Breaking News on Pharmaceutical Technology

DSM agrees to Deretil management buyout

19-Nov-2008 - DSM Deretil, the chemical side-chain manufacturing operation of DSM's anti-infectives unit, is to go it alone through a management buyout.

SAFC talks continuous processing

12-Nov-2008 - SAFC's Mike Harris explains bench top continuous processing at this year's CPhI

Contaminated heparin seized in US

10-Nov-2008 - US Marshals have entered Celsus Laboratories to seize 11 lots of heparin, which contain contaminated material from China according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

India plans testing zones at airports

06-Nov-2008 - The Indian government is planning on establishing pharmaceutical zones at major international airports to facilitate exports, according to local media reports.

Upfront targets CMOs with new MabDirect column

05-Nov-2008 - The new MabDirect MM Fixed D column, launched by Denmark’s Upfront Chromatography, could be a boon for CMO’s and pilot plants working in the expanding bio-processing sector.

Caraco’s Detroit plant gets quality warning

04-Nov-2008 - Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, in which India’s Sun Pharmaceuticals holds a 76 per cent stake, has joined the list of generics manufacturers issued with an FDA warning on quality control issues.

Sartorius to bring Wave Biotech AG into the fold

03-Nov-2008 - Disposable bioreactor specialist Wave Biotech AG of Switzerland has been snapped up by its commercial and development partner Sartorius-Stedim for an undisclosed sum.

Pharmalucence issued with FDA warning letter

30-Oct-2008 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Pharmalucence for alleged deviations from current good manufacturing practices (cGMP).

BioTrove and Agilent sign mass spec deal

28-Oct-2008 - Agilent and BioTrove have forged a non-exclusive mass spectrometry partnership designed to enhance the screening of candidate drug compounds in early stage development.

Ethex recalls its second oversized drug this year

22-Oct-2008 - Ethex has withdrawn three lots of its generic drug dextroamphetamine sulphate, which is used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy, after analysis revealed that some oversized tablets had been produced.

First podcast from in-PharmaTechnologist.com

21-Oct-2008 - Welcome to in-pharma technologist’s podcast. In the next three minutes Gareth Macdonald will take you through the top industry headlines this week. Product authenticity dominated the news, with US regulators announcing increased penalties for those convicted of selling dangerous counterfeits. In Europe IPEC sets out its new third party assessment scheme.

SSB signs deal for virus clearance tech

21-Oct-2008 - Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) and Bayer Technology Services (BTS) have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement for the manufacture and marketing of UVivatec products.

News in brief

InfraServ Knapsack gets bigger in GMP analyses

19-Oct-2008 - German contract services firm InfraServ Knapsack has added three new capabilities in its analytical division aimed at servicing Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) production.

Applied Biosystems' rapid Mycoplasma detection kit

14-Oct-2008 - The MicroSEQ detection platform, developed by Applied Biosystems, looks set to revolutionise the detection of bacterial Mycoplasma in industrial scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Exclusive interview

Artel's QA/QC services driving expansion

14-Oct-2008 - With big pharma and biopharma looking to cut costs and increase efficiency, liquid handling experts Artel have found that their services are in greater need than ever before.

FDA issues guidance in CGT potency tests

14-Oct-2008 - Draft guidance for testing the potency of cellular and gene therapy products (CGTs) has been issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Cody unveils homogenous method for morphine derivatives

13-Oct-2008 - API maker Cody Laboratories is targeting the lucrative analgesic and pain management markets with a new process that improves the efficiency of hydromorphone and hydrocodone manufacture.

GE unveils new AxiChrom columns

09-Oct-2008 - GE Healthcare’s range of AxiChrom columns will simplify manufacturing operations, improve reproducibility and allow for faster change over according to company senior product manager, Per Karlberg.

Arkema launches new PVDF grade Kynar Rx

09-Oct-2008 - Industrial polymer firm Arkema hopes that Kynar Rx, a new grade of its widely used Kynar resin technology, will help it corner the market for single-use sterile manufacturing applications in the bioprocessing sector.

BioVigilant files rapid detection tech DMFs with FDA

08-Oct-2008 - BioVigilant says that two type V DMFs for its IMD-A rapid microbial detection system, which it has filed with the US FDA, can now be referenced by clients hoping to use it in drug manufacture, potentially reducing review times.

Sanal salt granted GMP certification

06-Oct-2008 - AkzoNobel has been awarded a good manufacturing practice (GMP) certificate for Sanal (sodium chloride) salt manufactured at its plant in Mariager, Denmark.

Novasep expands chiral chromatography offering

01-Oct-2008 - French firm Novasep has significantly boosted its ability to provide customers with enantiomerically pure compounds with the addition of a new chiral chromatography unit.

FEI to light-up Sun Pharma’s research

01-Oct-2008 - India’s Sun Pharmaceutical has installed a 3D imaging system from FEI Company to speed up the development of new therapeutics and aid its quality control processes.

Marketing deal for Prosonix’s SonoLab

30-Sep-2008 - Syrris has become the primary marketer for Prosonix’s new SonoLab laboratory scale sonocrystallisation and sonoprocessing equipment.