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.
Swiss-American laboratory instrument company Mettler-Toledo saw its
fourth-quarter revenues climb 7 per cent to $370 million (€290m)
although the weak dollar accounted for a large proportion of the
increase.
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...
LION bioscience has delayed the publication of its third-quarter
results after a change in its accounting procedures that will see
licence revenues spread across the term of the contracts, instead
of booked in the quarter they are...
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...
Agilent Technologies has launched a software package to help drug
companies keep a close eye on the quality of chemical compounds.
The firm says the product is the first of its kind, allowing a more
than seven-fold increase in the...
Millipore has teamed up with HyClone Laboratories in an alliance
that brings the concept of disposable factory for
biopharmaceuticals production a step closer.
A new metal detector capable of picking up ferrous and stainless
steel contamination within aluminium foil wrapped products has been
developed. Manufactured by German technology firm Sartorius, the
product, called the Observer, promises...
Eksigent Technologies is launching a new high-pressure liquid
chromatography system in March that can increase throughput
compared to rival HPLC systems as much as six-fold.
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.
UK-headquartered NextGen Sciences has formed an alliance with
Germany's Protagen aimed at developing 'biochips' that can contain
thousands of functional proteins for use in drug discovery.
Amersham Biosciences has responded to competition in the
marketplace for purifying tagged proteins with the launch of Ni
Sepharose, a new affinity chromatography medium.
Applied Biosystems has launched a new product, based on the
combination of a new set of reagents with a software package, that
promises to speed up genotyping studies carried out on the firm's
3730 and 3730xl analysers, first...
Affymetrix and liquid-handling specialist Caliper Technologies -
now renamed Caliper Life Sciences - are collaborating on ways of
automating genomics research carried out using microarrays.
A microarray developed by Protometrix has been used to characterise
the interactions between an antibody-based drug and the proteome -
a snapshot of all the proteins produced by a cell.
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.
Colony counting and picking are well-recognised as one of the most
boring, repetitive and error-prone jobs in the lab, and there has
been a strong desire to automate the process.
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 collaboration between Switzerland's Genedata and Bayer of Germany
has led to new way of developing assays for antibacterial activity
and accelerate the search for novel antibiotic classes.
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...
Indian companies may be making great strides in capturing
international market shares for bulk pharmaceutical ingredients and
generic drugs, but to date they have not made a great impression on
the laboratory tool market.
A UK company has introduced a clean manufacturing environment that
fits on top of a bench as a low-cost alternative for companies that
do not want to invest in a full cleanroom facility.
The US subsidiary of Denmark's Nilfisk-Advance group has introduced
a new collection container for its vacuum cleaners, designed to
allow the safe handling and disposal of hazardous materials,
including potent powder compounds...
Radleys Discovery Technologies, a UK-based specialist in parallel
chemistry, has introduced a platform to speed up the purification
process after synthesis of multiple compounds.
Filtration and purification specialist Pall has reported a 12.5 per
cent hike in first-quarter sales to $374 million (€310m), with life
sciences putting in a strong showing, up 15.5 per cent to $152
million.
Over the last few years, researchers involved in high-throughput
screening have been seeking out the use of their expensive reagents
by developing assays that use smaller and smaller volumes, helped
by sophisticated automation technologies.
PURE Biosciences of the USA has opted to sell off its water
treatment business, which includes the Fillmaster line used in the
pharmaceutical industry, in order to focus on its
environmentally-friendly antimicrobial products.
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.
Germany's CyBio, which makes laboratory instruments and equipment,
has seen its revenues in the first nine months of the year fall by
a third and expects to post a full-year loss.
Instruments specialist Mettler Toledo reports flat sales in a
difficult operating environment for the sector, but says that
investments in R&D should pay off going forward.
Sartorius North America and KMI/Parexel International have formed
an alliance that will improve the geographic reach of their
biopharmaceutical production and consultancy services.
Switzerland's Roche is subject to a fresh legal challenge over its
patent position in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, this
time from Applera unit Applied Biosystems.
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.
The US market for media, sera and reagents used in cell culture is
expected to nearly double in value to reach $1.7 billion (€1.48bn)
in 2008, according to a report.
Thermo Electron has fulfilled a promise to make acquisitions in the
laboratory and life sciences area by announcing plans to acquire
French lab equipment provider Jouan SA.
UK-based separations specialist Whatman saw its turnover drop in
the first half of 2003, but operating profits leap on back of its
restructuring effort.
Companies that supply instruments and consumables to the life
sciences industry have been hit hard by reined in research spending
resulting from the current adverse economic climate. However, one
chief executive believes there are...
Fisher Scientific has extended its SK5.3 billion (€573m) offer for
Perbio Science after failing to win the support of more than 90 per
cent of Perbio's investors.
Argonaut sells its HPLC business to Grace Vydac as it refocuses on
supplying consumables for companies working on drug discovery.
Reports reduced losses in first half.
LGC has acquired Germany's Mikromol, a specialist in pharmaceutical
impurities and metabolites used as reference materials, to create
its first non-UK lab.
