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'No link' between autism and mercury-containing vaccines

16-May-2007 - The debate on the status of thimerosal in vaccines has reared its head again after a new study concludes there is no link between autism and the mercury preservative in vaccines.

Albemarle moves operations to newly bought DSM plant; cuts staff

16-May-2007 - US contract manufacturer Albemarle has announced it will move operations of its pilot plant in Ohio to its recently acquired manufacturing facility in Michigan.

Production hitch stems US supply of ProQuad combination vaccine

15-May-2007 - Lower than expected yields of varicella zoster virus (VZV) have forced Merck & Co to run down US supplies of ProQuad, its all-in-one children's vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella (German measles) and varicella (chickenpox).

Midatech nanoparticles aiming for the clinic in 2008

14-May-2007 - Midatech, the UK group exploring the therapeutic and diagnostic applications of nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles, scaffolds for synthetic vaccines or antibiotics and non-invasive imaging agents, is hoping to put its first product into clinical trials in 2008.

Wyeth facility gets FDA OK

10-May-2007 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Wyeth's Puerto Rico manufacturing facility the all clear following a recent re-inspection of the plant.

Thermo Fisher Scientific launches new cell media

10-May-2007 - Two new cell growth media for human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells have been launched to aid the discovery and production of various biological drugs.

BASF raises production capacity for THF intermediate

10-May-2007 - BASF is boosting by 30,000 tons its annual production capacity for the chemical intermediate tetrahydrofuran (THF) at the group's site in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Germany's BfR pushes for single-generation reprotoxicity test under REACH

10-May-2007 - Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung/BfR) has launched an initiative that it believes could reduce by as many as 2.8m the number of laboratory animals needed to test chemicals for reproductive toxicity under the EU's new REACH regulation.

Do-Coop hits DMF, cGMP milestones for water-based nanotechnology

09-May-2007 - Do-Coop Technologies, an Israeli company that uses nanotechnology to create an equivalent of intracellular water as a medium for enhancing existing chemical and biological reagents, reactions and processes, has announced two "significant milestones" for its proprietary Neowater platform.

New pandemic flu vaccine gets EU approval

09-May-2007 - A new human vaccine to be used in the case of a flu pandemic has gained approval in the EU. The Novartis vaccine, Focetria, will be manufactured containing the offending virus should the World Health Organization's warning system rise to a level 6 alert, signifying that a pandemic has taken hold.

Amylin raises investment in long-acting Byetta facility to $400 million

08-May-2007 - Amylin Pharmaceuticals is expanding significantly on the US manufacturing facility it is building in West Chester, Ohio for a long-acting version of its injectable diabetes drug Byetta (exenatide).

EMEA launches GMP database

08-May-2007 - An online database detailing information on all manufacturing and importation certificates and authorisations issued within the European medicines network has been launched by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

Big bucks for BMS biologics base

03-May-2007 - Construction has finally begun on Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMS) new biologics manufacturing facility in Massachusetts, with the company upping its original investment estimates for construction from $660m (€485.7m) to $750m.

BioProgress unveils FastWrap technology for rapid tablet disintegration

03-May-2007 - Specialty pharmaceutical and healthcare company BioProgess has come up with another twist on its tablet coating technology, TabWrap.

Prosonix wins award for SAX

03-May-2007 - Prosonix and Bath University in the UK have won the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) Innovation award for the development of a tool that enables the manufacture of crystalline pharmaceuticals of specific sizes.

SAFC completes protein purification capacity expansion

03-May-2007 - SAFC Pharma, the contract manufacturing arm of Sigma-Aldrich, has announced it has completed the construction of two protein active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facilities at its US manufacturing site.

New hope for TB with nano drug delivery

02-May-2007 - South African researchers have provided a glimmer of hope for the millions of people in the developing world struck down by tuberculosis (TB) by developing a nano-sized drug delivery platform that could make all the difference in the battle against drug resistant forms of the disease.

Novo Nordisk ploughs $200m into Brazilian insulin plant

02-May-2007 - Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is investing $200 million (€146.5m) in a major expansion of its insulin production facilities in Montes Claros, Brazil.

Carbenes offer new route to amino compounds

30-Apr-2007 - Chemists have found a way of activating ammonia that could have important implications for pharmaceutical research and development.

US biotech drug spending rises while Congress debates 'biogenerics' law

26-Apr-2007 - Biologic drugs are expected to account for over a quarter of overall drug spending in the US by 2010, new research has revealed, and clearing the path for generic versions of these drugs could be a solution to controlling rising national healthcare costs.

Roche updates on flu manufacturing; expands US unit

26-Apr-2007 - Roche gave an update on its manufacturing of influenza drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) today, saying that while it had reached its target capacity of 400 million doses a year, demand is running much lower.

OctoPlus broadens rights to PolyActive delivery technology

26-Apr-2007 - Dutch company OctoPlus has extended its rights to the PolyActive delivery technology used in its lead drug candidate Locteron, based on interferon alfa.

Roquette wins US patent for StarLac in novel dosage form

25-Apr-2007 - French company Roquette has been awarded a US patent for a dissolve-in-the-mouth drug delivery technology that makes use of its novel StarLac excipient.

New Novozymes unit backs animal-free protein production

24-Apr-2007 - Denmark's Novozymes has set up a dedicated business unit in the UK to make and sell ingredients that support companies wanting to produce biopharmaceuticals without using animal-derived constituents.

DelSite smells success for novel flu vaccine

23-Apr-2007 - A nasal powder flu vaccine is one step closer as DelSite Biotechnologies announces that it has found an antigen to use with its novel drug delivery system.

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