Tabletting, coating & ancillary equipment

MannKind: Afrezza's slow start comparable to launch of Toyota Prius

10-Nov-2015 By Dan Stanton

MannKind says it is confident sales of its inhaled insulin product Afrezza - commercialised by Sanofi - will pick up after disappointing growth since launch.

Indiana aspirin maker hit with Warning due to tablet inconsistencies

04-Nov-2015 By Dan Stanton

Inconsistent tablet colour and issues with compressing procedures have landed Indiana OTC maker American Family Pharmacy (AFP) with a US FDA warning letter.

Women less likely to be prescribed post-heart attack drugs, researchers find

29-Oct-2015 By Anthony King

Younger women are less likely than younger men to be prescribed or fill their medication after a heart attack, new research shows.

Irish researchers generate crystal structure for a PEGylated protein

28-Oct-2015 By Dan Stanton

Irish scientists have completed the most comprehensive structural study yet of a PEGylated protein, giving greater insight into how such molecules improve injectable therapies.

Sanofi aims to sell Allegra plant ahead of 2016 shutdown

08-Oct-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Sanofi has confirmed it wants to sell the Kansas City facility at which it makes the allergy drug Allegra (Fexofenadine).

Growing demand for vegetarian capsules despite their cost, says Capsugel

07-Oct-2015 By Dan Stanton

Capsugel has seen growing pharma demand for vegetarian capsules with formulation benefits outweighing the fact they cost more than gelatin.

Very unscientific survey

Android or iOS: Which cell phone OS does the drug industry prefer?

01-Oct-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Do API firms adore android? Do ocular drug developers’ eyes light up when they think of iOS?

Glide and Cilian team to develop solid dose flu vaccine

22-Sep-2015 By Dan Stanton

Cilian has teamed up with Glide Technologies to develop a solid dose influenza vaccine to be delivered via a needle-free injector.

Police Facebook campaign calls on high-paid Pharma CEOs to tackle opioid abuse

21-Sep-2015 By Dan Stanton

A Massachusetts-based police department has published contact and salary details of Big Pharma CEOs in an effort to force industry to help manage opiate addiction.

Biocon launches insulin pen, fully 'made in India' from new device plant

16-Sep-2015 By Dan Stanton

Biocon has begun commercial manufacturing at its Bangalore devices facility to support the launch of its insulin pen product, Basalog One.

Unilife cuts workforce by 17% as it shifts from R&D to commercialisation

15-Sep-2015 By Dan Stanton

Unilife has axed about 50 R&D jobs as part of a plan to reduce its operating expenses.

A so-long wave to Tipperary? Sun earmarks Ranbaxy Ireland plant for sale

10-Sep-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Sun Pharmaceutical has earmarked the Ranbaxy plant in Cashel in County Tipperary, Ireland for divestiture.

GSK starts work on $153m anti inflammatories and gastro drug plant in India

09-Sep-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

GSK has started work on an anti-inflammatory and gastrointestinal drug production plant in Vemgal, India which will create 300 manufacturing jobs.

CeQur's $100m financing to scale-up insulin delivery patch-pump production

03-Sep-2015 By Dan Stanton

GLP-1 drugs and oral formulations will not diminish demand for insulin patch-pumps says CeQur, which has raised $100m (€89m) to support production of its PaQ delivery device.

US FDA OK with a bit of blue: Colorcon's Spirulina approved for pharma pills

24-Aug-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Drugmakers trying to make blue or green pills for the US market have a new option after the FDA approved a bacteria-derived extract developed by Colorcon for pharma applications.

Capsugel expanding Encap plant on rising HPAPI demand

23-Jul-2015 By Dan Stanton

Capsugel is doubling the size of a facility in Scotland to support demand for the encapsulating of drugs containing high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs).

US FDA: Generic pills must look similar to reference drugs to minimize patient safety risk

23-Jun-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Generic pills are a safety risk if they are too different from their reference drug according to the US FDA, which wants developers to consider physical characteristics when making copycat meds.

CSIRO tells of sea shells that protect sensitive cures

09-Jun-2015 By Dan Stanton

A capsule inspired by the porous structure of seashells has been developed to protect drugs from extreme temperatures and could be used in controlled delivery.

Afrezza's launch a boost for alternate insulin delivery R&D, says Oramed

02-Jun-2015 By Dan Stanton

There is still demand for alternative to injection for insulin despite the subdued launch of Sanofi’s Afrezza, Oramed says as it pushes forward with its oral candidate.

Novartis to assess biologics with micro-sugar-needle delivery tech

27-May-2015 By Dan Stanton

Novartis has partnered with Google-backed Rani Therapeutics to assess an oral platform which delivers biologics through the intestinal wall using needles made of sugar.

Janssen and Rutgers expand R&D as continuous manufacturing picks up steam

20-May-2015 By Dan Stanton

Despite pharma being “highly regulated and slow to change,” continuous manufacturing will soon be realised, says Rutgers University which has received an R&D grant from J&J.

Capsugel focusing on inhaled biotherapeutics from Bend facility

06-May-2015 By Dan Stanton

Capsugel says it is bolstering its service to offer specialised dry powder inhalation (DPI) formulations, allowing biotherapeutics to be delivered to the lung rather than by injection.

Controlled-release tech turns liquid drugs solid in stomach

04-May-2015 By Dan Stanton

A liquid-gel which solidifies in the stomach could offer drugmakers an effective modified-release delivery option, according to the lead scientist behind the project.

LB Bohle: Tech Center hopes to drive away hesitancy in continuous processing

20-Apr-2015 By Dan Stanton

LB Bohle has opened a multi-million euro Technology Center it says can help expedite the shift to continuous processing within the pharma industry.

‘We must not rest on our laurels’

GEA revenue growth for 2015 overshadowed by 1,450 job cuts

20-Apr-2015 By Jenny Eagle

GEA said it expects to achieve a moderate organic growth in revenue and an operating EBITDA of between €580 and €620m in the current fiscal year 2015, but its growth is overshadowed by 1,450 job cuts.

Concerns climate change will see tick-borne diseases spread to the UK are legitimate, says PHE

15-Apr-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Concerns climate change will see malaria, West Nile virus and chikungunya spread to the UK are legitimate according to Public Health England, even though no insects carrying such diseases have been detected to date.

Columbia Labs adds intra-vaginal ring tech and drug delivery pioneers

31-Mar-2015 By Dan Stanton

Columbia Laboratories has licensed a technology for delivering peptides using an intra-vaginal ring developed by MIT scientist Robert Langer.

Capsugel invests in vegetarian capsules citing demand for lower moisture content and API cross-linking risk

26-Mar-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Capsugel will invest $25m (€22m) to expand production of vegetarian-friendly drug and food supplement capsules.

AbbVie bucks Puerto Rico departure trend with $30m expansion

25-Mar-2015 By Fiona BARRY

AbbVie is investing $30m (€27m) in contract manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico and plans to create 100 jobs over the next two years.

Penn invests in pill tech citing industry demand

11-Mar-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Penn Pharma has added new tablet making technology at its facility in Tredegar, Wales citing drug industry demand for dry granulation manufacturing capacity.

US defence cuts an opportunity for generics firm KVK Tech

04-Mar-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

US fighter jet firm Lockheed Martin has agreed to sell a satellite production plant in Newtown, Pennsylvania to drugmaker KVK-Tech.

Unilife upping device production as market opportunity offsets flat sales

10-Feb-2015 By Dan Stanton

Unilife Corporation has ramped up production of delivery devices as pharmas looks to differentiate injectable therapies from the competition.

Catalent to offer integrated services in Germany through softgel expansion

27-Jan-2015 By Dan Stanton

A coating and packaging expansion at a facility in Germany will feed the demand for end-to-end softgel services, Catalent Pharma Solutions says.

BASF to take on Asian PVP producers and target generics firms with new capacity in China

23-Jan-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

BASF will spend €56m ($62m) to increase production capacity for the excipient PVP by expanding existing plants and introducing manufacturing capabilities at its facility in Shanghai, China.

Pharma turning to injectable systems to protect biologics, says Unilife

22-Jan-2015 By Dan Stanton

Big Pharma firms like AbbVie are partnering with delivery device makers to guard against biosimilar competition according to Unilife CEO, Alan Shortall.

Capsugel buys ionic liquid tech IP to enhance lipid-based drug solubility

12-Jan-2015 By Dan Stanton

Capsugel has acquired a technology platform which uses ionic liquids to enhance the solubility of lipid-based drug delivery systems.

Rouble trouble: Big Pharma exposure to Russian currency volatility limited

17-Dec-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Big Pharma firms’ exposure to Russia’s volatile rouble is limited and planned manufacturing investments will go ahead according to observers.

Foreign investment in UK drugmaking down; ABPI tasks ex-GSK exec with reversing trend

10-Dec-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

An ex-GSK staffer charged with winning manufacturing investments for the UK says fostering innovation and “fiscal attractiveness” are vital.

EMA seeking drugmaker feedback on cyclodextrin and propylene glycol labelling plan

03-Dec-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

The EMA has called for feedback on plans to require drugmakers to state whether their drugs contain solubility-enhancing cyclodextrin excipients.

Advanced aspirin aspirations ailing? Sanofi and Pozen terminate deal

02-Dec-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Sanofi and Pozen have dissolved a $35m (Eur28m) ‘advanced aspirin’ partnership less than a month before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decides whether to approve the new drug.

update

Ice pigs might fly for drug industry says newly acquired tech firm

02-Dec-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

The company behind a new pipe cleaning technology known as ‘ice pigging’ has been bought by the UK arm of Spanish water treatment firm Agbar.

GSK eyes emerging markets with $27m manufacturing tech investment

17-Nov-2014 By Zachary Brennan

GSK Australia will invest about $27m (€22m) in manufacturing technology to expand its Boronia site in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.

Sanofi wearable injectable supply deal could net Unilife over $1bn per year

12-Nov-2014 By Dan Stanton

Unilife says its 15 year-wearable injector supply deal with Sanofi is “unprecendented” and could result in over $1bn of sales annually for the delivery device maker.