Meridica has licensed its newly-designed Xcelovair dry powder
inhaler (DPI) to Pfizer in what amounts to something of a coup for
the small UK start-up.
An alliance between two German companies - 4SC and SWITCH Biotech -
has been set up to focus on the discovery of small-molecule
compounds for the treatment of psoriasis.
Sartorius North America and KMI/Parexel International have formed
an alliance that will improve the geographic reach of their
biopharmaceutical production and consultancy services.
Evotec OAI and Biofrontera Pharmaceuticals have entered into a
co-marketing and distribution agreement to offer natural compound
libraries for drug discovery.
Sweden's Pyrosequencing has entered into an agreement to buy
prification and separation specialist Biotage, a subsidiary of Dyax
of the USA, for $35 million.
The drug industry has largely discarded shellac as a film coating
for solid oral dosage forms in favour of synthetic resins, but this
may have been premature; a recently-issued US patent reveals that
shellac is a remarkably versatile...
A new report has suggested that an average-sized, top 20 drug
company only needs to produce two new products every three years to
maintain growth rates.
Packaging is fast becoming an integral part of pharmaceutical
medications and this is leading to more collaborations between the
drug and packaging industries, says Gerresheimer.
Merck & Co has become the first drug major to make a
significant alliance in the field of RNA interference - one of the
hottest topics in drug discovery - via a deal with Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals.
BioProgress has completed the design and build of the first pilot
scale version of its XGEL NROBE powdered drug coating technology
and is set to deliver the machine to Farmasierra in Madrid, Spain.
NiKem Research says it has developed its ADMET capabilities to such
an extent that it can offer them as a service to customers involved
in drug discovery.
An October conference on biogenerics will see research-based
biopharmaceutical companies and their generic rivals battle to win
the hearts and minds of regulators.
World Pharmaceuticals SA has been awarded a US patent for a
dropping bottle for pharmaceutical liquids that overcomes the
limitations of current designs.
IBM has introduced its new InsightLink software, an application to
help pharma companies create searchable online databases that will
enable more sharing of research knowledge.
The UK MHRA will allow salt and ester variants of active drugs to
be submitted for approval as generics using abridged applications,
following the EU's lead.
US pharmaceuticals major Pfizer is considering moving some of its
activities in Germany to the UK due to government health reforms;
meanwhile, Merck & Co has shelved plans to open a new R&D
facility in the country.
A new report suggests that pharmaceutical companies reap much
greater rewards from licensing in products than they do in
conducting their own in-house research.
BioProgress of the UK, which specialises in delivery mechanisms for
the pharmaceutical oral dosage markets, has sold the first two
machines in its line of systems for tablet coating based on its
proprietary coloured cellulose film.
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
Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis is planning to shut its only
manufacturing facility in India, at Mahad in Maharashtra, because
of increasing competition.
Swiss drugmaker Roche has succeeded in developing a crystalline
form of one of its pipeline compounds with the help of a US
company, TransForm Pharmaceuticals, that is applying a
high-throughput approach to form and formulation.
The European Commission has updated its guidelines on the labelling
of excipients used in medicinal products and the manufacturing of
investigational drugs.
Germany's Schott Glas has been granted a US patent on a glass
container for storing medicines that incorporates an anti-adherent
coating on its inner surface.
A UK programme aimed at identifying the environmental, health and
safety, ethical and societal implications of nanotechnology has
appointed a working group to oversee the effort.
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.
EPIDAUROS Biotechnologie has acquired a non-exclusive licence for
the diagnostic use of one of the most important genetic variants of
the cytochrome P450 2D6 gene.
Procter & Gamble has patented a new formulation of risedronate
that overcomes the upper gastrointestinal side effects that can
occur with the osteoporosis drug.
Neo Pharma becomes the first company to start manufacturing
pharmaceuticals in Abu Dhabi. The company's facility offers both
production and R&D capabilities.
LGC has acquired Germany's Mikromol, a specialist in pharmaceutical
impurities and metabolites used as reference materials, to create
its first non-UK lab.
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.
Therascope, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on
small molecule drug discovery, has raised €24.1 million to develop
its TACE platform.
LipoCore's Galacticle delivery technology is to be the subject of a
feasibility study at one of the largest multinational drug
manufacturers in the autumn
This year's ISLAR meeting - the last ever to be held - will be
replaced in 2004 by a new Association of Laboratory Automation
conference called LabFusion.
A deal with Vaccinex has taken Lonza Biologics beyond its primary
focus of mammalian cell culture-based manufacturing and into the
area of antibody drug discovery.
DSM has taken a 25 per cent interest in Nijmegen, Netherlands-based
Chiralix in move which both expands DSM's capabilities in
early-stage drug development and Chiralix' position in
stereochemistry
Microbiology specialist Biotrace has continued its expansion into
the healthcare sector with the acquisition of Denmark's Maltec,
helping it to target Scandinavia's strong pharma sector
