The Challenge of Change - Managing Excipients Control
Colorcon
22-Jul-2005 - Provectus Pharmaceuticals are to begin phase 1 clinical trials of new cancer treatment, PV-10, the company's new drug candidate for the treatment of metastatic melanoma (the most aggressive form of skin cancer), in which 53,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the US.
21-Jul-2005 - UCLA chemists have created the first nano valve that can be opened and closed at will to trap and release molecules. The nano valve could potentially be used as a drug delivery system, trapping and releasing therapeutic molecules on demand.
21-Jul-2005 - Biosensors International Group has announced that its Netherlands-based subsidiary, Occam International B.V. has received Conformite Europeene (CE) Mark approval for the Group's first drug eluting stent (DES), Axxion.
20-Jul-2005 - A first-in-class small molecule with a novel mechanism of action that selectively induces cancer cell death is to undergo phase I clinical trials. Its makers, Cylene Pharmaceuticals have claimed the drug candidate has shown efficacy in colorectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
20-Jul-2005 - Sigma-Aldrich has launched a handful of laboratory equipment and technological developments that could prove useful in drug discovery. The life science company is currently in the midst of a reorganisation of its operating structure involving Sigma's two life science and high-tech research businesses.
19-Jul-2005 - US pharmaceutical company Upsher-Smith Laboratories has been forced into staffing cuts and a restructuring exercise by delays in the US Food and Drug Administration's review of its nasal calcitonin product for osteoporosis.
19-Jul-2005 - Bayer has announced an expansion of its Bayer Bitterfeld plant in Saxony Anhalt, Germany, the world's largest production facility for Aspirin.
18-Jul-2005 - Scientists believe they may have found a way to prevent heart failure associated with the genetic disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The study is the first to demonstrate a new, promising approach to repairing the cardiac damage inflicted.
15-Jul-2005 - Scientists have taken a major step forward in autoimmune disease research after the process of T-cell trafficking through the blood and lymph nodes to fight infection was discovered. Controlling this process with drugs offers "enormous potential" against devastating immune reactions.
15-Jul-2005 - American Pacific Corp has agreed to acquire the assets of Aerojet Fine Chemicals for $119 million (€98m), in a deal which APC said would give it access to 'fast-growing pharmaceutical markets'.
15-Jul-2005 - Merrion Pharmaceuticals has been granted a US patent for a drug delivery technology that improves the transport of medicines across biological membranes.
13-Jul-2005 - Infinity Pharmaceuticals announced the initiation of a phase I clinical trial of the company's lead investigational anticancer agent for the development of a potential treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. The compound will subsequently be developed for additional hematologic (blood) cancers and solid tumour indications.
13-Jul-2005 - Scientists at Chr Hansen's US research operations have developed a gum acacia-based film coating, suitable for use in pharmaceuticals, that combines low cost, long shelf life and low shipping costs.
08-Jul-2005 - A new class of antipressant - dubbed the triple reuptake inhibitor - will in time come to dominate the market for depression treatments and achieve multibillion dollar revenues, according to new market research.
07-Jul-2005 - UK biotechnology company Ionix Pharmaceuticals is gearing up for acquisition by Vernalis in a share-based deal valuing Ionix at around £12.5 million (€18.2m).
06-Jul-2005 - Celliance has introduced a new bovine albumin product, manufactured exclusively from animals originating in Australia, that is aimed at applications such as pharmaceuticals where there is a need to ensure the absence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).
06-Jul-2005 - A new gene scanning technology, developed by researchers in the UK, is set to have a major impact on healthcare in the future with the potential to lead a very personalised genetic profile relevant to drug prescribing, leading to more personalised medicine and screening.
06-Jul-2005 - ViroLogic, announced the signing of a multi-year, $4.8 million (€4 million) service agreement with Schering-Plough Research Institute, to use ViroLogic's novel HIV resistance testing technology to support Schering-Plough's drug R&D into a new class of HIV drug.
05-Jul-2005 - NMT Medical announced that the company has received approvals to initiate studies designed to evaluate its new closure technology. The collagen matrix used in the technology has the potential to deliver and localise drugs and other materials that may further enhance PFO closure outcomes.
04-Jul-2005 - Balchem has acquired the encapsulation and agglomeration business of IOI Group - part of Loders Croklaan USA - in a move that extends its activities in the food and pharmaceutical ingredient sectors.
04-Jul-2005 - Israeli drug delivery firm Foamix has been awarded a US patent for its OilGel technology, a semisolid matrix which turns into a liquid when rubbed onto the skin and can be used to deliver a broad range of therapeutic compounds.
30-Jun-2005 - Pharming has licensed rights to its protein production technology, based on the use of transgenic animals, to AgResearch, the largest government owned research organisation in New Zealand, reports Phil Taylor.
29-Jun-2005 - Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US, have developed a method of creating what they claim are the world's smallest manufactured particles for delivering drugs and other organic materials into the human body.
29-Jun-2005 - French public prosecutors have expanded their criminal investigations into alleged accounting irregularities by specialty chemicals maker Rhodia, with a raid on the country's Ministry of Finance.
29-Jun-2005 - International Chemical Investors, an equity group based in Frankfurt, has agreed to buy five units of Rutgers Chemicals with combined annual sales of around €100m a year.