A new means of purifying air based on a simple electronic device
could mount a significant challenge to established players such as
ultraviolet light and HEPA filters, according to analysts.
Korean company Boo Yoon Tech has been granted a US patent on a
polyester resin that can be used to make environmentally-friendly,
biodegradable pharmaceutical bottles and blister packs.
As the Interphex 2004 exhibition in New York, US, comes to a close,
In-Pharmatechnologist.com takes a look at the crop of new
products rolled out in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.
Microfluidics has launched the first research-scale versions of its
patented High-Pressure Multiple Stream Mixer Reactor (MMR), claimed
to create uniform particles smaller than anything achieved using
current technologies.
Klockner Pentaplast has introduced a film for pharmaceutical
packaging that blocks out 25 per cent more moisture than any other
thermoformed film on the market, according to the company.
Biotechnology company Crucell has acquired fellow Netherlands-based
ChromaGenics in a move to get hold of a promising new technology
that could boost yields of proteins and antibodies made in cell
culture, writes Phil Taylor.
Pall has been granted European Union and US approval for a
purification process used in biopharmaceutical production that can
reduce the batch testing requirements of manufacturers, as well as
reducing the risk of virus contamination.
Canada's Information Mediary Corp (IMC) has launched a 'smart' cap
for medicine bottles and vials that can remind patients when their
next dose is due, writes Phil Taylor.
Amersham Biosciences has launched its AKTAxpress system for
high-throughput protein purification, claiming that it can process
samples at four- to eight-times the rate of any other system on the
market, writes Phil Taylor.
A new flexible coupling promises to make the handling of toxic and
high potency compounds safer, and is a cheaper option than current
rigid containment devices, according to its manufacturer.
Pharmaceutical packaging demand in the US is forecast to rise 4.7
per cent per year to $6.8 billion in 2008, driven by new Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that will require unit dose
containers for a range of drugs,...
German processing technology group GEA has announced new
acquisitions that will increase its offering to the food and pharma
industries, part of a new strategy to expand the business under
parent company mg technologies.
Switzerland's Buchi has launched a small-scale oven for
freeze-drying samples that puts the technology within reach of
laboratories that might baulk at the cost of investing in a larger
system.
A new range of polyurethane resin-based floor systems that combines
an antimicrobial layer has been launched. Manufacturer John Lord
claims that this new innovation can help manufacturers reduce the
level of bacterial contamination...
Filtration specialist Pall has seen its second quarter sales and
earnings held back by weak demand in the biopharmaceuticals
industry, particularly in Europe.
Human machine interface (HMI) technology is a growing sector in
European industrial plants, according to Frost and Sullivan, as
sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry try to reduce the
number of operators per machine.
Diversa has entered into a deal aimed at boosting its manufacturing
capacity in enzymes used for industrial processes, including the
production of pharmaceuticals. The agreement with Mexico's Fermic
is designed to step up the...
MeadWestvaco Intelligent Systems has launched a radio frequency
identification (RFID) inventory system that enables manufacturers
to more accurately monitor drug delivery from production to
pharmacy distribution.
Dow Chemical has taken a step forward in its plans to build up a
strong franchise in plant-based pharmaceutical production with the
signing of a contract to manufacture a new appetite suppressant.
Management consultancy firm Accenture has formed a group of
industry leaders that will work together to evaluate the potential
of new radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to improve
pharmaceutical product manufacturing,...
UK pharmaceutical packaging firm Jaycare has been sold to venture
capitalists for the second time in four years, in a deal worth more
than £45 million (€67m).
UK laboratory equipment specialist Lab-Plant says it can bring
process automation within the reach of the majority of
laboratories, pilot plants and mini-production facilities with the
launch of its Lab Manager process control computer...
Newly formed UK company Structure Vision has launched a software
package designed to analyse the behaviour of particulate material -
including powders and tablets - in enclosed spaces.
In its last set of annual results before being acquired by General
Electric, Amersham of the UK reported lower profits last year as
currency effects bit into the company's bottom line, but saw its
drug discovery unit move into...
Eastman Chemical has extended its agreement with Johnson Matthey
subsidiary Alfa Aesar in a move that will for the first time make
its proprietary BoPhoz catalyst ligands available in research
quantities.
Germany's KGaA has announced plans to sell off its laboratory
distribution business VWR International and operate as a smaller,
higher-margin business focused on pharmaceuticals, chemicals and
liquid crystals.
Fisher Scientific International has swooped on two companies
providing tools for life sciences companies in a move designed to
boost its product range for research laboratories and
biopharmaceutical production.
Germany's Azo has developed a new automated system for dosing
additives and minor ingredients in the pharmaceutical production
process that should allow companies to make cost savings.
UK-based Avecia, Europe's largest privately owned chemicals
company, has teamed up with Germany's IEP to develop new synthetic
routes for pharmaceutical intermediates using biocatalysis.
Fisher Scientific, the US-based science and laboratory products
group, hinted earlier this week that it may be looking to make
another acquisition, despite its prediction of a period of
consolidation in the wake of its $714 million...
Novartis' generic drugs subsidiary Sandoz has opened two new
manufacturing plants in Austria and Slovenia that mark its entry
into the contract manufacture of biopharmaceuticals using mammalian
cell culture.
A cell culture vessel designed by Taiwanese company CESCO
Bioengineering can produce the same amount of cells in a single
500ml bottle as would be made in 20 or more conventional roller
bottles, according to the company which is introducing...
Switzerland's Lonza has negotiated exclusive rights to an
expression system, used in the manufacture of therapeutic proteins,
that could be used to shorten the development time for its
customers' biologic products.
US packaging giant MeadWestvaco has reported a 38 per cent increase
in fourth-quarter profits, helped by cost-cutting, cash from the
sale of forest land and strong sales of consumer packaging
materials.
Millipore has teamed up with HyClone Laboratories in an alliance
that brings the concept of disposable factory for
biopharmaceuticals production a step closer.
Filtration specialist Millipore has reported strong growth in sales
in the fourth quarter of 2003, suggesting that the fortunes of the
biopharmaceutical industry - Millipore's primary customer - may be
on the up.
Australia's Gradipore has been boosted by news that its Gradiflow
separation technology has been scaled up to produce commercial
quantities of an antibody from source plasma.
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell has appointed a new chief
execvutive as it continues its transition from a company
specialising in enabling technologies to one focuused on product
development.
Irish pharmaceutical group Elan has raised around $70 million
(€55m) from four new deals, including the sale of formulation and
manufacturing interests.
BioCatalytics has expanded its product line of enzymes for chemical
synthesis with the addition of new ketoreductases (KRED) enzymes
for the stereoselective reduction of ketones.
General Electric's €8.1 billion acquisition of the UK's Amersham
was approved by the European Union yesterday, after it concluded
that the deal would not create a monopoly in Europe's medical
imaging market.
Dowpharma has developed new strains of the bacterium Pseudomonas
fluorescens that can be used to improve the yield of
recombinant proteins made in fermentation vats.
Amersham Biosciences has responded to competition in the
marketplace for purifying tagged proteins with the launch of Ni
Sepharose, a new affinity chromatography medium.
Millipore has developed a new set of labels for its filter products
that should make it easier for its biopharmaceutical customers to
comply with the obligation to keep accurate batch production
records.
World pharmaceutical packaging demand will increase at a rate of
4.3 per cent a year to reach $22.2 billion (€17.2bn) in 2007,
according to a new report from Freedonia Group. Companies supplying
blister packaging will benefit from...
BASF IT Services, one of the first units of the German chemical
major to be spun out into a separate unit, has signed an agreement
with Merck KGaA that confirms its ability to win major contracts
from companies other than its parent.
The Automation Partnership has launched a new robotic system
designed to take the legwork out of extracting proteins made in
microbial or insect cells.
Various options exist for freezing biopharmaceutical bulk material, but selecting the most effective and efficient approach for each cold chain can be...
Indena offers custom development by leveraging the expertise of a specialized team devoted to designing and developing processes and analytical methods....
