Breaking News on Pharmaceutical Technology

Harsh counterfeiting sentences could harm LDCs

27-May-2009 - Stiffer penalties for counterfeiters could be counterproductive in less developed countries (LDC) and “entrench the corrupt symbiotic relationship between counterfeiters, lawmakers and officials”, according to a report

Singh steps down as Daiichi takes greater control of Ranbaxy

27-May-2009 - Ranbaxy CEO Malvinder Singh has left the troubled drugmaker just seven months into a five year contract awarded by Japanese owner DaiiChi Sankyo.

News in brief

Vietnam invests in raw materials capacity

27-May-2009 - Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of Vietnam, has approved plans to develop the country’s pharma raw material capacity by building six chemical plants and two laboratories, according to media reports.

BIO 2009: snapshot of an evolving biotech industry

22-May-2009 - in-Pharmatechnologist's Nick Taylor looks back on BIO 2009, an event at which uncertainty about the development of the biotechnology industry’s future shape dominated proceedings.

News in brief

Teva & Lonza JV cleared by EC

22-May-2009 - Teva and Lonza have had their biosimilars joint venture approved by the European Commission, clearing the way for the companies to collaborate on development and manufacture.

Healthcare reform could suffocate innovation; BIO 2009

22-May-2009 - Karl Rove and Senator Tom Daschle were among the political figures at BIO 2009 discussing how the US healthcare system should be reformed, which some believe could have grave consequences for medical innovation in the country.

France helps clusters battle for bio bucks

20-May-2009 - HEM Pierre Vimont, Ambassador of France to the US, was at BIO 2009 talking about the measures his nation have taken to attract biotechs, including the introduction of the "most favourable R&D tax in Europe".

France helps clusters battle for bio bucks

20-May-2009 - HEM Pierre Vimont, Ambassador of France to the US, was at BIO 2009 discussing the measures his nation have taken to attract biotechs, including the introduction of the "most favourable R&D tax in Europe".

Biosimilar bill could be "stake in the heart"

19-May-2009 - In a session chaired by at BIO 2009 John Lechleiter, CEO at Eli Lilly, speakers discussed patent reform, biosimilar bills and why certain options on the table could be a "stake in the heart" of the biotech industry.

Policing the globe – the scale of FDA overseas inspections

18-May-2009 - in-PharmaTechnologist assesses the scale of the challenge facing the FDA in effectively monitoring overseas facilities, using interactive graphics and textual analysis.

Pharma: people on the move

18-May-2009 - in-PharmaTechnologist presents its latest round up of movements in the pharmaceutical sector, including job changes at Novartis and Mylan.

News in brief

Delaware deaths not linked to Baxter’s heparin

18-May-2009 - A US FDA investigation of two deaths and a case of intercranial bleeding at the Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Delaware has found no link to a batch of the blood thinner heparin made by Baxter International.

Overseas API vendor qualification under US FDA spotlight says H&H

14-May-2009 - US drug firms’ qualification of overseas API vendors will be subject to increased FDA scrutiny in the coming years according to a new industry report by analysts Hogan & Hartson (H&H).

News in brief

Drugs worth €2m stolen from Irish warehouse

13-May-2009 - Pharmaceuticals with a street value of €2m ($2.7m), including 83,000 tablets of the “date rape” drug flunitrazepam, have been stolen from a North Dublin-based drug warehouse, according to reports in the Irish media.

New suite operational at Roche’s Carolina API plant

12-May-2009 - A new $60m (€43m) manufacturing suite is operational at the South Carolina, US plant where Roche makes APIs for some of its leading products, including for its anti-flu drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir).

GSK boosts emerging markets presence with Aspen deal

12-May-2009 - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to take a 16 per cent stake in Aspen in exchange for a manufacturing facility and eight medicines, building on the companies’ relationship and the big pharma’s profile in Africa.

FDA requests 19% funding boost to secure supply chain

11-May-2009 - The FDA plans to increase field tests in imported drugs by over 100 per cent and has requested a 19 per cent rise in its budget for 2010 to enable it to achieve this and other targets.

News in brief

Boost for Belgian biomanufacture “fundamental” says Genzyme

11-May-2009 - Biotechnology group Genzyme will boost biomanufacturing capacity at its plant in Geel, Belgium in a move that is “fundamentally important to future growth” according to site VP Sandra Poole.

Hospira calls time on US biogenerics delays

06-May-2009 - Drug delivery specialist Hospira has set up a “biologics clock” that counts the amount spent on cell culture-derived medications in the US in a bid to highlight the potential savings greater use of generics could provide.

Biotech business model “unsustainable”; report

06-May-2009 - Creative thinking is required by biotechs if they are to stay afloat despite the lack of funding, according to a report by Ernst & Young, and this could reshape the landscape of the industry.

Sanofi seeks collaborators for €200m biotech plant

05-May-2009 - French drug major Sanofi Aventis has unveiled plans for a €200m ($268m) biotechnology investment at its manufacturing facility in Vitry-sur-Seine near Paris, under its collaborative Biolaunch project.

Pharma: people on the move

05-May-2009 - in-PharmaTechnologist presents its latest round up of movements in the pharmaceutical sector, including appointments at Pfizer and Novo Nordisk.

Greece bans flu drug exports

04-May-2009 - Greek authorities have banned the export of the anti-virals Relenza and Tamiflu to prevent the country’s stockpile being sold off through parallel trade as global demand for the drugs increases on concerns about a H1N1 influenza pandemic.

SEC investigating insider trading in Merck - Schering deal

04-May-2009 - Suspicious spikes in the trading of Schering-Plough shares prior to its merger with Merck & Co are being investigating by the SEC, according to media reports.