Cali bioproduction set to grow but education must improve

03-Feb-2011 - Californian bioproduction expansions could create jobs in 2011 but changes to education are needed to sustain growth, according to a survey.

Anti-counterfeiting rules will limit access to safe drugs; Oxfam

02-Feb-2011 - The EU and US are using substandard medicines as an excuse to tighten IP rules, boosting pharma profits while making it harder for the poor to access drugs, according to Oxfam.

News in brief

Valeant buys PharmaSwiss for CEE generics market

02-Feb-2011 - Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals will pay €350m for PharmaSwiss to expand its presences in the central and eastern European generic drug market.

Senior exec support key to supply chain change success

01-Feb-2011 - Supply chain strategy implementations are more likely to succeed when they have the active support of the board and senior executives, according to research.

Bayer buys into India with Zydus JV

01-Feb-2011 - German drugmaker Bayer has set its sights on expanding in the Indian drug market with the formation of a new joint venture with Zydus Cadila.

Solid-state training to advance China beyond API infancy

31-Jan-2011 - Crystal Pharmatech is to provide solid-state characterisation training in China to advance local API and drug development beyond its “infancy phase”.

S&D Group calls for ban on “export of death”

31-Jan-2011 - The European Parliament’s Socialist and Democrats (S&D) group wants to ban the export of drugs used to execute death row inmates.

Oystar sells Brazilian unit to Masipack

27-Jan-2011 - Oystar has sold its Brazilian unit, Oystar Fabrima, to Sao Paulo-headquartered firm Masipack in an effort to focus its business on country’s the primary and secondary packaging markets.

Abbott to cut 1,900 commercial & manufacturing jobs in US

27-Jan-2011 - Abbott Laboratories is to cut 1,900 US commercial and manufacturing jobs in response to healthcare reform and tough regulators.

Big pharma reacts to Putin’s warning by increasing Russian manufacturing

26-Jan-2011 - GSK and Teva will invest in Russian drug manufacturing in response to PM Vladimir Putin’s warning that Pharmas will face restrictions if they fail to boost local production and transfer technology.

Pharmsynthez buys Kevelt to grow in Europe

26-Jan-2011 - Russian drugmaker Pharmsynthez has bought Estonian manufacturer Kevelt in a bid to expand its international business.

Weak anti-counterfeiting slowing ASEAN harmonisation

26-Jan-2011 - Failure to reduce counterfeiting is one of a number of issues slowing healthcare regulation harmonisation in ASEAN.

Torrent investing in capacity to support international expansion

25-Jan-2011 - Torrent Pharma has begun construction of $75m API and formulation facilities in India to support its international expansion programme.

Dramatic lack of planning harming pandemic preparation

25-Jan-2011 - There is a dramatic lack of planning for the production and distribution of medical pandemic countermeasures, according to an OECD report.

Genzyme to build new Belgium manufacturing plant

24-Jan-2011 - Genzyme will build a second manufacturing plant in Geel, Belgium to ensure it has the capacity to meet demand for its Pompe disease drugs Myozyme and Lumizyme.

Amrutanjan & Austin form clinical trial material venture

24-Jan-2011 - Amrutanjan and Austin Chemical are establishing a joint venture to market Indian-produced clinical trial materials.

All Indian pharma exports to require barcodes from July

20-Jan-2011 - All Indian pharma exports will soon require barcodes on primary, secondary and tertiary packaging as part of anti-counterfeiting efforts.

Green plant-based production to boost Brazilian biologics

19-Jan-2011 - Bio-Manguinhos has licensed green plant-based vaccine production technology to position Brazil at the forefront of biologics manufacture.

Fairfield adds 3-in-1 scanner

18-Jan-2011 - Fairfield Group has introduced a scanner capable of reading 1D barcodes, Pharmacodes and 2D data matrices used on pharmaceutical packaging.

Minimal flooding at Sigma sites but deliveries disrupted

17-Jan-2011 - Sigma has experienced minimal damage from Australian floods but road closures have impacted on deliveries to customers.

Aurobindo to sell Chinese ingredient unit to Sinopharm

11-Jan-2011 - Aurobindo Pharma is to sell its Chinese unit to Sinopharm as part of a strategic shift from low-margin ingredients to more profitable formulations.

Dendreon building Germany plant to support EU entry

11-Jan-2011 - Dendreon is to build a Provenge production facility in Germany, due to be operational in 2013, and in the meantime is to outsource to a CMO.

Indian cultural diversity affects attitudes to pharma packaging

10-Jan-2011 - Cultural diversity within India underpins differing attitudes to oral dose pharmaceutical packaging and this could impact on prescribing habits.

News in brief

Leak at Wanbei Pharma plant injures 62

10-Jan-2011 - Sixty-two workers at Wanbei Pharmaceutical’s manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China have been sickened after a chemical leak.