Bentley Pharmaceuticals has successfully delivered insulin to type
1 diabetics using its novel intranasal formulation, throwing its
hat into the ring of companies seeking to replace insulin
injections with more patient-friendly options.
US packaging giant MeadWestvaco has made progress in its
collaboration with Cypak, a Swedish company specialising in the
development of 'smart' packaging.
Newron Pharmaceuticals has announced the company and a consortium
will use the money raised from European funding to utilise
drug-screening technology for the HTS of molecules for ion channel
targets for neurological and psychiatric...
Japanese drugmakers Dainippon Pharmaceutical and Sumitomo
Pharmaceuticals are to merge in an attempt to increase their
standing in international markets and fend off competition at home.
A number of measures to help make the UK Medicines and Healthcare
Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) and the pharmaceutical
industry operate more openly and transparently were announced late
last week by the country's Health...
A recent exhibitions on anti-infectives means that antibiotics and
other drugs for other infectious diseases feature strongly in
DrugResearcher's periodic round-up of new compounds entering the
clinic.
Regen Therapeutics (ReGen) announced it had entered into an
agreement to acquire Guildford Clinical Pharmacology Unit Limited
(GCPUL) confirming its strategy to develop its medical service
revenue generating business and developing...
Researchers writing in the British Medical Journal have argued that
drug companies must disclose all adverse events encountered during
drug development ahead of licensing.
The European Commission has published details of a new proposed
regulation aimed at stimulating research into drugs for use in
diseases affecting children.
A new report into pharmaceutical R&D has identified an emerging
trend favouring outsourcing of discovery research, clinical trials
and formulation manufacturing, providing pressure relief from
consistent, high-growth financial...
French drug delivery specialist Novagali has raised €14 million in
a second round of fundraising and says the cash will allow it to
support its development programmes, based on a proprietary emulsion
technology, for up to three years.
TransTech Pharma and Merck has announced a $26 million research
collaboration using TransTech's proprietary TTP Translational
Technology to discover and develop novel small molecules for a
therapeutic target of interest to Merck.
The pharmaceutical industry has announced it would introduce a
central, accessible database to improve the communication of the
clinical study results of marketed drugs.
Cardinal Health says it plans to expand and restructure several of
its facilities around the world after what it describes as
'heightened customer demand for clinical supply services, such as
design, packaging, labelling, storage...
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) became the first major drug maker to disclose
details of its clinical drug trials effectively settling a lawsuit
filed by the New York state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, who
accused them of concealing information...
In an open letter to the British medical Journal, the director of
the UK Cochrane Centre Sir Iain Chalmers has added his voice to
those calling for complete disclosure of clinical trials by
pharmaceutical companies.
Drug delivery specialist SkyePharma has decided to press ahead with
the development of new drug products based on an encapsulation
technology developed by fellow UK company Micap.
Fine chemicals maker Bachem has reported higher sales in the first
half of the year, but profits were slightly weaker as unfavourable
exchange rates took their toll.
Pharmaceutical instrument supplier Argonaut has introduced the
Isolute PPT+ protein precipitation plates, created with the
intention of accelerating drug research and development.
Swiss fine chemicals company Siegfried has been insulated from the
general downturn in the chemicals industry, but has finally
succumbed and been forced to lose staff and cut back production,
writes Phil Taylor.
The market for the tools and services in combinatorial chemistry
and high-throughput screening approached $3 billion in 2003
(€2.43bn), but a new set of challenges is shifting customers'
focus, according to a new study.
The US Food and Drug Administration claims drug companies have
violated government law by failing to disclose the existence of
clinical trials to a government database, writes Wai Lang
Chu.
The accusations levelled at GlaxoSmithKline and Forest Laboratories
that negative trial results on their products have been buried has
prompted the US industry to set out its own code of practice.
UK biotechnology company Xenova has been given regulatory approval
for a manufacturing facility for clinical trial materials for its
own use, as well as for its clients.
A proposal requiring drug companies to register clinical trials in
a public database to be considered for later publication -
regardless of results - is being considered by top medical
journals, writes Wai Lang Chu.
Companies developing new drugs for the global market must deal with
the rising costs of the R&D process - and outsourcing may well
be the best route, according to Dr Faiz Kermani, a specialist in
outsourcing and research development.
Neuro3d has started trials of its orally active phosphodiesterase-4
(PDE4) inhibitor in depression, resurrecting the use of this class
of drug in this indication.
Switzerland's Lonza, one of the leading contract manufacturers of
active pharmaceutical ingredients, has forged a collaboration with
RNA-TEC of Belgium to provide broad-ranging contract production of
oligonucleotides, a new class...
A non-profit pharmaceutical company has set up a network of
volunteer scientists in order to plug a hole in medical research -
the development of medicines for diseases that affect some of the
poorest people in the world.
The UK government has promised to protect the large funding
increases for science announced in the country's last Spending
Review and pledged more investment under a new 10-year strategy for
science.
A new type of drug to treat the cardiovascular disease stable
angina, a chronic condition marked by recurrent episodes of
suffocating chest pain from lack of oxygen to the heart muscle, has
shown encouraging safety and efficacy in...
Microencapsulation specialist Micap has made its first foray into
the pharmaceutical sector after clinching a licensing deal with UK
drug delivery specialist SkyePharma.
Dutch drug delivery company OctoPlus will undergo a significant
change in 2004 as it completes its transformation from a
formulation services company to one firmly planted in drug
development.
Japanese pharmaceutical companies must build strong, in-house,
R&D capabilities in order to survive, according to research
from market analyst firm Datamonitor. But this is not simply a
matter of spending more money; strategic...
Chiltern International, one of Europe's leading mid-sized contract
research organisations, has opened up an office in Ukraine to tap
into a growing market for clinical trial services in central and
Eastern Europe.
European clinical researchers have launched a campaign calling on
the European Parliament and Commission to repeal a new Directive on
Good Clinical Practice (GCP) on the grounds that it will hinder the
conduct of non-commercial trials.
Chemical Synthesis Services has opened a new, £25 million (€36
million) facility in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, improving its
drug development and analysis services.
Leading CRO says it has seen a marked increase in the number of
trials it has been asked to work on in Central Europe, and believes
the trend is set to continue.
Transgenic plant technologies could lead to a revolution in vaccine
production and manufacture; should plant-based vaccines prove
effective in clinical trials, this will drive licensing activity
between key vaccine players and companies...
Bristol-Myers Squibb has filed an IND in the US seeking approval to
start clinical trials of an orally-active p38 MAP kinase inhibitor
for rheumatoid arthritis.
The genomics industry is already separating into two tiers; the
winners are those focused on targets and drug development and which
have products in or near the clinic, as well as strong
partnerships, says analyst
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.
The pharmaceutical industry is failing to increase efficiencies in
core areas of its business - such as clinical trials and sales -
because of an enormous pressure from investors to drive revenues,
according to Datamonitor.
KS Avicenna, the Canadian unit of KS Biomedix of the UK, launched a
newly expanded contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in
Canada, to service both North American and European clients, at the
start of the BIO 2003 meeting,...
There has been a steady increase in the number of diabetes-related
R&D projects in recent years, and one area of particular
interest is the pulmonary delivery of insulin, says a new report