Breaking News on Pharmaceutical Technology

PharmaForm rolls out contract spray-drying service

05-Nov-2009 - US CMO PharmaForm has added spray-drying to its contract offering to capture a share of the ever-present market for drug bioavailability enhancement.

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.

O’Hara launches 3-in-1 coating

02-Nov-2009 - O’Hara Technologies has launched a lab-scale tablet coating system that incorporates a blender and tray dry oven inserts to cut capital expense and GMP spaced needed perform these tasks.

Nokia forms anti-counterfeiting JV

28-Oct-2009 - Nokia, SAP and G&D are forming a company to provide anti-counterfeiting services which will draw on the firms’ respective expertise in mobile phones, supply chain technology and encryption.

CDC targets track and trace

28-Oct-2009 - CDC Software has launched Trace Express Viewer which helps identify suspect materials, provides cGxP compliant transaction processing and covers users’ ePedigree requirements.

Malvern and Kaiser partner on Raman microscope development

27-Oct-2009 - Malvern Instruments and Kaiser Optical Systems have teamed up to meld Raman spectroscopy with particle characterisation in a unique combination that has application across the drug development and manufacturing process.

GEA launches contract spray-drying service

22-Oct-2009 - GEA Niro has begun offering contract spray-drying services for drug candidates and clinical trial supplies from its “Test Center” in Copenhagen, Denmark and wants the drug industry to know about the technique’s advantages.

News in brief

B-MS to close Indy QC plant

21-Oct-2009 - US drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb will close its QC facility in Evansville, Indiana by the end of the year according to reports in the local media.

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Reaxa sets up Indian subsidiary

14-Oct-2009 - Reaxa will set up an Indian subsidiary to manage supply chain, commercial scale production and application development for its growing number of customers in the country.

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Millipore rolls out CellReady 3L benchtop bioreactor

12-Oct-2009 - Millipore has expanded its Mobius process technology range with the new CellReady 3L bench-top bioreactor.

Cherwell gets BSI ISO 9001:2008 accreditation

05-Oct-2009 - UK pharmaceutical test media supplier Cherwell Laboratories says its receipt of BSI ISO 9001:2008 accreditation demonstrates its commitment to quality.

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Caraco enters into consent decree with FDA

30-Sep-2009 - Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories has entered into a consent decree with the FDA which details a series of measures that must be fulfilled to allow the company to resume manufacturing.

ATMI launches single-use powder transfer bag

30-Sep-2009 - ATMI has launched a powder transfer bag, for substances such as APIs and excipients, which it claims has three times the shelf life of alternatives, increases process efficiency and improves safety.

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FDA enlarges and extends QbD pilot programme

22-Sep-2009 - The FDA has enlarged and extended its quality-by-design (QbD) pilot programme, moving back the submission deadline and increasing the number of applications.

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Praxair installs NCOOL at facility in China

21-Sep-2009 - Shanghai The First Biochemical & Pharmaceutical Company has installed Praxair China’s NCOOL cryogenic heat exchanger, becoming the first company to sign this sort of liquid nitrogen supply contract.

Vaccine growth and single-use systems boost Pall in ‘09

16-Sep-2009 - Revenues from Pall’s biopharmaceuticals division grew in fiscal 2009, excluding foreign currency changes, with the company benefiting from the “thriving market” for vaccines and expanding adoption of single-use systems.

Targeted Genetics out of crisis after selling AAV kit to Genzyme

10-Sep-2009 - Struggling biotech Targeted Genetics (TG) has sold certain patents and AAV manufacturing technology to fellow US group Genzyme in a $7m deal that “shifts the firm out of crisis mode,” according to CEO Susan Robinson.

FDA places import alert on two Apotex facilities

09-Sep-2009 - The FDA has issued an import alert against products manufactured at two Apotex facilities after the agency issued a warning letter, which raised several issues that the company is now working to resolve.

KV rehiring after FDA accepts work plan

03-Sep-2009 - KV Pharmaceutical has begun rehiring employees to produce verification batches of certain products prior to resuming commercial manufacture, which appears to be on schedule after the FDA accepted the work plan.

Nanostructure catalysts could save pharma time & money

01-Sep-2009 - Researchers believe they are a step closer to creating superefficient industrial catalysts after a team made platinum-on-gold bimetallic nanorods that are soluble in organic solvents.

Phone-based anti-counterfeiting proposed for developing world

27-Aug-2009 - Researchers have presented a low cost track and trace and authentication system, which they believe could be implemented immediately, to combat counterfeiting in the developing world.

News in brief

GEA shipping systems to Chinese business

24-Aug-2009 - GEA Lyophil has won a contract to supply €15m ($21.5m) worth of pharmaceutical freeze dryers with automatic load and unload systems (ALUS) to a Chinese manufacturer.

GEA wins €15m order from China’s Hisun Pharmaceutical

20-Aug-2009 - GEA Lyophil, part of GEA Pharma Systems, has won a contract to supply Chinjese drugmaker Zheijang Hisun Pharmaceutical with freeze drying systems and automatic loading units.

News in brief

Barr recalls batch of oversized ADHD drug

18-Aug-2009 - Barr Laboratories has recalled a single batch of the drug detroamphetamine/ amphetamine, used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after tests revealed that some tablets exceeded weight requirements.