Amersham trimmed its 2003 profit forecast by £40 million (€57m), or
4.1 pence per share, after reporting lower sales and pre-tax
profits for the first half of 2003.
EPIDAUROS Biotechnologie has acquired a non-exclusive licence for
the diagnostic use of one of the most important genetic variants of
the cytochrome P450 2D6 gene.
Tecan second-quarter results reveal some signs of recovery after a
torrid first quarter and the departure of former chief executive
Emile Sutcliffe, with diagnostics holding back an improved
performance in biopharma.
Applied Biosystems has unveiled a gene expression analysis product
that allows researchers to conduct studies on the entire human
genome using a single microarray.
Italy's Abiogen Pharma has licensed rights to two UK-developed
compounds that seem to work via a completely new mechanism of
action for the treatment of anxiety.
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.
Enanta has discovered a type of macrolide that could represent a
new class of antibiotic for the treatment of upper and lower
respiratory tract infections.
The market for non-array products used in the analysis of the
transcriptome - a map of gene expression and mRNA in the cell - is
maturing quickly but will still grow at more than 14 per cent a
year between 2003 and 2008, says a report...
Therascope, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on
small molecule drug discovery, has raised €24.1 million to develop
its TACE platform.
Switzerland's Tecan has forged a co-marketing alliance with EMD
Biosciences in the area of automated systems for medium- to
high-throughput protein extraction, screening and purification. The
collaboration will focus on companies...
Caliper Technologies has completed its $71 million (€61m)
acquisition of Zymark, a privately held provider of laboratory
automation, liquid handling and robotics systems.
There is a growing reliance on the use of tissue microarrays to
accelerate the examination of histological samples used in drug
discovery, according to a new report from BioInformatics.
MolecularNature has forged a drug discovery partnership with Zetiq
Technologies that has already yielded a number of novel cancer
regulatory compounds.
This year's ISLAR meeting - the last ever to be held - will be
replaced in 2004 by a new Association of Laboratory Automation
conference called LabFusion.
Amersham Biosciences has added to its range of CyDye mono-reactive
fluor dyes with two products used for labelling proteins or
antibodies in protein array experiments.
A pilot project aimed at identifying new drug candidates for
central nervous system disorders, initiated by Germany's 4SC and
Spain's Esteve, has grown into a full-blown collaboration between
the companies.
The Karolinska Institute, together with the Swedish academy of
pharmaceutical sciences, is organising BioTech Forum 2003, to take
place from 26 to 28 November in Stockholm, Sweden.
A US appeals court has reversed an earlier decision to make
Switzerland's Roche pay almost $500 million in damages to Igen in a
dispute over a technology used in clinical diagnostics and
pharmaceutical research.
Danish biotech company Symphogen has obtained a European patent on
its Symphage technology for the development of antibody-based
drugs. Clinical trials of the product candidate are due to start in
2005.
Novartis has agreed to pay GlaxoSmithKline a royalty on sales of a
generic version of GSK's antibiotic Augmentin
(amoxicillin/clavulanate) sold in the USA as AmoxC.
Crestor (rosuvastatin), the 'superstatin' developed by AstraZeneca,
has been recommended for approval by a US Food and Drug
Administration advisory panel.
A technique known as electron momentum spectroscopy may provide a
means of improving rational drug design by allowing direct
measurement of the wavefunction of large molecules.
In the second piece of news today on RNAi, Qiagen is to collaborate
with Intradigm on RNAi compounds for use as drug discovery tools
and potential therapeutics.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals of the USA has linked up with Germany's
Ribopharma to create what it claims is a world leading company in
the development of RNAi-based therapeutics. First drug may be in
trials this year.
Roche has licensed exclusive marketing rights outside the USA to
Avastin (bevacizumab), a drug for colorectal cancer, from
Genentech. The latter company will retain all rights to the drug in
its home market.
Schering has been granted approval throughout the European Union
for Angeliq (oestradiol and drospirenone), its new low-dose hormone
replacement therapy.
The number of UK cancer patients taking part in clinical trials has
risen over 70 per cent in recent years, but this trend will be
threatened if the EU adopts its proposals on GCP
Exiqon has signed up a new distribution partner, Link Technologies,
for its locked nucleic acid (LNA) phosphoramidate reagents, used in
genomics research.
A UK Phase I trial has been initiated for XR5944 (also known as
MLN944), a DNA targeting agent under evaluation for the treatment
of advanced cancers. The product is under development by USA-based
firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals and...
Finland's Jurilab has developed a new microarray product designed
for use in DME (drug metabolism enzyme) testing, and also signed up
its first customer for the technology.
The UK biotechnology industry is gearing up for yet another bout of
consolidation with the news that British Biotech has made a £48
million (€73m) offer for Vernalis.
The European Commission has issued its long-awaited response to the
G10 Medicines Report, intended as a blueprint for improving the
European pharmaceutical industry's competitiveness while ensuring
high levels of public health...
Switzerland's Tecan has introduced a range of laboratory automation
workstations, under the Freedom EVO banner, which are designed to
provide fluid handling applications in genomics, proteomics, drug
discovery and clinical diagnostics.
The market for antibacterial drugs is becoming increasingly
unattractive to major pharmaceutical companies, despite continued
strong worldwide demand for these products and the growing threat
of bacterial resistance, according to...
Invitrogen has made a cash offer for fellow US company Molecular
Probes in a deal which would give the firm a very strong presence
in fluorescence reagents for use in labelling molecules for
biological research and drug discovery.
Syrrx has determined the atomic structure of c-Kit kinase, a
receptor-associated tyrosine kinase which has been associated with
a number of malignant cancers.
Argonaut Technologies has introduced a new resin-bound reagent,
MP-TsO-TEMPO that enables medicinal chemists to introduce diversity
into chemical libraries with high purity and yields.
Iceland's deCODE genetics has initiated high-throughput screening
on its Neuregulin 1 pathway targets in schizophrenia in
collaboration with partner Roche.
GlaxoSmithKline has opened an ultra-high-throughput screening
facility at its site in Tres Cantos, Spain, marking a significant
milestone in the company's bid to develop a more industrialised
approach to the process of drug discovery.
While the procedure for designating drugs for orphan diseases has
improved dramatically in the EU, further progress must be made,
says EU biotech group
UK informatics company Inpharmatica has added a whole new suite of
ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion)
capabilities to its drug lead optimisation services with the
purchase of a lab and intellectual property...
