumour mill is still spinning with the latest speculation that UK drug major GSK is interested in Botox manufacturer Allergan causing the US firm’s share price to leap 13 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange.
The global economic downturn, impending blockbuster patent expiries and the wave of consolidation sweeping the pharmaceutical industry will drive demand for Patheon’s restructuring service according to CEO Wesley Wheeler.
Regulators in the UK and Australia have issued GMP certificates for Ranbaxy Laboratories' Paonta Sahib plant after a joint inspection deemed manufacturing practices were up to code.
Vetter Pharma-Fertigung (VPF), a specialist provider of pre-filled injection systems, has formed a new subsidiary, Vetter Pharma International (VPI) to take charge of sales, marketing and customer services.
SGS Life Science Services opened a new microbiology testing laboratory in Shanghai, China to offer cGMP compliant API testing services for method development and validation.
Michael Schmitt, president of Alcan Global Pharmaceutical Packaging, believes a recovery in the global economy, the increasing demand for quality and the emergence of markets like India and Brazil will be key drivers for the packaging sector over the...
Alastair Riddell, CEO of UK firm Stem Cell Sciences (SCS), says the US governments’ reversal of the ban on federally funded stem cell research “opens up a market that was inhibited, restrained and impeded under the Bush administration.”
Pall CEO Eric Krasnoff says delayed drug industry capital expenditure and moves to conserve inventory in the current global gloom caused life science sales to fall 8 per cent for the second quarter.
The International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council (IPEC) – currently represented by divisions in Europe, the Americas, Japan and China – could see sister organisations open up in Latin America and India in the coming months.
The US green light for federally funded embryonic stem cell research is being hailed as a victory by the US drug industry, which predicts it will open the flood gates for novel medications and help revitalise the sector.
UK CRO Richmond Pharmacology has unveiled a new data management offering for the drug industry that it claims will help trial sponsors cut costs, save time and help guarantee data integrity.
Macao Health Bureau director Lam Ping-yan says tabletting delays at Euopharm Laboratories' plant in Hong Kong, China may have led to contamination of the hyperuricemia drug Purinol (allopurinol) linked to several deaths.
Patheon chief Wes Wheeler says the drop in Q1 losses the firm recently reported is due to the “restructuring activities and rigorous cost containment efforts” it enacted towards the end of last year.
The year of the mega-merger continues with Merck & Co’s move to buy Schering-Plough for $41.1bn, with the intention of boosting its pipeline, entering new markets and creating a “powerful biologics presence”.
eClinical company etrials saw losses increase in the fourth quarter of 2008, but pointed to a healthy increase in orders as evidence of the underlying strength of the business.
Merck & Co is to buy fellow US drug major Schering Plough for $41bn (€32.6bn) to boost its pipeline in the face of impending patent expiry for key products.
UK drugmaker SkyePharma may reduce the workforce at its production plant in Lyon, France by a third after “long-running” underutilisation of its manufacturing capacity.
Two approvals in a week for drugs made at Ranbaxy’s New Jersey OHM Laboratories subsidiary have eased the generics firm’s North American regulatory woes and strengthened its position in the expanding US market.
PPD says it is unlikely to receive a $25m (€20m) milestone for US approval of Takeda’s diabetes drug alogliptin this year after the FDA said that cardio vascular (CV) safety data filed as part of the NDA are insufficient.
Tigermed is continuing with its plan of partnering to become the top Chinese CRO through an alliance with MacroStat to improve its range of statistical services, further broadening its business.
With M&A activity dominating Big Pharma's agenda at the moment, the contract research market is having to evolve and adapt to the turbulent environmnet. Outsourcing-pharma asked Frost & Sullivan analyst Barath Shankar to offer his opinion...
Cardiology and eClinical specialist eResearch Technology missed analysts estimates of sales and earnings in the fourth quarter of 2008, but still posted a near-14 per cent increase in operating profit.
Genentech believes a far-sighted approach to patent expiration, unique and life saving drugs and an unrivalled scientific culture will protect it from recession and ensure greater growth than Roche envisions.
Indian generics firm Piramal Healthcare says it "has no intention to dilute current ownership levels," but has not commented on rumours that it is in talks with French firm Sanofi Aventis.
Genentech used its investor meeting to retaliate against criticisms made by Roche, saying it will debate its financial model “anywhere, anytime with anyone”.
Three plants owned by contract packaging maker Alcan have been cleared to produce containers for pharmaceutical products under the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 15378:2006 guidelines.
Daiichi Sankyo, the Japanese drug firm that bought a controlling stake in India’s Ranbaxy last year, says it had no knowledge of FDA concerns that led to a block on ANDA reviews for drugs made at the latter’s Paonta Sahib facility.
Ranbaxy’s problems with the US FDA were ratcheted up a notch yesterday when the agency halted its review of products made at the firm’s plant in Paonta Sahib, India after uncovering “untrue statements” in ANDA’s and NDA filings.
Synexus' new trial site in Bulgaria, which is part of the firm’s clinical research centre strategy, will help sponsors cut development times and significantly reduce costs, according to CEO Michael Fort.
Kendle International posted a 22 per cent drop in net income to $5m, after a computer error led to problems with a clinical trial carried out for one of its customers.
Pandemic influenza vaccine manufacturing technology will be made available to developing countries through a collaboration between the WHO and Schering-Plough.
An active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) pilot project, implemented by the Pharmacopoeial Discussion Group (PDG) last summer and aimed at harmonising API monographs, should generate its first results before the end of the year.
The proposed FDA funding for 2009 has given a boost to the agency, with $300m more being offered than the agency requested to ensure the safety of products.
The Indian pharmaceutical and biotech sectors may see more M&A activity this year with rumours that GSK, Sanofi Aventis and Merck KGaA are on the look out for potential deals.
Barack Obama’s support for R&D tax credits to boost innovation is designed to assuage Big Pharma’s fears about a ban on “authorised generics,” and new “comparative effectiveness" tests, according to Datamonitor’s Sandra Reynolds.
Indian process technology firm ACE Technologies has won the contract to sell and service GEA Pharma Systems’ range of Courtoy tablet presses to local drug manufacturers as part of the latter company’s Asian expansion plan.
Study site operators want greater use of EDC technologies and more pharma industry investment to boost patient recruitment and reduce delays in clinical trials, according to an industry report due to be published next week.
Despite going through a difficult period PharmaNet is continuing to expand through the opening of another office in Latin America, which reinforces its commitment to the region.
Valois Pharma is installing precision plastic molding capabilities at its manufacturing facility in Congers, New York, US as part of ongoing efforts to modernise its global manufacturing operations.
Contract research organisation Bio-Imaging Technologies posted a 48 per cent hike on revenues in the fourth quarter of 2008, but still made a small net loss on the back of its CapMed division, which was sold last month.
Albany Molecular Research Inc (AMRI) faced a “challenging headwind” as 2008 drew to a close but still managed to boost its revenues by 19 per cent to $56.4m in the fourth quarter of 2008.
French drug major Sanofi Aventis is in talks about taking over market leading Brazilian generics firm Medley, according to reports the country’s Valor Economico newspaper.
US software specialist etrials Worldwide has added Belgian rival Unithink to an ongoing lawsuit that accuses two former executives, Robert Sammis and Brendon Ball, of breaching confidentiality agreements.
New Sanofi Aventis chief Christopher Viebacher has virtually ruled out major acquisitions, eschewing the trend started by Pfizer’s $68bn (€53bn) swoop for Wyeth in favour of an anti-mega merger stance like that adopted by UK rival GSK.
Charles River Laboratories will reduce its workforce by 3 per cent, close its preclinical facility in Arkansas, US and sell off its Phase I trial site in Edinburgh, Scotland as part of a cost reduction programme.