Analytical testing, QC

WuXi AppTec opens second NJ-based site following ongoing expansion efforts

23-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

WuXi AppTec is converting its Plainsboro, NJ lab into a fully GLP-regulated bioanalytics facility after opening a new site in Cranbury which doubles the company’s total operation space to more than 115,000 square feet.

Microbial CMO Wacker buys Dutch biotech plant

23-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Wacker Chemie has acquired SynCo Bio’s site for manufacturing biopharmaceuticals, live microbial products, and vaccines, as well as its associated business, including more than 100 employees.

AMRI renews 10-year $39.5m drug discovery contract

17-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

AMRI will provide various services supporting drug discovery programs in neurotherapeutics as part of a 10-year contract worth up to $39.5m.

Charles River investing in expanded biologics partnership with PathoQuest

16-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Charles River Laboratories and PathoQuest have expanded their strategic partnership to help move vaccine, biologic, and gene-therapy candidates through the drug discovery and development pipeline.

Bridging Clinical 2018

Clinical research a ‘sickly link’ in health care enterprise: CDER director

11-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

To bridge the gap between clinical research and health care, the industry must connect with marginalized practitioners and patients – and create greater incentives for collaboration.

LabCorp investing $30m at former GSK campus, to create 422 new jobs

11-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

LabCorp is investing $30m in a new operations center at the former GSK campus in Research Triangle Park with support from a job development grant worth more than $8m.

DCAT WEEK

Pharma 'endangered,' though 'huge opportunities' exist as the industry evolves

10-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Pharma must look outward to innovate and find new areas of growth, as research and development productivity and returns on innovation continue to decline, says industry expert.

Frontage Laboratories acquires Concord Biosciences: ‘Committed to build a global CRO’

09-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Frontage Laboratories has acquired Concord Biosciences, taking a “significant step” towards the company’s goal of building a global organization, says CEO.

KBI, ReForm partnership about ‘bringing better biologics to patients,’ says CEO

05-Apr-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

KBI will provide services to ReForm to further develop and validate its biologic formulation platform and in turn, will gain access to ReForm’s proprietary excipient technologies.

Top global CROs form industry standards group to support clinical trials

29-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Align Clinical CRO is "committed to operating with speed" as it aims to solve common pre-competitive industry challenges to improve clinical trial execution and collaboration between sponsors and CROs, says exec.

DCAT WEEK

CMOs, CDMOs give company updates at DCAT Week: Acquisitions, expansions on all sides

29-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

At DCAT Week, contract manufacturing and development companies from across the globe shared updates and news – from multi-million dollar investments to new business structures and areas of focus.

BioIVT expands drug safety testing and toxicology portfolio

27-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

BioIVT has acquired the multinational cell-based assay company Ascendance, adding proprietary bioengineered micro-liver platforms to its portfolio.

Covance forms I&I unit to meet increasing demand for biologics services

15-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Covance has formed a global immunology and immunotoxicology (I&I) unit, which will be dedicated to the “innovative and complex” approaches required by biologics, says CRO.

Citoxlab ups pharmacokinetics, metabolism assessment services with CRO acquisition

13-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

The non-clinical contract research organization (CRO) Citoxlab Group has acquired Solvo Biotechnology, a CRO specializing in drug transporters studies and the assessment of drug-drug interactions (DDI).

New method to predict drug stability a boon for pharma

13-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

A new method to predict the physical stability of drug candidates is attracting interest from pharmaceutical companies who could use the technology to de-risk early development.

CDMOs need to adapt to changing industry, reevaluate outlook and partnering models

13-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

CDMOs continue to take on a larger role supporting sponsors in the pharmaceutical industry, though new technology and changing requirements could shift the models in which they operate.

Charles River bolsters global biologics business

12-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Charles River has made several expansions across the globe, including a new, 73,000 square-foot facility in Wayne, PA, which doubles its laboratory footprint in the state.

SCOPE 2018

A CRO monopoly? Sponsors frustrated with lack of options

01-Mar-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

With fewer global mid-sized contract research organizations (CRO) through consolidation, some stakeholders are expressing concern that the industry could become a monopoly – “we may be getting there,” one expert said.

AMRI expanding testing services in EU as European client base grows

28-Feb-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

AMRI is expanding its container closure integrity testing (CCIT) services in the European Union (EU), with further services to be added later in 2018.

People on the move

Outsourcing-Pharma’s Hiring and Firing Roundup February ‘18

28-Feb-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

CordenPharma has revamped its executive leadership team, Recipharm has named the head of its new global development organization, and several new CEOs have been appointed.

Roche teams with Emulate for organ-on-chip testing tech

27-Feb-2018 By Dan Stanton

Roche will use Emulate’s Human Emulation System to better predict the safety and efficacy of its drug candidates.

Scientist.com implementing process to address global requirements ahead of GDPR

19-Feb-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Scientist.com is working to implement an improved contractual landscape ahead of GDPR implementation in May, in order to ensure global compliance among sponsors and CROs.

Charles River gains access to AstraZeneca’s lead discovery infrastructure

05-Feb-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Charles River has been granted commercial access to AstraZeneca’s high-throughput screening (HTS) and compound management infrastructure, an investment that will help the company "deliver optimal benefit" to its customers, says executive.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Outsourcing-Pharma's Hiring and Firing Roundup January '18

31-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

New hires in the new year abound, with several c-suite appointments at AMRI, Synteract, WuXi Biologics, Patient iP, and others.

Concept Life Sciences acquired by Spectris

29-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Concept Life Sciences Group has been acquired by the UK-based instrumentation and controls company Spectris plc for £163m ($229.47m).

Eurofins adds radiolabelling service with CRO acquisition

25-Jan-2018 By Flora Southey

Eurofins Scientific has incorporated radiolabelling services and boosted drug discovery capabilities to following the acquisition of UK CRO Selcia.

Concept partners with UK-based CRO to provide bioanalytical and DMPK services

24-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Concept Life Sciences has teamed up with the UK-based bioanalytical contract research organization (CRO) Alderley Analytical to provide customers with bioanalytical and DMPK study services.

KBI acquires Elion to establish ‘the most powerful analytical capabilities’ in biopharma CDMO industry, says CEO

23-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

KBI Biopharma has acquired Elion Labs as it continues to expand its biophysical and analytical characterization capabilities.

PPD, Quotient to support entire pediatric program through single contract

17-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

PPD and Quotient Sciences have announced a new collaboration to accelerate pediatric drug development – as developing age-appropriate medicinal formulations will continue to be a focus of regulators, clinicians, and parents, says PPD senior VP.

As VC funding fuels MA life science cluster, CROs/CMOs to see continued business

11-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Massachusetts biopharma companies received $2.9bn in venture capital investment in 2016 – and as pressure continues to accelerate the drug development process, manufacturers will continue to turn to CROs and CMOs, says MassBio.

Covance: New offering applies Chiltern-developed engagement models

10-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

LabCorp’s Covance has launched a new dedicated offering for biotech, medical device, and diagnostic companies following its purchase of Chiltern in 2017.

Sekisui XenoTech hires in record numbers, expects 10% growth

08-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Sekisui XenoTech hired in record numbers in 2017 as it anticipates 10% or higher growth over the next couple of years fueled by demand for drug-drug interaction studies.

Maravai continues genomics investment with Glen Research purchase

04-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

Specialty reagent provider Maravai LifeSciences has acquired Glen Research Corporation to provide more comprehensive solutions to its customers, says VP.

Pace Analytical adds development services in Wolfe Laboratories deal

03-Jan-2018 By Flora Southey

Pace Analytical has acquired Wolfe Laboratories, adding drug development capabilities to its sampling and analytical testing business.

JSR: CrownBio purchase to support ‘major opportunity’ in preclinical space

03-Jan-2018 By Melissa Fassbender

JSR Corporation has acquired Crown Bioscience for more than $405m – the company’s largest investment to date as it turns its attention towards preclinical support for biopharma, says Life Sciences president.

Reports revisited: What we learned this year

20-Dec-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Outsourcing models examined, market shifts scrutinized, and trial tribulations analyzed – take a look back at some of the top reports published in 2017.

4 trends driving industry priorities in 2018

20-Dec-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Commercial transformation could reach new heights in 2018, says inVentiv – as new expectations (and possibilities) reshape traditional models.

Guest article

3 global trends driving transformations in healthcare product development

12-Dec-2017 By Sudip S. Parikh, PhD, senior vice president & managing director, DIA Americas

The healthcare product development ecosystem is undergoing massive changes. Significant transformations are underway in how drugs and medical devices are researched, developed, manufactured, and approved.

Augmented reality firm raises $2.5m for tech designed to improve research, lab work

05-Dec-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Apprentice has raised $2.5m in venture funding for its augmented reality solution, Affinity, which is designed to improve productivity, audit readiness quality, and safety within pharmaceutical lab and research environments, says CEO.

Wasdell to build Irish packaging and testing site, secures EU base

05-Dec-2017 By Flora Southey

Wasdell Group will invest €30m in a packaging, testing and distribution facility in Ireland, which it says could help UK and US customers serve European clients post-Brexit.

People on the Move

Outsourcing-Pharma’s Hiring and Firing Roundup November ‘17

30-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

This month’s roundup includes new CEOs at Bioclinica and Comprehend Systems, several hires at Parexel's consulting division, and new roles – and new offices – for two service providers.

AAPS 2017

Align outsourcing strategies for success, say experts

29-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Pharmaceutical companies should share their outsourcing strategy across the company in order to ensure success, says panel discussing the benefits and challenges of working with contract organizations.

Eurofins moves expanded biopharma testing to new Scottish facility

16-Nov-2017 By Flora Southey

Eurofins has expanded capacity at its new facility in Livingstone, Scotland, where it will move its biopharmaceutical product testing business.

NEWS IN BRIEF

‘Boutique’ CRO Smithers Avanza doubles bioanalytical services lab space

09-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Smithers Avanza is continuing its investment in space, equipment, and personnel to help meet customer demand for bioanalytical and toxicology testing.

ChemDiv discovery platform tapped to advance R&D pipeline into preclinical studies

08-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

The Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute, Inc. will use ChemDiv's proprietary discovery chemistry platform to advance its research and development (R&D) pipeline.

Servier continues global investment amid 'clear' industry demand for speed

07-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Servier recently announced $7.5m for new technology, is doubling capacity at its Chinese facility, and is investing $58m to support biologics – a few projects among the company's effort to increase productivity as the industry demands a faster time-to-market.

Citoxlab: Expansion necessary as 'large pharma outsources more and more'

06-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Citoxlab Group has acquired Xenometrics, a non-clinical contract research organization (CRO), as client requests continue to increase, says company president.

Almac acquires BioClin as analytical services business grows

06-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Almac Group’s acquisition of BioClin Laboratories expands the company’s analytical services – a growing area of business due to increasing global client requirements, says CDMO.

AMRI adds in vitro bioequivalence testing at analytical services division

02-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

AMRI’s SSCI has announced the availability of in vitro bioequivalence testing services, as more products entering the market require laboratory-based testing.

People on the Move

Outsourcing-Pharma’s Hiring and Firing Roundup October ‘17

31-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

This month’s round up includes Adent’s new product management director who joins the company from Eli Lily and a new CEO at Clinipace, as the CRO’s co-founder steps down after 14 years.