The Challenge of Change - Managing Excipients Control
Colorcon
19-Sep-2006 - Canadian firm Bioxel has manufactured the first industrial-scale current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) batch of its key intermediate for docetaxel, the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of Sanofi-Aventis's blockbuster chemotherapy drug Taxotere, whose first patents will expire at the end of 2007.
19-Sep-2006 - Outsourcing is expected to emerge as a definitive trend in the bioinformatics industry, according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan.
19-Sep-2006 - Catalyst specialist Reaxa has launched the latest flight of additions to its range of metal scavenging products for pharma process applications which can be used in both batch and continuous processing.
19-Sep-2006 - Cardinal Health has been given the green light from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to start manufacturing the first commercial drug at its new sterile facility in North Carolina.
18-Sep-2006 - Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has obtained the exclusive rights to use a plasma protein purification technology from ProMetic Life Sciences in the large-scale development and manufacture of its hyperimmune products, cutting production costs and increasing yield.
18-Sep-2006 - Kemwell has sealed the deal on the purchase of Pfizer's Swedish manufacturing plant and at the same time secured a long-term contract manufacturing agreement with the drug giant.
14-Sep-2006 - Successful technology transfer and effective management can help avoid disappointment with contract manufacturing arrangements, which often fail to live up to pharmaceutical company expectations.
14-Sep-2006 - A small spin-out company formed by the University of Colorado has been awarded a $850,000 (€670,000) grant from the US government to develop a dry powder inhalable version of Nabi's investigational injectable vaccine for nicotine addiction, boosting the product's appeal by eliminating needles.
14-Sep-2006 - Drug testing services provider Xceleron has set up new facilities in the US after regulations recently introduced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are setting this industry sector ablaze.
13-Sep-2006 - Biotechnology firm Codexis says it has reached an important development milestone in its effort to design a biocatalytic process to produce a key intermediate for a Schering-Plough drug, reducing manufacturing costs and environmental waste.
13-Sep-2006 - The majority of pharmaceutical manufacturers who have adopted the lean manufacturing model are not satisfied with their results according to a new survey, raising questions about the efficacy of a system popular in the automotive and hi-tech industries.
12-Sep-2006 - New research show that the outsourcing trend is set to drive the analytical laboratory market over the next seven years, however small labs are in danger of drowning in the process.
07-Sep-2006 - Thermo Electron introduces its rapid mixing accessory that is designed for use with Thermo's Evolution 300 UV-Vis spectrophotometer offering scientists reliable and precise measurement of fast reaction kinetics.
05-Sep-2006 - After selling a manufacturing plant in Texas to Cardinal Health two years ago, Adams Respiratory Therapeutics has reacquired the facility in order to produce its expectorant Mucinex (guaifenesin extended-release), responding to a 15-fold growth in sales in the last couple of years.
31-Aug-2006 - Seattle drug firm ZymoGenetics has taken Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) to court for infringement of its fusion protein technology patents by several products, including arthritis medication Orencia (abatacept).
30-Aug-2006 - Germany's Merck has announced its biggest investment in pharmaceuticals in its 338-year-old history, as its top-selling oncology drug Erbitux (cetuximab) has driven the company to allocate €190m for the construction of its first biopharmaceutical production plant at its headquarters in Darmstadt.
24-Aug-2006 - Thermo Electron has reported an operating profit growth of 26 per cent to $143.2m (€111.2m) and boosted its profit margin by three percentage points to 20 per cent in its second quarter results.
24-Aug-2006 - Fisher Scientific has reported a second-quarter pre-tax profit jump of 31 per cent to $146.1m (€113.4m), reflecting the success of recent acquisitions and operating initiatives.
24-Aug-2006 - Difficulties in identifying tablets have emerged as a major issue in a recent US survey of 150 pharmacists who are warning drugmakers that the lack of distinct appearance in pills leads in dispensing errors that cost more than 7,000 lives each year just in US hospitals.
23-Aug-2006 - Despite its consolidation, the competitive consumable sector still offers potential for rapid growth and better profits in the biopharmaceutical industry, while contract bioprocessing services will be increasingly in demand, according to a new market report by D&MD Publications titled "The Bioprocessing Industry - Increasing Capacity, Production, and Efficiency."
23-Aug-2006 - For the first time Merck has opened the doors of its under-construction manufacturing plant in North Carolina to public officials, boasting it will eventually contribute about two-thirds of its annual live-virus vaccine production.
22-Aug-2006 - A survey of eleven production plants of major drugmakers has revealed considerable variation in capacity utilisation, with the top performers being those who embrace automation and spend little on non-core activities.
22-Aug-2006 - Instrumentation provider ABgene has launched the first automated device for the opening and closing of screw caps on sample tubes that it claims is three times faster than the manual method.
22-Aug-2006 - Buoyed by lucrative biodefense contracts, Emergent BioSolutions has showcased a new large-scale vaccine production facility in Michigan which it will use to make Biothrax, the only vaccine approved in the US for the prevention of anthrax infection.
22-Aug-2006 - Optoelectronic specialist Opto Technology has launched a new low profile heater plate to be used for thermal reactions.