11-Jul-2006 - Abbott's Kaletra, the biggest-selling drug of a class of HIV medications known as protease inhibitors, has won the thumbs up from the European Commission with a melt extrusion formulation which enhances solubility, requires fewer processing steps, and, crucially, does not need to be refrigerated.
11-Jul-2006 - UK firm PowderMed has contracted US firm Althea Technologies to manufacture clinical supplies of its flu vaccine that can significantly speed up production.
10-Jul-2006 - An enzyme-based process operated by Lonza for the production of the major chiral building block for Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's best selling drug, has won its designer Codexis a top green chemistry award for its high yield, speed, efficiency and reduction of waste and purification equipment.
10-Jul-2006 - SR Pharma has recruited Genzyme, BioSpring and OctoPlus to formulate and manufacture its lead RNAi therapeutic product Atu027 to good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards, as its liposomal drug delivry system moves forward.
05-Jul-2006 - As America desperately waited for its influenza vaccines, Chiron had to deal with major quality control issues between July and October 2005 at its troubled vaccine manufacturing plant in Liverpool according to a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection report.
04-Jul-2006 - Sanofi pasteur's vaccine manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, where half of America's influenza vaccines are made, has been served with a warning letter by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking for measures to ensure batches of its flu shot ingredients do not become contaminated again.
04-Jul-2006 - Best Practices Research and Consulting have put together a toolkit to help pharma companies improve manufacturing quality assurance and efficiency.
29-Jun-2006 - French purification specialist Novasep has unveiled a new series of preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns that are ideally suited for the purification of any amount of product.
28-Jun-2006 - Hyclone has unveiled a new single-use bioreactor at the BioLOGIC exhibition in Amsterdam which promises the same performance with traditional stainless steel bioreactors but with the benefits of single use in which all the contact parts are discarded after use.
28-Jun-2006 - Microsoft has awarded Pfizer with its Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Innovation Award for its manufacturing management system which revolutionalises the scaling up and monitoring of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production, saving time and money.
27-Jun-2006 - As the shortage of cartridges of its injectable diabetes drug Byetta reaches critical levels, Amylin Pharmaceuticals is seeking to expand manufacturing capacity and is exploring a nasal spray formulation of the medicine with drug delivery firm Nastech.
27-Jun-2006 - Tests have begun on a new bird flu vaccine that its US developer MedImmune hopes will prove more effective and provide several advantages over current injectable flu vaccines in the event of a bird flu pandemic.
27-Jun-2006 - Alpharma has asked one of the largest manufacturers of bulk active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in China, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical, to help it double its capacity of making vancomycin.
22-Jun-2006 - Millipore has unveiled new disposable Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) assemblies that reduce validation efforts, increase process speed and mitigate risks.
22-Jun-2006 - The world's first drug made from a genetically engineered goat has been given the thumbs up in Europe after being initially rejected in February. The decision has reopened the door for "pharming," where transgenic animals or plants are used to make drugs.
21-Jun-2006 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has urged the pharma industry to develop preservative-free nasal sprays, however, there is currently a vacuum of manufacturers that can fulfil such a requirement.
21-Jun-2006 - Testing services and contract manufacturing firm Microtest has announced it will invest $7.5m (€6m) in new facilities to expand its offering of pharmaceutical and virology testing services and fill/finish production capacity.
21-Jun-2006 - Biotech company Genzyme Pharmaceuticals and drug delivery firm Brookwood Pharmaceuticals are now working together to create new ways of delivering peptide-based drugs.
20-Jun-2006 - Danish biotechnology firm Novozymes has acquired Delta Biotechnology from sanofi-aventis, looking to strengthen its bioprocessing expertise in enzymes and microorganisms with Delta's ability to manufacture recombinant proteins from baker's yeast.
20-Jun-2006 - Laureate Pharma is planning to invest up to $9m (€7.1m) to expand its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in New Jersey with a new pilot production plant, as it seeks more capacity to cope with increased demand from clients for protein-based products.
15-Jun-2006 - The first ever monoclonal antibody obtained starting from transgenic plants with the purpose of purifying a human vaccine has been registered with Cuban authorities, meaning cigars may not be the only application the country's tobacco is used for in the future.
15-Jun-2006 - Biotechnology firm SR Pharma has announced a technical breakthrough in the formulation of siRNA drugs, enabling them to be stored at room temperature and reconstituted in one simple step, thus extending shelf life and making administration easier.
14-Jun-2006 - BASF has announced it has managed to produce the chemical intermediate N-ethyldiisoproylamine (EDIPA), also known as Huenig's base, at a purity of at least 99.5 per cent, helping manufacturers to stay clear from undesirable side reactions in pharmaceutical production.
13-Jun-2006 - After receiving a grant of $3.9m (€3m) from the US government, British biotechnology firm Avecia has put together a consortium of four companies to develop a version of its anthrax vaccine with increased stability so it works without the need for the conventional cold chain.
13-Jun-2006 - US biotechnology firm Bio-Bridge Science, whose ambition is to develop an HIV vaccine, has finished major construction of a good manufacturing practice (GMP) research and manufacturing facility in Beijing.