Vaccine demand a friend to Pall in Q1; but sales still fall 5.4%

19-Nov-2009 - Continued high demand for vaccine manufacturing technologies saw life sciences emerge as one of the few positives for industrial processing specialist Pall in Q1.

Reimportation is “legislative madness”

19-Nov-2009 - It is “legislative madness” to allow reimportation in the US, according to the chair of EAASM who spoke at AAPS about Europe’s “porous supply chain” and how it could affect the standard of medicines in the States.

Reaxa gets UK grant for Ni EnCat scale-up

18-Nov-2009 - UK process technologies firm Reaxa has received a £146K (€164K) R&D grant from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) to scale-up production of its EnCat nickel catalyst.

Failed anti-depressant flibanserin reborn as female “Viagra”?

18-Nov-2009 - Boehringer Ingelheim looks set for a significant windfall with results from Phase III trials indicating that its drug flibanserin can boost sexual desire in women, raising the prospect of a female equivalent to Pfizer’s Viagra.

Colorcon rolls out On-Dose ID anti-counterfeiting tech

17-Nov-2009 - Colorcon has met US FDA calls for PCIDs to combat fake drugs with the mark On-Dose ID labelling technology for tablet coatings.

News in brief

GSK teams up with Nabi on NicVax

17-Nov-2009 - GSK has signed a $540m (€362m) licensing agreement with Nabi Biopharmaceuticals for the Phase III candidate nicotine vaccine, NicVAX.

API quality enforcement in disarray; Villax

17-Nov-2009 - Regulatory enforcement efforts to tackle counterfeit and substandard APIs are in disarray, according to Guy Villax, CEO of Hovione, who spoke at AAPS about the scale of the problem.

UK aims to improve manufacturing efficiency

16-Nov-2009 - A consortium including GlaxoSmithKline and GEA has been formed to push continuous processing and improve pharma manufacturing efficiency in the UK in response to competition from emerging markets.

News in brief

ISP launches excipient website

12-Nov-2009 - ISP Pharmaceuticals hopes its new excipient focussed web resource will help the drug industry formulate “the next generation” pharmaceuticals.

Galenix and DSM sign manufacturing and marketing accord

12-Nov-2009 - French drug delivery specialist Galenix has named DSM’s pharmaceutical products unit as its manufacturing and co-marketing partner as it continues to efforts build its global presence.

Six Pfizer-Wyeth R&D sites to close post merger

10-Nov-2009 - Pfizer will close six R&D facilities in the US and the UK, reducing its global capacity by over a third following completion of its acquisition of Wyeth.

News in brief

USP revised glycol and sorbitol monographs published.

09-Nov-2009 - New US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) monographs designed to prevent adulteration of key excipients with diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG) have been published ahead of their official implementation date in February.

ICH makes progress on S9, S6 and Q8-10 workshops

09-Nov-2009 - The ICH says it made progress on its S9 guideline on non-clinical data requirement for late-stage cancer treatments at its most recent steering committee meeting in Missouri, US.

Catalent unveils ulta-sensitive melamine test for drugs

05-Nov-2009 - US contract services firm Catalent has launched a new test service capable of detecting trace amounts of the toxic chemical melamine in pharmaceuticals.

SMS deal expands reach

05-Nov-2009 - Particulate Systems (PS) and Surface Measurement Systems (SMS) have entered into a strategic collaboration drawing on their knowledge of using analytic equipment for the characterisation of particulate, porous and complex materials.

News in brief

New Jersey R&D sites vital, says Merck CEO

05-Nov-2009 - US R&D facilities in Rahway and Kenilworth, New Jersey will remain operational as they are vital to the to the newly formed Merck Schering-Plough group, according to CEO Richard Clark.

News in brief

GSK and Pfizer launch ViiV Healthcare

04-Nov-2009 - GSK and Pfizer have launched their HIV focused JV, ViiV Healthcare with the promise that it will undertake “relentless pursuit” of new drugs.

Penn completes phase one of Tredegar plant expansion

03-Nov-2009 - Welsh contract services firm Penn Pharmaceuticals has reorganised its transport and delivery infrastructure in the first phase of a £12m (€13.3m) expansion at its facility in Tredegar.

DNA tests required for Trovan claimants after data lost

03-Nov-2009 - Pfizer and Nigerian authorities want Trovan compensation claimants to provide DNA samples to confirm their identity, according to former Nigerian Supreme court justice Abubakar Wali.

Novartis invests in China

03-Nov-2009 - Novartis is investing $250m (€170m) to construct a facility in China focused on research, development and manufacture of APIs and has earmarked a further $1bn to expand its R&D activities in the country.

Influenza: statins may help, but did aspirin misuse hinder in 1918?

02-Nov-2009 - Early-stage CDC research suggests that the anti-inflammatory properties of cholesterol-busting statin drugs can help mitigate the impact of flu infection.

Lonza cuts 2009 guidance 14% and plans workforce cuts

02-Nov-2009 - Lonza cuts 2009 earning guidance and may reduce its workforce under “Project Bond” cost cutting plan after a Q3 characterized by an “accumulation of unexpected events”

Efficacy at Ph III: lupus drug Benlysta confirms blockbuster potential

02-Nov-2009 - Good news for Human Genome Sciences (HGS) as development partner GSK reports Ph III data showing that their co-owned lupus treatment Benlysta (belimumab) is effective.

News in brief

Phoenix helps closed Shasun plant rise from the “ashes”

02-Nov-2009 - Phoenix Chemicals will re-open a chemicals manufacturing plant in Scotland less than a year after it was closed by former owner Shasun Pharma Solutions.