Delivery formulations

Diluent mix-up not vaccine most probable cause of Syrian deaths says WHO

18-Sep-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Use of the muscle relaxant atracuriam to resuspend freeze-dried measles vaccines instead of the proper diluent almost certainly caused the death of more than a dozen Syrian infants according to the WHO.

Nobel prizes and the world’s top drug: a gallery of Scottish pharma

17-Sep-2014 By Fiona BARRY

On the eve of the historical vote on Scottish independence from the UK tomorrow, we take a look at the pharma inventions Scotland gave the world.

Mannkind looks to Sanofi for secondary supply of inhalable insulin API

16-Sep-2014 By Dan Stanton

Mannkind says Sanofi could become a second API supplier for its recently approved inhalable insulin drug Afrezza following its commercialisation partnership last month.

Singapore researchers develop microneedle patch to better deliver pain meds

15-Sep-2014 By Zachary Brennan

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a microneedle patch that can deliver lidocaine in what they say is a “faster, more effective and painless” way.

Molecular Profiles buys tech for liquid capsule manufacture

10-Sep-2014 By Fiona BARRY

Molecular Profiles has expanded its capsule-filling services from solids to liquids with investment in equipment at its UK site.

Natoli opens R&D site to study tablet formulation problems

10-Sep-2014 By Fiona BARRY

The Natoli Engineering Company has opened an pharmaceutical research institute to look for answers to enduring formulation problems in solid oral dosage.

Seaweed: the secret ingredient to HIV drug delivery?

09-Sep-2014 By Fiona Barry

Food scientists may have hit on a novel delivery method for HIV antiretrovirals: a vaginal suppository made with seaweed.

Evonik invests in Japanese silica capacity

08-Sep-2014 By Dan Stanton

Chemicals firm Evonik has expanded its capacity in Japan to cope with high demands for specialty silica, used in various drugmaking operations.

Meda sells NJ facility to DPT; outsources intra-urethral ED drug

04-Sep-2014 By Dan Stanton

Meda has sold a New Jersey facility dedicated to its intra-urethral erectile dysfunction drug Muse as part of a strategic review of its manufacturing network.

Find other oral forms for tablet-hating patients, drugmakers told

02-Sep-2014 By Fiona BARRY

Pharma firms must provide imaginative solid dosage alternatives to tablets and capsules, says research claiming more than half of patients have problems swallowing traditional pills.

Claris gets MHRA OK for injectables plant

21-Aug-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Indian manufacturer Claris Lifesciences has had its injectable drug manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad approved by the UK MHRA.

Sanofi in $150m deal to commercialise Mannkind's inhaled insulin

11-Aug-2014 By Dan Stanton

Mannkind has partnered Sanofi for the marketing and commercialisation of its inhaled insulin drug Afrezza, recently approved by the US FDA.

THC may reduce tumor size? mouse study investigates

07-Aug-2014 By Anthony King

A previously unknown signaling platform may be responsible for the success of the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis in reducing tumour size, which also may lead to the development of a synthetic THC equivalent, scientists say.

Anti-addiction formulation rules on the way says drug abuse non-profit

06-Aug-2014 By Fiona BARRY

The Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence (CLAAD) is working with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on legislation for abuse-deterrent technology in opioids, its directors tell in-PharmaTechnologist.com.

Actavis welcomes AZ in boosting its LAMA/LABA

06-Aug-2014 By Dan Stanton

Actavis says it is excited to partner with AstraZeneca over its long-acting muscarinic antagonist/beta-agonist (LAMA/LABA) fixed dose combination respiratory drug following the latter’s acquisition of Almirall.

Oncologist: Delivery is key for improving pancreatic cancer treatment

06-Aug-2014 By Anthony King

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat.  One problem is drug delivery, because pancreatic cells can cluster in a nest of scar-like tissue. 

Harvard develops new nanoparticle as drug delivery device

31-Jul-2014 By Anthony King

A group of researchers at Harvard Medical School has developed a strongly cationic nanoparticle that physically absorbs proteins to form a new type of drug-carrier complex in aqueous solution. 

Biocon: Political turmoil hits sales, but quality systems ensure future

29-Jul-2014 By Dan Stanton

Robust quality systems differentiate Biocon from other Indian manufacturers, the firm says, despite political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa impacting first quarter 2015 sales.

GSK's declining Advair sales to be propped by respiratory portfolio

24-Jul-2014 By Dan Stanton

GlaxoSmithKline has issued upbeat guidance despite a 12% fall in sales of its blockbuster asthma and COPD drug Advair, as new products enter the respiratory drug market.

Lilly swaps dry powders for insulin at Indiana site in post-patent shake-up

23-Jul-2014 By Dan Stanton

Patent expiration and a large molecule pipeline has prompted Eli Lilly to repurpose a solid oral dose plant in Indiana.

New nanotech excipient offers cheaper solubility option say scientists

22-Jul-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Scientists in Sweden have developed a magnesium carbonate-based excipient they claim is a low-cost nanotech alternative to silica for drugmakers struggling to formulate insoluble APIs.

Seizure treatment “special” recalled in UK after packaging problems

17-Jul-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Three batches of the seizure drug midazolam made by UK CMO Penn Pharma are being recalled over concerns that packaging problems may affect its concentration.

update

Hovione and Merrion team on solubility solutions

16-Jul-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Hovione has teamed up with delivery tech developer Merrion Pharmaceuticals to provide developers of BCS class III and IV drugs with more solubility enhancement options.

Merck Millipore says Indian lab can boost generics quality

07-Jul-2014 By Fiona Barry

Merck Millipore, the life sciences tools division of Merck KGaA, has launched a solid dose formulation lab in India, its first outside Europe.

Aarti Drugs considers formulations driven plant acqusition

07-Jul-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Aarti Drugs has said it is considering buying an unnamed manufacturer in Himachal Pradesh, India to expand its drug formulations business

Afrezza approval: US FDA validation for Mannkind's drug and delivery tech

01-Jul-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

The US FDA approved Afrezza last weekend after deeming that the inhaled insulin drug and the dry powder delivery technology used to get it deep into the lungs is effective.

Abbott doubles down on Russian manufacturing with Veropharm purchase

01-Jul-2014 By Zachary Brennan

With its purchase of Veropharm for up to $495m, Abbott is looking to tap into one of the largest Russian manufacturers of pharmaceuticals.

Oasmia's vitamin A excipient tech attract global pharma collaborator

26-Jun-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB has teamed up with a “global pharmaceutical company” interested in its vitamin A-based nanoparticle formulation tech in a move that expands its business model to drug development partnering.

US FDA guidance widens ‘nanotechnology’ definition

25-Jun-2014 By Fiona Barry

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it will consider products outside the nanoscale, up to 1,000 nanometres (nm), to involve nanotechnology and so be potentially liable for “particular examination.”  

Arecor and CPI team on biologics stability research project

17-Jun-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Formulations that stop biopharmaceuticals being degraded by vials and syringes could help biopharmas avoid recalls and improve product shelf life says the UK team behind an industry focused research collaboration.

Mannkind preps Afrezza plant ahead of anticipated approval

16-Jun-2014 By Dan Stanton

Two billion cartridges of inhaled insulin drug Afrezza will be manufactured annually by Mannkind, the firm says as it awaits final approval next month.

Merck's $3.85bn HCV acq focused on 'valuable' nucleotide pipeline

10-Jun-2014 By Dan Stanton

Merck & Co. says the $3.85bn (€2.8bn) acquisition of Idenix will springboard its oral hepatitis C programme but according to an analyst is unlikely to threaten Gilead’s $1,000 pill Sovaldi.

ScinoPharm to manufacture API for TaiGen’s stem cell drug

10-Jun-2014 By Zachary Brennan

ScinoPharm Taiwan on Monday signed a manufacturing and clinical supply contract with TaiGen Biotechnology to provide the API for Burixafor, a potential stem cell treatment. 

PK/PD principles could tackle antibiotic resistance with single injection

09-Jun-2014 By Dan Stanton

A single-dose of an investigational MRSA drug could be equivalent to a ten-day course of antibiotics due to the application of PK-PD principles in its design and optimization, The Medicines Company says.

Capsugel: New bioavailability enhancing capacity to fufill non-GMP demand

05-Jun-2014 By Dan Stanton

Capsugel has installed a commercial-scale dryer in its recently acquired Bend Research R&D facility, citing a rise in demand for non-GMP spray dried dispersion (SDD) services.

Nanomotors could help to deliver drugs faster, scientists say

29-May-2014 By Anthony King

Researchers in Texas have unveiled the fastest, smallest motor to date, which could pave the way for similar motors moving through the body to administer drugs or to target cancer cells.  

Configurable 'peptide locks' could help deliver antivirals, say scientists

29-May-2014 By Anthony King

US scientists have tinkered with a virus so that it opens its cargo doors only in the presence of certain enzymes that could be used to drop therapeutics precisely onto a target.   

R&D productivity: Drug approvals don’t tell the whole story

28-May-2014 By Zachary Brennan

As the number of drug approvals declined between 2012 and 2013 by more than 30%, the value of new therapeutic agent approvals seems to indicate a stronger year than initially thought.

Semiconductor experiments look to control crystallisation

15-May-2014 By Anthony King

Experiments on semiconductors reveal a new way to study and control crystallisation. The discovery has relevance to pharmaceutical manufacturing as many drugs are made from small molecules that must crystallise in just the right way to have the proper...

Boehringer Ingelheim eyes growing Saudi market with local collaborations

06-May-2014

Boehringer Ingelheim says the Saudi Arabian market is a huge drive for big pharma as it teams with local firms to manufacture secondary packaging for 26 products.

People on the Move

People on the Move: Lupin and more

05-May-2014 By Fiona BARRY

Lupin appoints a Chief Corporate Development Officer, plus the pharma companies hiring Alzheimer's and HIV experts in this week's column.

Sun Pharma to shutter Detroit, MI plant; 179 jobs affected

02-May-2014 By Dan Stanton

Sun Pharma says the closure of a Michigan plant employing 179 staff is necessary in order to consolidate its US manufacturing network, and not related to its Ranbaxy acquisition.

Colorcon expands Indian excipients site to capture generics market

30-Apr-2014 By Fiona BARRY

Colorcon today opened an expanded facility in Goa, India to scale up production of tablet coatings and excipients for pharmaceutical manufacturers in South Asia.

'No longer simply a capsule provider' - Capsugel wins oral peptide contract

29-Apr-2014 By Dan Stanton

Capsugel is no longer a simple capsule provider but a differentiated player in the CDMO industry, the firm says as it wins a scale-up manufacturing contract for Chiasma and Roche’s oral octreotide candidate.

API facility issues cause FDA to reject Pozen drug candidates

29-Apr-2014 By Zachary Brennan

Deficiencies of at an unnamed API supplier caused the US FDA to reject Pozen’s aspirin-based drug candidates with a complete response letter (CRL).

Merck & Co. contracts Catalent to make sublingual hayfever drugs

23-Apr-2014 By Dan Stanton

MSD has selected Catalent to manufacture two recently approved sublingual pollen extract drugs using its Zydis formulation platform.

Big Pharma pull out and share slump won’t silence RNAi advocates

22-Apr-2014 By Zachary Brennan

RNA interference (RNAi) developers that saw stock prices fall after Novartis pulled out of the market last week have reiterated their belief in the therapeutic and revenue potential of gene silencing drugs. 

Amine goldmine: BASF commits to new plant citing growing demand

16-Apr-2014 By Dan Stanton

The amines market will grow 5% over the next decade according to BASF, which cited rising drugmaker demand as a key driver for its investment in a new German plant.

Acura pays Pfizer $2m to buy back anti-abuse tech and relaunch Oxecta drug

15-Apr-2014 By Dan Stanton

Acura has reacquired the rights to its opioid abuse-deterrent technology from Pfizer and is looking for pharma partners to relaunch its oxycodone HCL drug Oxecta.

Pfizer, Novartis developing MenB vaccines to combat new strain

09-Apr-2014 By Zachary Brennan

Recent outbreaks of a strain of meningitis, known as “serogroup B” or “MenB”, on US college campuses have caused both Pfizer and Novartis to develop new vaccines.