GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a major player in vaccine manufacturing, is
set to inaugurate a €100m vaccine production plant on Friday in a
Hungarian city 30Km northeast of Budapest.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said it has developed a vaccine against the
H5N1 bird flu strain that can trigger an immune response at a much
lower dose than other vaccines in development.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has asked vaccine developing firm Antigenics
to supply it with more of its QS-21 adjuvant as its vaccines
progress in the pipeline, while at the same the British drug giant
is pushing ahead with its own adjuvant,...
Sanofi pasteur's vaccine manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, where
half of America's influenza vaccines are made, has been served with
a warning letter by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
asking for measures to...
FFF Enterprises has just been awarded a new contract to distribute
GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK's) flu vaccine in the US, making it the
largest flu vaccine distributor for the second year running.
Lipoxen have developed a new vaccine technology that it claims will
pave the way for more effective and safer vaccines and greater
manufacturing flexibility. They are now using the technology to
make the world's first hepatitis...
Vaccine developer Iomai has solidified its position in
transcutaneous immunisation (TCI) by receiving a new US patent
which outlines methods for inducing an immune response to Iomai's
novel skin-patch-based vaccines.
After receiving a grant of $3.9m (€3m) from the US government,
British biotechnology firm Avecia has put together a consortium of
four companies to develop a version of its anthrax vaccine with
increased stability so it works without...
PowerMed has demonstrated the immunogenicity of an influenza DNA
vaccine for the first time in humans using a new drug delivery
system and claims it may serve as a cost-effective weapon against
bird flu.
A new vaccine, which can be distributed without refrigeration and
is stable at room temperature for prolonged periods, could ease the
threat of supply problems with pandemic influenza vaccines by
allowing safe stockpiling of the treatment.
A consortium of British private companies and a university facility
has been awarded $2.6m (€2.13m) by the UK's Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) to produce a slow release vaccine which will
eliminate the need for booster...
Britain's Department of Health has awarded healthcare company
Baxter and biotech firm Chiron two contracts worth £33m (€48m) in
total for the production of around 3.5m doses of H5N1 influenza
vaccine, underlying how worldwide...
Lipoxen has announced that its move to list the company on the
Alternative Investments Market (AIM) has raised £3.78 million (€5.5
million) in a fundraising effort that will allow them to proceed
with preclinical trials to treat disorders...
US scientists think that enough anthrax vaccine can be produced
cheaply and effectively from tobacco plants, inoculating not only
the whole of the US but answer the worldwide need for a safe and
effective vaccine for this killer toxin.
Cambridge Biostability Limited (CBL) has commissioned the world's
first commercial sterile spray dryer for childhood vaccines, in
which the £1 million (€1.5 million) facility will produce clinical
trial material providing a precursor...
The surge in vaccines against influenza has surprised Governments
across the world, with the stark admission that demand was
unforeseen. Avian flu, which has emerged as a real threat to
humans, has not only have added to the danger...
Pharmaceutical manufacturers, Wyeth, are to phase out manufacturing
at its US facility as part of its consolidation plans, which will
see the gradual phasing out of all operations at the New York
facility by late 2008.
Britiain's largest drugsmaker, GlaxoSmithKline, announced it is to
expand its ability to increase vaccines supplies by acquiring a
vaccine research and production facility from rivals Wyeth.
Chiron says it will be unable to supply any Begrivac influenza
vaccine to markets outside the US during the 2005/6 flu season,
just days after admitting it has sterility problems at a
manufacturing plant.
In the US, the New York Senate last week passed that would prohibit
the administration of any vaccine containing more than a trace
amount of mercury to children under the age of three or pregnant
women.
Chiron has said it will be unable to meet its projections for flu
vaccine production this year, because it has been unable to get
production back up to speed at its manufacturing facility in
Liverpool, UK, as quickly as hoped. The...
A delivery technology that could allow vaccines to be administered
intranasally and does not require refrigeration has passed its
first clinical hurdle, reports Phil Taylor.
During the past 50 years, the number of pharmaceutical companies
making vaccines has decreased dramatically, and those that still
make them have reduced resources to produce new ones, writes
Phil Taylor.
GlaxoSmithKline has announced plans to acquire the Corixa
Corporation, which represents an important strategic deal for GSK's
vaccines division, GSK Bio. The division is the only major vaccine
maker with active R&D programs...
The use of disposable and scalable technologies to purify large
molecule vectors can help manufacturers streamline processes and
overcome many of the unique challenges associated with vaccine
development, according to separations...
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell has won a €21.4 million
contract to produce a vaccine against Ebola for the US government's
Vaccine Research Centre, reports Phil Taylor.
A new technology that could revolutionise vaccine delivery by
eliminating the need for refrigeration has been given UK government
funding in a project to deliver immunisations to the developing
world.
UK-based Avecia has been awarded a $50.7 million (€41m) contract by
the US government for the development of a recombinant plague
vaccine. The contract provides funds for pilot lot manufacture,
release, testing and initial human clinical...
The UK suspension preventing Chiron's export of Fluvirin took
another twist yesterday after the biotech company became the
subject of a US federal investigation over its reporting of the
problems with the flu vaccine.
Global efforts to develop a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and
AIDS have intensified over the past few years, yet they continue to
fall short of what is likely to be needed to achieve success,
reports Phil Taylor.
Researchers in the US have taken an important step toward creating
a vaccine against Alzheimer's disease, overcoming the side effects
that held back a prior vaccine for the disease.
Human clinical trials involving an Ebola vaccine took a step closer
after Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell announced a single dose of
its Ebola vaccine had successfully protected monkeys during trial
tests.
The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) earlier
his month in China may have been contained, but it serves as a
timely reminder of the need for continued efforts to develop drugs
and vaccines for the virus, reports...
The widely used vaccine adjuvant alum is not associated with an
increased risk of adverse events, despite fears to the contrary,
according to a new analysis. The study should allay patient fears
and help maintain immunisation rates...
The number of shots delivered in national influenza immunisation
programmes could be increased - without making any additional
vaccine - by simply using a syringe developed by Becton Dickinson.
Akzo Nobel opened a new biotech vaccines production facility in
Boxmeer, the Netherlands, yesterday, that signposts a new ambition
in human vaccines for the group.
Like many life sciences companies before it, Crucell of the
Netherlands has started a major shift in strategy from a technology
platform company to one involved in in-house product development.
Could this put pressure on its well-established...
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...
The first vaccine targeting the strains of HIV prevalent in
sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where millions of people are infected
with the virus, has started Phase I volunteer studies in the USA.
Strasbourg, France-based Aventis has signed a research, option and
license agreement with Vivalis of the USA for the manufacture of
vaccine candidates using avian stem cell technology.