US-based wholesaler HD Smith has followed the lead of retail giant
Wal-Mart in adopting a system of electronic product code (EPC) and
radiofrequency identification (RFID) to track controlled
pharmaceuticals.
Bolidt Synthetic Products and Systems of the Netherlands has
launched a new synthetic flooring finish designed specifically to
cope with aggressive chemical and pharmaceutical production
environments.
NovAseptic has upgraded its NovaSeptum range of disposable samplers
to reduce the level of endotoxins to a level that falls well within
strict new guidelines set down by the European Pharmacopoeia.
UK company Aerotrim has developed a new line of insulated jackets
for pallets that are currently being trialled by pharmaceutical
companies and other industries, including food manufacturers and
the military.
Malvern Instruments of the UK has launched a new system that is
intended as an entry level product for companies needing to size
particles in dry powders, suspensions and emulsions.
The UK subsidiary of Japan's Yokogawa has introduced a new FT-NIR
(Fourier transform near infrared) analyser that runs as a
stand-alone system, with no need for an attached PC, making it
easier to install in a process environment.
A number of large pharmaceutical and food manufacturers are
piloting a new data logger with radio frequency identification
(RFID) technology that is designed to track and monitor the
conditions a product is kept in.
Agilent Technologies has launched a microfluidics-based technology
for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS)- widely used by
scientists in protein research and pharmaceutical applications to
separate and identify biological...
An unnamed European pharmaceutical company is using time
temperature indicators (TTI) to ensure heart valves used in human
heart transplants are kept at the optimum temperature.
Applied Biosystems has launched a mouse genome microarray that can
be used to detect the expression of genes, even when they are
expressed at very low levels.
UK-based chemistry specialist Syrris has developed a new
microreactor that, it claims, can speed up the optimisation of
process reactions used in the drug industry.
The use of animal testing in pharmaceutical research and
development is to be revised after the UK government announced it
was to establish a national centre to reduce use and raise
standards of animal welfare.
German pharmaceutical and chemicals supplier Merck KGaA has set up
a new business unit to try and establish how some of the company's
pigments can be used as brand protection technologies.
A highly flexible automatic measuring device capable of detecting
the tiniest leaks of CO2 from protective gas atmosphere packaging
has been developed. While initially being targeted at the food
sector, its pharmaceutical applications...
A prototype chip-based laboratory developed by a German company
could reduce the time it takes to carry out the DNA amplification
required for polymerase chain reactions to five minutes.
Switzerland's Metrohm has developed a new delivery system for
reagents used in ion chromatography that is designed to reduce
wastage, improve safety in the lab and does away with the need to
dispose of spent eluent cartridges.
Swiss life sciences supplier Tecan has reported flat growth in
sales but higher profits in the first quarter of 2004, which it
said was largely the result of the restructuring measures
implemented in 2003.
The number of animals tests needed for new chemicals could be
reduced significantly by the use of assays tests developed by
researchers at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. And
this should be welcome news for companies...
Two years into a major drive to exit the drug development sector
and reinvent itself as an informatics pure-play, Germany's LION
bioscience trimmed its net losses in the 12 months ended 31 March
to €22 million, in line with its...
Drug companies, distributors or wholesalers sitting on a pile of
expired medicines should be able to dispose of them safely using a
new shredding system launched by Security Engineered Machinery.
A UK-based specialist in antimicrobial coating technology, BioCote,
has entered into an agreement with Comark to develop more hygienic
handheld thermometers and data loggers. The new products are
intended for use in the pharmaceutical...
IntelliChem, a developer of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN)
for the drug discovery and development industry, has launched a new
ELN platform that can be used right across any pharmaceutical or
biotechnology company.
UK-based analysis specialist LGC has signed two agreements with
Poland's Institute of Industrial Organic Chemistry (IPO),
highlighting the company's strategy of establishing partnerships to
develop outside its home market.
Two Dutch researchers have developed a method for managing batch
productions - widely used in the pharmaceutical industry - which
has the potential of improving yields and reducing the number of
lost batches.
The US Food and Drug Administration is planning to hold a meeting
in June to re-examine its regulations on electronic records and
signatures, used to generate the audit trail in the food and drug
industries, to examine whether some...
Several companies in the biopharmaceutical technology arena are
championing the concept of disposable manufacturing as a simple,
cost-effective way of making biologic drugs. But data on the actual
cost benefits of adopting this approach...
Spain's Telstar Industrial is developing a technology for leak
testing of pharmaceutical packages that could revolutionise the way
this vital quality control function is carried out in the industry.
Weighing and metal detection specialist Sartorius has developed a
new detector that solves a tricky problem - how to detect stainless
steel shards in products like blister packs that contain aluminium
foil, such as blister packs and...
Drug companies are waking up to the notion that the environment a
researcher works in - whether in drug discovery or the quality
control lab - is a crucial factor in determining their productivity
and creativity. And they have started...
Two and a half years ago, Northern Ireland's Sepha sparked a minor
revolution in the blister packaging sector by unveiling the first
clean, non-destructive alternative to the methylene blue dye test
(MDT) for leak testing. Now,...
Beckman Coulter, the leading manufacturer of instrument systems and
automated laboratory processes, has launched two new laboratory
automation workstations which promise to set new standards in
accuracy and precision of assays.
The opening up of the European market for thermal cyclers earlier
this month has been followed swiftly by the launch of a new product
in the category from Germany's MWG Biotech, reports Phil
Taylor.
A new machine from Ultrasonic Scientific promises to revolutionise
the analysis of chemical reactions by requiring only a tiny amount
of sample, an important consideration when testing expensive
biologic compounds.
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.
A brand new chemical genomics facility, one of the first academic
small molecule screening facilities in Europe, has been opened by
the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the German
Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg,...
Fisher Scientific and Apogent Technologies are to merge in a $3.7
billion (€3.01bn) deal that will double Fisher's footprint in the
high-growth life sciences equipment market, reports Phil
Taylor.
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.
An analysis technology developed by Viscotek can slice days off the
time it takes to carry out research and quality control into drug
delivery systems based on polymers.
US company Waters Corporation will this week unveil its
next-generation liquid chromatograph, said to significantly improve
productivity in the lab by giving scientists chromatographic run
times up to nine times shorter than the fastest...
As the annual Pittcon laboratory analysis showcase gets underway
this week, a string of products with applications in drug discovery
have been introduced, including new tools for proteomics and the
first commercial analysis 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...
Italy's Bonfiglioli Pharma Machinery has launched a new machine for
testing that freeze-dried vials contain a vacuum that is much
faster than current methods.
Switzerland's Dr Schleuniger Pharmatron has launched a new handling
system for its 8M testing machine that reduces the amount of
operator time to conduct quality control of the weight, thickness,
diameter and hardness of tablets.
UK firm Hanovia has developed a way of sterilising the air in
pharmaceutical cleanrooms - which have standards more stringent
than even hospital operating theatres - using ultraviolet light.
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...
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...
The European Commission has given Europe a boost in the field of
structural genomics, awarding the European Molecular Biology
Laboratory (EMBL) and its partners €10 million to create a common
platform for researchers working in the...
