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.

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”

IMS Health looking at buyout bids

22-Oct-2009 - IMS Health has confirmed it is “exploring strategic alternatives” after speculation this week suggested that the market analysis group had received a number of takeover bids.

Lonza withdraws Patheon bid, but still keen on CMOs

20-Oct-2009 - Swiss healthcare services giant Lonza has withdrawn its offer for Canadian CMO Patheon, citing value considerations, rejection of the bid by JLL and the availability of alternatives.

H Lundbeck eschews outsourcing and buys Elaiapharm

20-Oct-2009 - CNS focused drugmaker H Lundbeck says its acquisition of French CMO Elaiapharm represents a cheaper option than third-party manufacturing.

News in brief

Lilly sells Tippecanoe API site to Evonik

15-Oct-2009 - US drugmaker Eli Lilly will sell its Tippecanoe laboratories API manufacturing unit to Germany’s Evonik Industries.

Lonza builds in India in Simbiosys deal; updates on Patheon takeover

15-Oct-2009 - Lonza says that to the Indian market was a key motivation for its acquisition of Simbiosys Biowares India preclinical cell and molecular biology assets.

CPhI 2009 show preview

08-Oct-2009 - We look ahead to CPhI 2009 which takes place in Madrid, Spain next week and will showcase the world’s leading ingredients, contract services, machinery and biotech companies.

MannKind’s shares tumble; deal unlikely in 2009

07-Oct-2009 - MannKind’s share price tumbled by 31 per cent yesterday, just days after it published encouraging safety data for Afresa, because it revealed a partnership deal is unlikely to occur in 2009.

French govt unlikey to relinquish grip on health spending, says BMI

06-Oct-2009 - Despite the government’s “aggressive” promotion of generic drugs, pharmaceutical spending in France will continue to grow, according to new analysis by Business Monitor International (BMI).

Hospira buys facility & filgrastim rights to boost biogenerics

06-Oct-2009 - Hospira has acquired the worldwide rights to filgrastim and a Croatian biologics plant from Pliva, increasing its presence in the biogenerics field, and told in-PharmaTechnologist that further expansions are possible.

Sun says Taro suit is “baseless litigation”

01-Oct-2009 - Sun Pharmaceuticals says the new lawsuit filed against it by Taro Pharmaceuticals is “another unfortunate attempt by the Taro directors to divert Taro's limited resources to assisting the Levitt family in their ongoing refusal to comply with their written agreements.”

News in brief

J&J buys 18% of Crucell

29-Sep-2009 - US health care major J&J has paid €302m for an 18 per cent stake in Dutch biotechnology Crucell and announced plans for a collaborative drug development programme.

Breaking news

Abbott beats Nycomed and UCB in battle for Solvay’s drug unit

28-Sep-2009 - Abbott Laboratories will buy Solvay’s pharmaceutical unit for €4.8bn ($7bn) according to reports released earlier today.

News in brief

Camlin Fine Chemicals mulls API unit sale

28-Sep-2009 - The pharmaceutical division of Indian API maker Camlin Fine chemicals may be put up for sale by its parent company, stationary giant Camlin, after failing to expand.

News in brief

EC OKs Novartis’ move for Ebewe SP's injectables biz

24-Sep-2009 - The European Commission has approved Novartis’ €925m ($1.2bn) acquisition of Ebewe Spezial-Pharma’s generic injectables business.

Patheon overview - a look at what Lonza would gain

10-Sep-2009 - With Lonza and JLL competing over Patheon Outsourcing-Pharma looks at what the CMO offers to a prospective buyer, analysing its global manufacturing capacity and backlog using interactive maps and graphs.

News in brief

Galencia extends global reach with OM Pharma deal

08-Sep-2009 - Pharmaceutical manufacturer Galencia says its acquisition of Switzerland-based biotech group OM Pharma will bolster its international presence.

Cloud Packaging meets shorter run trend with Toll takeover

07-Sep-2009 - Cloud Packaging Solutions has said the acquisition of Toll Packaging will boost its ability to meet the increased demand for shorter packing runs triggered by the current global economic crisis.

News in brief

Dainippon to buy Sepracor for $2.6bn

03-Sep-2009 - Japanese drugmaker Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma (DSP) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire US pharmaceutical group Sepracor for $2.6bn (€1.8bn).

News in brief

Novartis buys HySolv technology from BTG

02-Sep-2009 - Swiss drug major Novartis will UK specialty pharma firm BTG up to $10m (€7m) for its HySolv drug delivery technology.

Roche buys Lonza’s Singapore biologics plant

31-Aug-2009 - Basel-headquartered Roche has paid fellow Swiss firm Lonza $290m (€203m) for its Singapore biologics plant in a bid to secure long-term manufacturing capacity for biotech cancer drugs.

Will Lonza's $460m Patheon offer trigger bidding war?

24-Aug-2009 - Canadian contractor Patheon has welcomed the $460m (€321m) takeover offer from Switzerland's Lonza that could, according to some observers, spark a bidding war with rival suitor, US group JLL Patheon Holdings.

Warner Chilcott may pay $3bn for P&G drug unit

24-Aug-2009 - Woman’s healthcare and dermatology group Warner Chilcott will unveil plans to buy P&G’s prescription drug division for $3bn (€2.1bn) according to a number of media reports.