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.
A Scottish life sciences company specialising in the development of
bioinformatics software has been sold to QbioCom, a rival firm
based in England, for £1 million.
In 2003, Freeman Technology launched its new-generation FT4
rheometer in Europe for testing the flow properties of powders, an
important measurement in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries
where most processes involve the extensive...
Cambrex has appointed a new CEO to oversee the combination of its
small-molecule and biological active pharmaceutical ingredient
(API) activities into a single business unit.
Agilent returns to profit for the first time in two years in the
fourth quarter ended October 31, as cost-cutting compensated for a
modest decline in revenues.
The healthcare division of UK-based speciality chemicals maker
Croda Chemicals Europe used the CPhI exhibition in Frankfurt this
week as a platform to launch two new excipients for drug delivery.
The market for protein and DNA purification kits is maturing, and
the pace of technological innovation has slowed, leaving dozens of
companies jostling for market share.
Cardinal Health posted higher earnings in the first quarter of
fiscal 2004, on the back of increased demand in its prescription
drug wholesale business but also some impressive gains at its
pharmaceutical technologies activities....
Sartorius North America and KMI/Parexel International have formed
an alliance that will improve the geographic reach of their
biopharmaceutical production and consultancy services.
Millipore has reported a hike in third quarter sales and profits on
the back of a revival in the biotechnology industry's fortunes, but
said this may not last to the end of the year.
Sweden's Pyrosequencing has entered into an agreement to buy
prification and separation specialist Biotage, a subsidiary of Dyax
of the USA, for $35 million.
Process manufacturing industries are not responding to a clear need
to improve the information flow between the different parts of
their businesses leading to costly plant shutdowns, says a new
survey commissioned by BASF IT Services.
Tepnel Life Sciences has trimmed its losses and boosted sales in
the year ended 30 June, helped by the sale last month of its first
robotic Nucleopure DNA purification systems.
Capsule technology company BioProgress has reported its first set
of interim results since becoming an AIM-listed company, as well as
a distribution deal with Hoefliger.
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....
