Merck Sharp & Dohme has just announced a €100m investment in
South Tipperary, Ireland to build a new formulation R&D centre
and drug manufacturing plant.
Although manufacturing is the most established of the pharma
outsourcing segments, many service areas are still rapidly
evolving. OutsourcingPharma.com gives a brief run down of the
current state of play.
Indian biopharmaceutical company Wockhardt has signed a deal with
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to establish
a special economic zone (SEZ) in Aurangabad, India, in order to
expand its manufacturing capabilities.
Sterling Biotech has emerged as the world's second largest gelatine
producer after making its first international foray to acquire the
gelatine manufacturing facility of Chinese firm China Gelatin.
After selling a manufacturing plant in Texas to Cardinal Health two
years ago, Adams Respiratory Therapeutics has reacquired the
facility in order to produce its expectorant Mucinex (guaifenesin
extended-release), responding to a...
In the first drug master file (DMF) approval of its kind, the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the sale of
metformin hydrochloride tablets which are produced by an Indian
company using a pharmaceutical formulation...
Canadian contract manufacturer Patheon has teamed up with specialty
pharmaceutical firm Depomed to offer its clients a controlled
release formulation which can grant their drugs increased
bioavailability and less frequent dosing.
Difficulties in identifying tablets have emerged as a major issue
in a recent US survey of 150 pharmacists who are warning drugmakers
that the lack of distinct appearance in pills leads in dispensing
errors that cost more than 7,000...
Newly-approved pearlescent pigments that can produce sparkly
metallic, satiny and shimmery finishes on drug coatings could be
used as one additional step in the fight against counterfeiting,
say its developers, EMD Chemicals - part...
US biotech firm Genzyme has been given a green light by the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin manufacturing its kidney
drug at its Waterford facility in Ireland.
Drug manufacturers are increasingly turning to specialised
providers of analytical services for the solid state
characterisation of their formulations, seeking answers to
processing issues, drug delivery challenges and even protecting...
Failure to get it right in designing and implementing a
manufacturing process results in the loss of time and money, but
the risk of this can be minimised if some basic organisational
steps are followed, argues Brookwood's director...
In a controversial move, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has given the final nod of approval to pharma companies who want to
add colourful pearlescent pigments to their drugs to give them that
"special something."
As it consolidates its manufacturing operations in the US, Watson
Pharmaceuticals has received a warning letter from the US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) accusing it of using the wrong
ingredients in the production of capsules,...
Malvern Instruments has acquired Spectral Dimensions, a provider of
near infrared (NIR) chemical imaging instrumentation and software,
seeking products that can enhance pharmaceutical formulation and
manufacturing processes.
Takeda Pharmaceutical has jumped at the chance to use a new
technology that its developer, Spherics, claims can improve the
efficacy of a drug while reducing side effects, providing more
consistent drug levels and enhancing compliance.
Abbott's Kaletra, the biggest-selling drug of a class of HIV
medications known as protease inhibitors, has won the thumbs up
from the European Commission with a melt extrusion formulation
which enhances solubility, requires fewer...
Technology firm Symyx has acquired Autodose, a maker of precision
powder-dispensing equipment, as it seeks to develop the next
generation of high-throughput benchtop automation systems.
Tate and Lyle has announced the launch of Meritab - a new direct
compressible dextrose - that allows pharma tablet manufacturers to
stop using wet granulation processes, and so offers a cost
effective and simplified production process.
A new generation of drugs that target specific areas of the body
has created new challenges for dissolution testing, as many recent
active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are poorly soluble in
traditional media and need novel testing...
Intec Pharma has enlisted two North American dosage form
manufacturers to make "supergenerics" using its new method of oral
drug delivery that can transform existing drugs into more powerful
therapies.
Specialty chemicals firm Degussa has launched a new hydrophobic
silica excipient which is particularly suitable for very
hygroscopic and cohesive powders as it can significantly improve
powder flow.
SkyePharma used its latest business review meeting to announce the
imminent arrival of a new rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug formulated
using its novel controlled release drug delivery technology.
Drug delivery firm Egalet has asked SP Medical, a manufacturer of
moulded plastics and coatings, to make sufficient clinical grade
quantities of its therapeutics using injection moulding, which
allows for greater uniformity and reproducibility...
SurModics has licensed its advanced hydrophilic coating technology
to Xtent for use in the delivery system of its novel drug-eluting
stent (DES) system, designed to reduce the time, complexity and
cost of coronary stent procedures.
UK novel drug delivery developer Vectura and UK venture capital
firm Unilever Ventures have jointly established a new speciality
pharmaceutical company focusing on oral and transdermal drug
delivery systems.
The Tampa-based formulation development laboratory of MDS Pharma
Services has split from its parent company and formed a new firm
with the technology to get active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
directly into capsules.
German biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has clinched
a licencing deal for XstalBio's formulation and stabilisation
technology which can be applied to the delivery of biomolecules via
a number of routes, including...
Surface modification firm SurModics has acquired Intralytix's
polyester-amide (PEA) biodegradable polymers, boosting the
company's capacity for specific drug delivery, a capability in high
demand by its customers.
Chemical firm BASF has announced it has developed a new formulation
for its Ibuprofen DC 85, an active substance in anti-inflammatory
and analgesic products, using a nanocoating which, thanks to its
resistance to high temperature,...
Robin Engineering Services has made its first foray into selling
machinery exclusively for the pharma industry in a deal with Indian
manufacturer Chamunda. The partnership will slash the cost of
tableting machinery and fluidised bed...
A new range of high-speed automatic capsule filling machines has
been launched by UK's Hanningfield Process Systems that are
suitable for most types of hard shell capsule, and offer
pharmaceutical manufacturers rapid capsule...
Key Technology subsidiary Symetix has launched a new inspection
system fortablets, capsules, and softgels called Vantyx that it
claims can achieve 100 percent, in-line inspection at full
production speeds.
UK microencapsulation specialist Micap has seen the departure of
both chief executive Michael Brennand and non-executive chairman
Ian Gowrie Smith in a bid to cut the executive payroll.
Key Technology has set up a dedicated pharmaceutical business unit,
Symetix, to lend some focus to its efforts to sell automated
inspection and specialised conveying systems to the drug industry.
UK-based Stanelco says it has developed a starch-based alternative
to gelatine hardshell capsules that could also offer cost benefits
for dietary supplement makers.
Italian pharmaceutical dosing and packaging equipment manufacturer,
MG2, has launched two new dosing machines for hard gelatine
capsules, which can handle different dosing combinations in the
same capsule, such as powder and tablet,...
Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi has said it plans to sell
its capsule subsidiary Shionogi Qualicaps to private investment
group the Carlyle Group in order to focus on its drug development
activities.
Capsugel, the gelatine capsule manufacturing subsidiary of number
one drugmaker Pfizer, has expanded its equipment product offering
to its pharmaceutical customers by buying the powder micro-dosing
technology Xcelodose from Meridica.
Italian processing machinery company IMA Group has decided to
increase its investment in a Chinese joint venture to tap into a
growth market at a time when its established territories in the
West are showing lacklustre growth, reports...
Scientists at Chr Hansen's US research operations have developed a
gum acacia-based film coating, suitable for use in pharmaceuticals,
that combines low cost, long shelf life and low shipping costs.
Niro Phama Systems and Courtoy have developed a new module for
their range of tablet presses that solves a control dilemma that
has faced the pharmaceutical industry ever since automated tablet
presses came into use.
BioProgress has allowed the exclusive partnership with US drugmaker
Wyeth on over-the-counter applications of its SWOLLO oral dosage
form technology to lapse, reports Phil Taylor.
Niro Pharma Systems unit Courtoy has improved its MODUL rotary
tablet press range with the launch of the MODUL D, a double-sided
version that ramps up the unit's production capabilities, writes
Phil Taylor.
Troubled dosage form company BioProgress has taken its first action
to restructure its finances in the wake of its recent problems with
increasing overheads and slower trading at its US subsidiary.
International Journal of Pharmceutics: In Vitro: The dissolution characteristics of five capsules (Next Generation Enteric [NGE], Vcaps® Enteric [VCE],...
