Lifecycle management

News in brief

Dong-A and Meiji Seika to build biosimilars plant

06-Oct-2011 - South Korean drugmaker Dong-A and Japan’s Meiji Seika Pharma will build a biosimilars plant in a bid to target the global Ab-based drug market.

ProMetic supplying adsorbent to Chinese biosimilar biz

26-Sep-2011 - ProMetic Life Sciences is supplying an affinity adsorbent to a Chinese biopharm for use in scale-up of a biosimilar.

UK drug re-developer sees business in pharma turmoil

22-Sep-2011 - Oxford Pharmascience expects the challenges facing biopharm to drive interest in its drug delivery and reformulation technologies.

Albemarle to hike generic API prices on regulatory costs

14-Sep-2011 - Albemarle says it will increase what it charges for generic APIs from next month, citing increasing regulatory and testing costs as the main reasons for the hike.

Biocon building Malaysia plant to serve Pfizer insulin deal

14-Sep-2011 - Biocon has begun work on the Malaysian biopharm plant that will serve its deal with Pfizer, and is now providing Lipitor ingredients.

update

Granules to expand API and intermediate capacity

29-Aug-2011 - Chemicals maker Granules India says it will expand manufacturing capacity for oral solid dose (OSD) APIs and drug intermediates in a bid to better meet the needs of clients.

Specialty generic players a target for OctoPlus tech

02-Aug-2011 - OctoPlus is targeting specialty generics manufacturers it believes can benefit from its controlled release drug delivery technologies.

Market share gains drive MWV medical pump growth

28-Jul-2011 - MeadWestvaco (MWV) has reported increased market share is driving double-digit growth in sales of medical pumps.

Europe approves Merck Serono prefilled pen injectors

05-Jul-2011 - Merck Serono has received European approval for prefilled pen injectors designed to increase compliance during fertility treatment.

News in brief

Par to reduce sales headcount at Strativa unit

30-Jun-2011 - Par Pharmaceutical will cut 100 jobs at its proprietary products division Strativa Pharmaceuticals as part of a restructuring plan designed to save as much as $12m.

PhRMA and GPhA disagree on ‘first to file’ US patent law plan

27-Jun-2011 - The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has welcomed proposed changes to US patent laws that would alter the basis for patent awards.

Hovione and PSI team on poorly soluble APIs

09-Jun-2011 - Portugal-headquartered API manufacturer Hovione has teamed up with Particle Sciences (PSI) to tackle the issue of poor drug solubility.

Functional excipients to drive US market to $2bn by 2015, study

08-Jun-2011 - Demand for functional excipients will drive growth of the US market over the next few years according to new analysis.

Pfizer considers generics manufacturing JV with Hisun

06-Jun-2011 - Pfizer says it is considering a manufacturing-focused partnership with China’s Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical as part of its generic drug business.

update

Watson buys Specifar in busy month of M&As for generics sector

31-May-2011 - Watson Pharmaceuticals has bought Greek generics firm Specifar Pharmaceuticals, bringing to an end a busy month of deal making in the non-branded drug sector.

Serina gets US patent for polyoxazoline polymer delivery tech

24-May-2011 - Serina Therapeutics has developed a new way of synthesizing polyoxazoline (POZ) polymers for drug delivery applications that, it claims, is free of the drawbacks that have hampered previous production methods.

MWV filling line services support delivery method switch

17-May-2011 - MWV is offering packaging machinery modifications to support pharmaceutical clients switching to preservative-free pumps.

Aptuit producing fast-dissolve nanoparticles in Ph III deal

05-May-2011 - Aptuit is manufacturing Phase III materials for Iroko using a nanoformulation technology that produces fast-dissolving particles.

Prosonix and Sterling complete API commercialisation

04-May-2011 - Prosonix and Italian partner Sterling have completed the commercialisation of a respiratory active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) using the UK firm’s unique particle engineering technology.

Guest article

In a tough regulatory climate being forewarned is forearmed, says ISI Europe

17-Mar-2011 - Don’t think of the global regulatory information clampdown as a burden. It’s an opportunity to put your house in order, says Adam Sherlock, MD of ISI Europe.

Pfizer may sell non-core units according to analyst

15-Mar-2011 - US drug giant Pfizer may sell its generics, consumer health and Capsugel units in an effort to slim down and refocus on its core pharmaceutical business according to a number...

Capsugel buys FlexTab to expand into high value markets

17-Feb-2011 - Pfizer’s Capsugel unit has bought an injection molding technology that, it believes, will expand its capsule filling business into new “high value segments.”