FDA may never have inspected 88 per cent of Chinese sites

27-Oct-2010 - The FDA may never have inspected 88 per cent of the 920 Chinese facilities in its inventory, according to the GAO.

Biocon investing $161m in Malaysian biomanufacturing site

27-Oct-2010 - India-based Biocon is investing RM500m ($161m) in Malaysia to establish a cGMP biomanufacturing and R&D facility.

ATMI and Austar open packaging materials plant in China

26-Oct-2010 - ATMI opens new packaging plant in China; positions for growth of bioprocess business in Asia and sees modest growth of life sciences business in Q3.

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Rx-360 membership to “snowball” as it prioritises growth

26-Oct-2010 - Rx-360 expects membership numbers to “snowball” in the coming year as it looks to build on progress made in establishing the consortium.

USDA backs Unilife’s US HQ construction

25-Oct-2010 - Unilife wins US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as guarantor for new manufacturing facility and global headquarters in York, Pennsylvania, US.

FDA finds excessive peroxide levels in Crospovidone batch

25-Oct-2010 - US FDA finds high levels of peroxide in batch of the excipient Crospovidone made by China’s Tianjin Boai NKY International (TBNI).

WHO begins prequalification programme for selected APIs

21-Oct-2010 - The WHO is today initiating a pilot prequalification programme for selected APIs used in drugs for HIV and related diseases, antimalarials and anti-tuberculosis medications.

Lilly to close Singapore R&D unit; double sales force in emerging markets

20-Oct-2010 - Eli Lilly has unveiled plans to close its Singapore R&D centre by the end of the year and relocate discovery operations to its global headquarters in the US.

Respiratory drugs a particular* opportunity for processing tech says Prosonix

19-Oct-2010 - Prosonix expects high demand for innovative particle processing technologies in the $24bn (€17bn) a-year respiratory pharmaceuticals market over the next few years.

Microscan adds track and trace label verification system

19-Oct-2010 - Microscan has introduced a system for inspecting and verifying package label content that can be implemented with the minimum of cost and effort.

Week-long anti-counterfeiting effort confiscates 1m pills

19-Oct-2010 - A week of global anti-counterfeiting law enforcement coordinated by Interpol led to the shutdown of 290 websites, seizure of 11,000 packages and confiscation of 1m pills.

FDA & WHO collaborate on surveillance of counterfeit drugs

14-Oct-2010 - The FDA is to collaborate with the WHO to build a global surveillance and monitoring system for combating falsified medicines and breaches of the supply chain.

Stemedica & AnC form stem cell production joint venture

14-Oct-2010 - Stemedica and AnC Bio have formed a joint venture to manufacture stem cells for the treatment of ischemic stroke and other degenerative disorders.

IMS prediction: Emerging markets front 5-7 % rise in drug sales for 2011

13-Oct-2010 - IMS Health predicts that global drug sales will increase 5 to 7 per cent next year, driven by development of innovative pharmaceuticals and growth of emerging markets.

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Falsified APIs and gangsters in the pharma industry

12-Oct-2010 - Guy Villax, board member of the EFCG, talks falsified APIs, EU efforts to tackle the issue, and the presence of gangsters in the pharma industry in an in-PharmaTechnologist video interview.

Capsugel up for sale as Pfizer reviews strategy?

11-Oct-2010 - Pfizer has hired Morgan Stanley to review its Capsugel business unit with the possibility of selling the maker of capsules for oral medicines and dietary supplements.

China's API players have bright 'potential future'

07-Oct-2010 - China leads the field in 'potential future' API suppliers, positioning it to become a dominant force as these companies develop, Thomson Reuters said at CPhI 2010.

Regulatory expert insight: electronic submission

04-Oct-2010 - Adoption of electronic submission by regulators around the world is good news for drugmakers’ efforts to access emerging markets says industry expert Kate Wilber.

Sanofi launches hostile Genzyme bid; Pfizer close on Uplyso Brazil deal

04-Oct-2010 - French drugmaker Sanofi Aventis has tabled an $18.5m, $69 per share, hostile takeover bid for Genzyme after failing to secure an amicable acquisition.

Zydus Nycomed API site to start production in December

30-Sep-2010 - Zydus Nycomed expects commercial production at its newly commissioned API plant in Navi Mumbai, India to begin in December 2010.

Chinese cancer drug brings HUYA and Quintiles together

29-Sep-2010 - HUYA Bioscience International will co-develop a new Chinese cancer drug, HBI-8000, with Quintiles for the “benefit of cancer patients globally.”

Venus to supply docetaxel to Thailand

29-Sep-2010 - Venus Remedies is supplying docetaxel to Thailand after a compulsory license was issued to make the drug more affordable.

DSM seeks Asian partners; welcomes J&J Crucell takeover

23-Sep-2010 - DSM aims to keep pace with the rapid evolution of pharmaceutical sector through increased partnering and a focus on Asia.

GSK boosts vaccine and cancer units with tech licenses

23-Sep-2010 - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has entered into two unrelated development deals by signing license agreements for Delphi Genetics’ StabyExpress for its vaccine production operations and OncoMethylome Sciences’ DNA methylation specific PCR biomarkers for its cancer immunotherapy programme.