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.
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...
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.
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.
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
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,...
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
The demands of the pharmaceutical industry are driving strong
growth in the market for outsourced chiral technologies, according
to a report from Frost & Sullivan
DSM Biologics has dissolved its relationship with Qiagen and
Valentis regarding the pAlliance, a consortium supplying
ultra-pure, stable DNA plasmids and formulated DNA
Great Lakes Fine Chemicals has invested $8 million ($6.7m) in a
program aimed at upgrading its pharmaceutical ingredient
manufacturing facilities in Holywel, Wales
Unigen Pharmaceuticals has expanded its sales presence in Europe
and Latin America by signing agency and distribution agreements
with six international corporate partners
ConjuChem, a company specialised in improving the formulation of
peptide drugs, has said that it is aiming to raise around C$12
million (€7.6m) in a new private placement round
Switzerland's Bachem SA, which specialises in the manufacture and
sale of bulk peptides and related organic chemicals as active
ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry, has announced that it
expects full-year sales growth...
Isis Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly say they have reached a mutually
beneficial renegotiation of their manufacturing relationship for
cancer drug Affinitak
Millennium Pharmaceuticals has said that it plans to cut around 600
jobs and wind down some of its manufacturing operations as it seeks
to reach profitability by 2006
ICOS has entered into a biologics manufacturing agreement with Eli
Lilly, in which the Bothell, Washington-based firm will manufacture
two clinical candidates
Schroder Ventures Life Sciences has raised $402 million (€344m) for
its biotechnology investment fund, providing a signal that venture
capital may at last be turning its head back in the direction of
the sector.
Baxter Healthcare of the US says it is planning a seven-year, $100
million (€85m) expansion of its parenteral contract manufacturing
services for pharma and biotech companies.
Swiss chemicals group Lonza has said that a new small-scale
production plant at its Visp site will come on stream in July and
will boost its services in the area of exclusive manufacturing of
pharmaceutical products.
Akzo Nobel's Diosynth unit has signed a multi-year contract to
manufacture and supply the active pharmaceutical ingredient for
Pfizer's growth hormone receptor antagonist Somavert. The value of
the agreement was not disclosed,...
Japanese drugmaker Eisai is planning to double the production
capacity for its two top-selling drugs - Pariet and Aricept - by
2004, with an investment of ¥9 billion (€65m).
UK firm Cobra Bio-Manufacturing has announced its intention to
undertake a placing and open offer to raise £4.65 million (€6.45m)
to fund the purchase of an additional manufacturing plant in
Cowley, Oxford.
UK company SkyePharma is expecting to achieve turnover of £100
million (€139m) in 2003, which would represent a rise of around 40
per cent over last year. However, the company has warned that the
lion's share of this total would...
Speciality chemical company Rohm and Haas has created a new
business unit, Advanced Biosciences, that specialises in the
production and purification of biopharmaceuticals. The new unit is
well placed to address the shortfall in production...
The European Commission has given the go-ahead for Germany to grant
a proposed €78 million in aid to help Merck KGaA build a new
biopharmaceuticals plant for the production of oncology products in
Jena, Thuringen.
Switzerland's Solvias AG, a specialist in scientific and technical
services and products based on synthesis and analysis, has reported
a healthy 20 per cent hike in 2002 sales to SF43.6 million
(€28.6m). The increase was driven...
US pharmaceutical major Pfizer reinforced its position as the
world's largest drug company in 2002 after putting in sales of
$29.45 billion (€25.12 bn) in 2002, a hike of 11 per cent over the
prior year, according to a new analysis...
Swiss intermediates and fine chemical company Lonza said today it
is to cut around 500 jobs mainly in Europe and the US as part of a
restructuring programme to reduce the negative effects of the
current economy on most of its business...
Netherlands-based drugs, coatings and chemical maker Akzo Nobel has
announced a €500 million divestment program and suggested that it
is unlikely to remain a player in all three of these sectors in the
long term.
Dutch life sciences company DSM has broken ground on a new site in
Montreal, Canada, set to become a large-scale biopharmaceuticals
plant. Phase one - at a cost of €100m - due for completion by 2005.
In the US this week, supplier of botanical extracts for the
pharmaceutical industry Pharmachem Laboratories announced that it
has acquired 'the largest botanical extraction facility in North
America, producing extracts for the...
Solvents are defined as organic chemicals that are used to dissolve components. They are used during the manufacture of drug substances and can also potentially...
Oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a class of cancer drugs that can be highly susceptible to issues with solubility in the gastrointestinal tract
Various options exist for freezing biopharmaceutical bulk material, but selecting the most effective and efficient approach for each cold chain can be...
