The Challenge of Change - Managing Excipients Control
Colorcon
25-May-2004 - In an unusual move, Finnish science park Medipolis has set up a new Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) pilot plant to take advantage of the growing demand for biopharmaceutical production capacity.
24-May-2004 - Belgian group UCB, fresh from making an offer for UK biotech company Celltech, has announced plans to sell off its chemicals unit and become a pharmaceuticals pure play, reports Phil Taylor.
24-May-2004 - Respironics, a US-based company specialising in sleep and ventilation products, is to make a $44.6 million (€37.3m) cash offer for Profile Therapeutics of the UK.
24-May-2004 - US-headquartered generics manufacturer Ivax has cleared one obstacle in its battle to acquire a majority stake in Polish drugmaker Polfa Kutno.
20-May-2004 - A new company has been set up in the UK to apply high-throughput technologies to the development of new chemical materials, including catalysts and novel drugs, for use in the pharmachem industries.
19-May-2004 - UK biotechnology company Acambis is looking for new clients to take up unused capacity at its facility in Massachusetts, US, now that Baxter has pulled out of a manufacturing contract.
19-May-2004 - France's Rhodia has joined its peers in the European chemicals industry in reporting some signs of a recovery in its business in the first quarter of 2004, although sales still fell 5.7 per cent to €1.35 billion, which the company blamed on the weakness of the dollar.
18-May-2004 - Belgian chemicals and pharmaceuticals company UCB has made an offer to buy UK biotechnology firm Celltech for £1.53 billion (€2.25bn) in a move seen as a way of getting hold of the latter's much-touted arthritis drug.
18-May-2004 - Directors at Swiss fine chemicals group Lonza have appointed a former BASF manager as their new chief executive, after major losses led to the resignation of Markus Gemuend earlier this year.
17-May-2004 - Ireland's position as a hot-spot for inwards investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing is under threat from companies in the Far East and Puerto Rico, according to PharmaChemical Ireland.
13-May-2004 - Signalling its continued commitment to the emerging economies of the recently expanded European Union, Switzerland's Novartis has unveiled a €70 million overall investment in a new generics production and logistics facility in Strykow, Poland.
12-May-2004 - Avecia Pharmaceuticals has consolidated its position in the evolving Japanese pharmaceutical market by forging a technology agreement with a local company,reports Phil Taylor.
12-May-2004 - German chemical company Bayer has posted flat first-quarter 2004 sales, but said that the results were on track given the negative effects of currency factors. Organic sales growth rose 8.6 per cent, it claimed, and was driven mainly be the healthcare and cropscience businesses.
11-May-2004 - Yesterday, German chemicals group Degussa said that it had got off to a good start financially in 2004. Today, the company provided a more detailed breakdown of the first-quarter results which shows the fine chemicals division still under pressure.
11-May-2004 - The current rate of growth in the world generics market puts it on pace to outgrow branded pharmaceuticals, which will only grow by single digits in 2004, according to business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information.
10-May-2004 - India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories has acquired a US company that brings in a proprietary drug delivery technology that could be applied across a whole range of dermatological products.
10-May-2004 - Australia's Mayne Pharma has bought its way into the European market with the acquisition of a Germany company specialising in the manufacture of freeze dried and solution vial products for contract customers.
10-May-2004 - Despite reporting a decline in revenues, Germany's third-largest chemicals company Degussa said that it had 'got off to a solid start' in the first quarter of the year, ahead of presenting its full results tomorrow.
10-May-2004 - Dutch nucleic acid specialist Qiagen reported strong growth in sales in the first quarter of 2004, ahead of its forecasts, as spending by companies in the pharmaceutical industry returns to historical levels, writes Wai Lang Chu.
06-May-2004 - Two leading central and eastern European pharma firms - both producing both generic and branded drugs and active pharmaceuticals - post results this week. Their results suggest CEE firms should focus on foreign markets as pricing constraints bite at home, writes Phil Taylor.
06-May-2004 - Two years into a major drive to exit the drug development sector and reinvent itself as an informatics pure-play, Germany's LION bioscience trimmed its net losses in the 12 months ended 31 March to €22 million, in line with its interim projections.
06-May-2004 - Swiss life sciences supplier Tecan has reported flat growth in sales but higher profits in the first quarter of 2004, which it said was largely the result of the restructuring measures implemented in 2003.
05-May-2004 - Isael's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries slipped into a loss in the first quarter of 2004, as the cost of the acquisition of US generics and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) firm Sicor took its toll, but for the first time posted quarterly revenues in excess of $1 billion (€823m).
05-May-2004 - Sigma-Aldrich has expanded its contract development and manufacturing for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at its Buchs production site in Switzerland.
04-May-2004 - Fisher Scientific has opened a new small scale chemical manufacturing facility in Loughborough, UK, to add new custom synthesis services for the pharmaceutical and other industries.