Drug delivery, formulation

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.

The future of drug discovery? New tech, a focus on human biology, and partnerships, says Charles River

06-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Advanced imaging in drug discovery aims to improve the success rate of drug development as the industry continues to tackle devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s – but no research lab can do it alone, says Charles River managing director.

Bioclinica acquires MDDX to ‘eliminate waste and rework’ for research sites

06-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

BioClinica has acquired MDDX Research and Informatics to provide sponsors and CROs access to medical imaging technology, which can determine patient clinical trial eligibility in under an hour, says founder.

Charles River teams up with 3D cell culture tech provider to expand in vitro oncology services

01-Nov-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Charles River is extending its preclinical services through a partnership with InSphero AG – “further affirmation” of its commitment to the in vitro oncology space, says executive director.

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.

Concept acquires preclinical CRO following search to add translational biology capabilities

30-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Concept Life Sciences has acquired Aquila BioMedical, citing the CRO’s specific skill set, which will allow the company to provide services in areas “not previously accessible,” says executive chairman.

Single-source outsourcing model saves pharma sponsors $45m, Tufts report

26-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Sponsors using a single-source outsourcing partner could potentially save up to $45m through reduced time to market, according to a recent Tufts study.

From candidate to clinic: Australian-German collaboration aims to develop new antibiotics

23-Oct-2017 By Flora Southey

Fraunhofer is “redoubling” its efforts to develop new antibiotics and transfer research into clinical trials through a project available to external partners for development.

Cost, risk, on-time and in-full: Defining value in the customer-supplier relationship

19-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Pharmaceutical companies are more likely than their suppliers to cite cost improvement over time as the most effective metric for measuring supplier performance, according to a recent report.

Powered by Scientist.com, VWR offers access to 2,200 CROs

17-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

The VWR Science Portal provides customers with access to the Scientist.com supplier network, including more than 2,200 contract research organizations (CROs).

CordenPharma ups Swiss API development services

16-Oct-2017 By Staff Reporter

CordenPharma has invested in its Swiss API development services a week after buying a manufacturing plant from Pfizer.

SRI teams up with ShangPharma to target Alzheimer’s

12-Oct-2017 By Flora Southey

ShangPharma Innovation and SRI International are collaborating to develop treatments for neurodegenerative and inflammatory conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Patients as partners, communication key to designing rare disease clinical trials

12-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Researchers are creating a “roadmap” for nephrology clinical trial design, which stresses the role patients and their families can play in rare disease study design.

GMO regulations a ‘significant burden’ on gene therapy clinical trials

11-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Gene therapy developers should start planning earlier, as EU GMO regulations are delaying clinical trial start-up across the bloc, according to a new expert position paper.

FDA aims to better understand immunotherapy in the ‘real world’

09-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Elligo Health Research has received a US FDA award through which it will gather real-world data to assess the safety of new immunotherapies.

Printed meds accelerate clinical testing sans toxic solvents

05-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

A new technique for printing medications without using solvents can accelerate drug screening and clinical testing, say researchers.

With $150m in its pocket, new cancer startup will turn to CROs to ‘execute faster’

05-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Cullinan Oncology has launched with $150m in funding, a focus on risk, and a business model through which it will rely on a global network of third-party vendors, says CEO.

Evotec invests €15m to further AI-driven drug discovery

04-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Evotec AG has acquired a minority stake in Exscientia – a company focused on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery and design.

PETA: ‘Animals for disease research is like marketing carrier pigeons for mass communications’

03-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is looking to send a researcher to learn about non-animal test methods – adoption of which it says is slowed by regulatory agency acceptance.

Outsourcing-Pharma's Hiring and Firing Roundup September '17

02-Oct-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

This month’s roundup includes several executive level positions and two new hires at Envigo and Bracket.

Micro-Sphere invests in German capsule filling tech

28-Sep-2017 By Flora Southey

Micro-Sphere has boosted its offering with the addition of Harro Höfliger-made capsule filling machinery at its facility in Ticino, Switzerland.

Barriers to outsourcing R&D: challenges are widely felt, says report

26-Sep-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

There are several barriers to outsourcing research and development (R&D) services, according to a recent survey of biotech and pharma leaders.

Helomics, Indivumed partner on precision medicine platform

25-Sep-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Pharma and diagnostic partners will gain access to a human cancer biospecimens and clinical data from patients to power clinical and translational research, says CRO.

Pharma Finance

Mid-size CRO market update: battle for customers is heating up

06-Sep-2017 By Jason Monteleone, guest contributor

The mid-size contract research organization (CRO) sector continues to evolve and surprise experts with rich valuations – and what seems to be a never ending list of transactions.

LabCentral signs Science Exchange: outsourced services ‘increasingly important’

05-Sep-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Cambridge-based LabCentral has signed on Science Exchange to provide its resident startups with access to outsourced services.

Catalent: FY17 expectations exceeded, biologics strategy making strides

29-Aug-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Catalent’s financial results have exceeded expectations, says CEO, as the market moves towards “fewer, bigger, better suppliers.”

Vendors optimistic for future despite slowdown in growth

18-Aug-2017 By Dan Stanton

Bioprocessing suppliers have recently expressed optimism in the sector despite a slowdown in growth, and one expert believes this will drive investment in new tech and markets.

STA: merger with WuXi division follows single source contract provider trend

01-Aug-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

STA Pharmaceutical has merged with WuXi AppTec’s Pharmaceutical Development Services (PDS) to create a “more complete and integrated platform.”

Smithers extends accreditation scope for medical device testing

26-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Testing services provider Smithers Pira has extended its ISO/IEC 17025:2005 scope of accreditation for medical devices.

Axim contracts Israel-based CRO for cannabidiol chewing gum clinical trials

25-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

An Israel-based contract research organization (CRO) is conducting a Ph II clinical trial for Axim’s cannabidiol (CBD) and Gabapentin chewing gum product.

Compounding quality concerns: Legislation could 'fundamentally undermine' patient protections

25-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Citing safety concerns, drug industry stakeholders and public health organizations are urging lawmakers to uphold FDA oversight and enforcement of the 2013 Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA).

Worldwide Clinical Trials advancing cannabis-based formulations for human studies

20-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Worldwide Clinical Trials is developing a pre-IND plan and designing pilot studies for evaluating the effectiveness of GB Sciences’ proprietary cannabis-based therapeutic, says CMSO.

ABL advancing HIV vaccine as part of 7 year, $318m contract

19-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

ABL, Inc. has been awarded a preclinical development support contract to help advance an HIV vaccine and other biologics candidates.

Betting on biosimulation: Certara acquired for $850m

11-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

EQT's acquisition of Certara is a bet on the continued convergence of healthcare and technology as the industry further adopts biosimulation to advance drug development.

Q&A

Cancer in the Asia-Pacific, a CRO perspective

10-Jul-2017 By Flora Southey

As cancer rates increase in the Asia-Pacific region, and clinical trial capabilities grow in India and China, demand for research is on the rise.

Pharma finance

It's a seller's market as buyers narrow therapeutic focus, says inVentiv

07-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Biopharmaceutical dealmakers are narrowing in on therapeutic areas as company’s look to lead specific markets or gain a technical advantage.

PRA to conduct Ph Ib/II clinical trial of PLK1 inhibitor

06-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Trovagene, Inc. has contracted PRA Health Sciences to conduct its Phase Ib/II clinical trial of PCM-075 in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

WCT selected to conduct Ph III NurOwn Trial in ALS

05-Jul-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics has contracted Worldwide Clinical Trials (WCT) to conduct its planned Phase III study of NurOwn in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Immediate-release formulation means fewer pills and more flexibility, says Roche

03-Jul-2017 By Flora Southey

The European Medicines Agency has approved a new tablet formulation of Esbriet (pirfenidone), which Roche says reduces pill-load and increases dosing flexibility for patients with a rare lung disease.

People on the move

Outsourcing-Pharma's Hiring and Firing Roundup June '17

29-Jun-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

This month’s round up includes a new chief manufacturing officer at Brammer Bio and an executive hire at PPD who will help guide the CRO’s laboratory services.

Biogen's drug discovery program gets quantum boost from improved molecular design

27-Jun-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Biogen and Accenture Labs have collaborated to develop a quantum-enabled molecular comparison application to accelerate drug discovery and ultimately, time to clinic.

Avista supporting cGMP manufacture of hapten for opioid vaccine development

26-Jun-2017 By Melissa Fassbender

Avista Pharma Solutions, Inc. has been contracted to manufacture an opioid-derived small molecule, which is a component of a conjugate vaccine being developed to treat opioid addiction.