The Challenge of Change - Managing Excipients Control
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US contract manufacturer Catalent Pharma Solutions has leveraged its partnership with Secure Symbology (SSI) for track and trace barcode technology to help biopharmaceutical company Biogen Idec comply with California's pending ePedigree law.
Allos Therapeutics, Inovio Biomedical, Cortegra and Genetix have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
At this week's Informex show in New Orleans, experts at a packed out session discussed the potential of up-and-coming continuous processing technologies and posed the question: is batch processing yesterday's technology?
Plexera Biosciences is hoping to leave its rivals in its wake following an exclusive option agreement for Auguron Biosciences' DNA-based protein chips.
UK firm Prosonix has teamed up with defence specialist Rafael, exclusively licensing the firm's ultrasonic particle engineering technology to bolster its position in the process chemistry market.
Disease treatments could be developed faster thanks to a new mathematical model that calculates how popular a protein is in terms of how likely another protein will want to associate with it.
Administrators are now trying to sell Jaycare, a UK custom manufacturer and supplier of rigid plastic packaging, medical devices and technical componentry to the pharma and healthcare industries, which has gone bust.
US researchers have developed a method of treating waste water that is effective in stripping out hormonal compounds thought to arise from the use and manufacturing of contraceptives and other pharmaceutical and industrial products.
Becton Dickinson has reported first quarter earnings that nearly doubled year-on-year - with sales driven on by the weak American currency and outweighing increased operating costs.
A controversial new theory on the origins of Alzheimer's has divided opinion in the medical world, but if proved right could 'revolutionise' treatment.
A non-destructive method of carrying out a series of tests on solid dosage forms, developed by UK firm Teraview, can be carried out in real time on the production line and could be used in continuous processing systems, according to a new study.
A new, non-invasive device for monitoring oxygen content in packaging and other enclosed containers has been launched by US optical sensing specialist Ocean Optics.
Clontech Laboratories is about to release its ProteoTuner System which can regulate the amount of protein in a cell and ought to be a powerful tool to analyse a protein's function.
Labcyte and Deerac Fluidics, which both make liquid handling devices, albeit for different low-volume ranges, have decided to merge and combine their technologies.
Unexpected contract downturns have resulted in Catalent Pharma Solutions having to lay off 100 workers at its soft gelatin capsules facility in St Petersburg, Florida.
Thermo Fisher Scientific aims to make automation in the drug discovery lab a whole lot easier through the development of an articulated robot specifically designed for pharmaceutical applications.
660 Pfizer employees are the latest casualties of the drug giant's failed bid to capture the diabetes market with its once-touted blockbuster, Exubera.
Merck & Co has expanded its licensing agreement with SurModics in a further endorsement of the latter's I-vation drug delivery system for eye diseases.
WaferGen has launched a new subsidiary in Kedah, Malaysia, with the express purpose of overseeing research and development of its real-time PCR system.
In any laboratory, or indeed in any pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, one of the major expenses will be solvents. And just like the price of petrol and diesel it just keeps going up and up. Huw Kidwell examines how a new recycling approach could keep costs down and help protect the environment to boot.
PerkinElmer post a 26 per cent rise in its Q4 profits, boosted by its laboratory and diagnostic equipment sales and confounding Wall Street expectations in the process. The company also expect 2008 first-quarter profit to top analyst estimates.
In the world of chemistry the majority of reactions are well known and have been around for a very long time producing similar compounds. It is not very often that a completely new reaction methodology comes along which can turn something like chiral chemistry on its head. However this is the case with a series of rhodium (II) based chiral catalysts developed by US researchers.
Another sharp decline in biomedical production saw overall manufacturing output in Singapore fall for the second month running in December, prompting fears that the heavily trade-reliant economy could buckle under a looming US recession.
The small but fast-growing biopharmaceutical ingredients (BPI) business of Denmark's Novozymes, the leading manufacturer of industrial enzymes worldwide, delivered a strong performance in 2007, with sales rising 67 per cent despite a sharp decline in the fourth quarter.
MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals secured a crucial endorsement for its Pulsys oral drug delivery system last week when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company's lead pipeline product, Moxatag, as a once-daily treatment for pharyngitis/tonsillitis in adults and adolescents.
Wyeth is the latest big pharma firm to warn that major job cuts are on the cards, amidst a series of drug approval setbacks and generic erosion on profits.
A new enterprise in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is establishing itself as the region's first pharmaceutical-focused third party logistics (3PL) provider.
Lonza has revealed a profit hike for the full year of 2007, reflecting the fruit of its "revised growth strategies" across its business units, said the firm, which also announced its "innovations" for future growth and the signing of a new Sanofi Pasteur deal.
Applied Biosystems has initiated a collaboration with Mettler Toledo with the intention of integrating their lab management software applications.
With the price of crude oil going up almost every day it is no surprise that this has a knock-on effect to the price of raw materials for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. But DSM and Roquette have developed a process that could avoid the reliance on crude oil for succinic acid, a simple but very useful pharmaceutical starting material, promising cheaper and greener supplies.
Codexis, NanoInk, HepaLife, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals and Calibrant Biosystems have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Tecan and PerkinElmer have taken the opportunity to showcase new plate reader products at LabAutomation 2008, firmly re-establishing themselves as major players in this popular and lucrative sector.
KBI Biopharma, Helix BioMedix and Azopharma have all recently announced new contract manufacturing news.
Google funded start up, 23andme, has now launched its gene tests and web-based analysis in Canada and Europe.
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals this week announced that is considering a possible sale or merger of the company, with 'multiple entities' apparently interested in the business.
US scientists have found a way of stopping quantum dots from 'blinking'. The resultant increase in light intensity could make them more useful in medical research.
Australia-based Invetech has committed itself to tackling the US market, opening up its first facility in the country - home of the world's largest drug industry.
French firm Novasep has significantly upped its capacity with a new high potency active pharmaceutical ingredient (HPAPI) plant at its facility in Le Mans, France.
The world's most powerful transmission electron microscope has been turned on in the US, with single-atom resolution bringing within reach the ability to analyse chemicals simply by looking at them.
Israeli generics behemoth Teva is following the market and banking on the promise of biologics with its purchase of Human Genome Sciences biotech spin-off, CoGenesys.
Vapourtec has made two new additions to its Flow Chemistry platform available as the company make headway in an emerging field, which aims to speed up laboratory processes in drug discovery.
An international consortium has begun an ambitious project to sequence the complete genomes of at least 1,000 people in order to learn more about the effect of genetics on disease.
Bosch Packaging has opened a new manufacturing facility in Goa, India, to cater to its growing customer base in the booming emerging market and increase sourcing for its European headquarters.
After seven months of offers, refusals and heated exchanges, it seems an increased offer from Roche has finally persuaded the powers that be at Ventana to sell up.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has revealed plans to close another site in Puerto Rico in its latest cost-cutting move.
Australian firm Fluorotechnics wants to bolster the sales of its proteomics products in Japan and so has signed up Osaka firm Wako Pure Chemical Industries to help.
Beckman Coulter has launched a four-year collaboration with Irish University NUI Galway in the hope of speeding up molecular diagnostic tests.
Canadian vaccine specialist ImmunoVaccine Technologies (IVT) has scored a multi-million dollar grant to go towards developing its potent immune enhancement systems.
GE Healthcare has reported its fourth quarter and full year financial results in a tough 12 months that have seen the laboratory imaging and diagnostics company feel the full force of US Government regulatory pressure.
Novartis has announced the US approval of its first-in-class blood pressure med Tekturna (aliskiren) combined with a diuretic in a single-tablet formulation.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering establishing a presence in India, amidst the country's growing ties with the US pharma industry.
Roche has announced major investments at three of its European sites, continuing its drive to strengthen its position in the biopharmaceutical market.
Icelandic generics firm Actavis is the proud new owner of Pfizer's manufacturing facility in Nerviano, Italy.
California-based Medegen has opened a new facility in Mexico to meet the 'heightened demand' for outsourced contract manufacturing.
In-PharmaTechnologist.com brings you a selection of recent headlines from around the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.
LabTechnologist.com brings you a round up of recent industry news, with developments at Activotec, Protagen, Caprotec Bioanalytics and PANalytical.
Outsourcing will be seen as being "instrumental" in the eyes of healthcare and biopharma firms this year as the focus on cost reduction continues to increase, according to a new report.
New UK Government proposals to scrap Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief will stifle life science innovation, according to a group of biotech small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
LabTechnologist.com brings you a round up of the latest product news and releases from Lonza, MIP Technologies and Supelco, Illumina, Cisbio, Bookham and Tecan.
Processing specialist Sartorius Stedim Biotech today announced a cooperation and supply deal with systems manufacturing firm Paul Mueller Company for the US market, with a production facility in Pennsylvania set to close as a result.
The European Commission has launched an investigation into the entire European pharmaceutical sector, with surprise raids on a number of manufacturers in a bid to unearth any evidence of foul-play hampering the launch of new medicines on the market.
Wyeth's manufacturing facility in Rouses Point, New York, has been spared the scrap heap, with yesterday's announcement that new pharma player Akrimax has bought up the beleaguered site.
Neurocrine, Mersana Therapeutics, ISPE and Nastech have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Scientists have discovered a technique that can ensure lab samples stay at the right pH, even when frozen and the discovery could bring into doubt previously published research.
UK separation technology specialists Whatman has confirmed it has received a number of preliminary approaches for the firm, sending its shares rocketing up.
Invitrogen has splashed the cash on a manufacturer of liver cell products that can be used to test a drug's potential toxicity and so avoid costly clinical failures.
SAFC is still on its expansion drive, with yet another multi-million dollar investment announced this week, this time at the company's niche biologics plant in Carlsbad, California.
Mere months after Pfizer's high profile exit from the inhaled insulin market in the wake of Exubera's much publicised market failure, Novo Nordisk announced late last night that it, too, has decided to halt development of its inhaled insulin product.
German firm Artes announced a new collaboration with Rhein Minapharm Biogenetics to develop three therapeutic proteins.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization has fired a broadside at French President Nicolas Sarkozy after he banned a GM corn crop without, it says, 'any scientific basis'.
AMRI, Pharmaceutics International, Celitrion and Gland Pharma have all recently generated new contract manufacturing news.
Cambrex' Swedish arm has agreed to purchase ProSyntest, an Estonian active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) research and development company.
A major grant has been awarded to a UK consortium working to develop predictive manufacturing tools for cell-based cancer vaccines.
Chemical and intermediates firm Lanxess has announced that its subsidiary Saltigo is the proud new owner of a site in Washington in the US, formerly used by Eli Lilly subsidiary, ICOS.
How do you build on what has been dubbed the 'scientific breakthrough of 2007'? Affymetrix believes it has the answer with its next-gen arrays.
Thousands of rodents lives will be saved each year after a specific animal test is being scrapped following a review by 18 pharmaceutical companies.
Diagnostics firm bioMérieux has announced plans to shift activities at its facility in the Netherlands to France, shutting down the Dutch site as it continues to haemorrhage cash.
US firms Multispan and Promega have paired up to develop assay tools for G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) screening, in the hope of speeding up drug discovery on these, the most popular protein targets in pharma.
BioAlliance Pharma has gained marketing authorisation for its novel muco-adhesive antifungal tablet in the UK and Denmark, triggering a €2.5m payment and marching on with the drug's launch across Europe.
Novartis has been keen to shout about data published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that backs up claims that it has developed the first vaccine to protect infants against the most common meningitis subgroups.
The world's generics titan, Teva, has reportedly earmarked over $1bn to fuel an ambitious plan to broaden its presence in India.
LabTechnologist.com brings you a round up of recent industry news, with developments at Advanced Cell Technology and Qiagen, Gene Bridges, Evotec and BioTek Instruments.
Draxis, Intertech Bio, Relypsa, Ikaria Holdings and BioReliance have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
LabTechnologist.com brings you a round up of the latest product news and releases from Millipore, Gen-Probe, WaferGen, Beckman Coulter, Lab M, Labcyte, NuGen Technologies and PerkinElmer.
Skin cancer detection specialists DermTech have decided to turn their hand to acne after signing an agreement with Stiefel Laboratories to identify spot-causing genes.
Roche today announced a handful of new charitable technology transfer agreements with manufacturers in Africa and Asia, allowing local production of generic HIV drugs.
Eli Lilly's once-a-day version of its erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment Cialis (tadalafil) has finally got the go ahead from US regulators, six months after approval in the EU.
Millipore has announced the first fruit of its collaboration with testing specialist Gen-Probe, with the launch of a new contaminant detection system for biopharmaceutical manufacturers.
Applied Biosystems (ABI) has teamed up with several service providers to increase scientists' access to its SOLiD genome analysis system and hopefully save them some money.
A starch-based film coating for nutraceuticals which can be tailored to manufacturer's needs is being developed through a strategic partnership by Roquette and Biogrund.
Drug delivery specialist Antares Pharma has landed its fourth deal with Israeli generics behemoth Teva, this time to develop a novel pen injector for two Teva products.
Numerous lives could be saved by a new blood test that can identify MRSA within two hours, instead of as many days, following its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Pfizer, Hyaluron Contract Manufacturing and DSM have all recently generated new contract manufacturing news.
Pharmacies in the UK would indeed be foolish to ignore new restrictions on nasal decongestants that will become law as of April 1, 2008.
Equipment manufacturing is one of the keys to helping India swell its portion of the global pharma pie, according to a new report from KPMG, so long as the sector does not remain so fragmented.
A recent report has detailed the challenges facing the pharma industry as the generic flood gates open, with the constant advice to start planning early still apparently not heeded by a bewildering number of firms.
Dutch firm Crucell last week announced that it has entered into an agreement with vaccine specialist Sanofi Pasteur for its next generation rabies antibody cocktail.
Although India 'has carved out a significant portion of the world pharma pie', an enormous change in mindset is needed if the country is to become a global pharmaceutical hub, according to a new report from KPMG.
The pharma industry spends almost twice as much promoting its drugs as it does trying to develop them, according to a new study.
Despite a two month extension of the PDUFA date by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Sciele and SkyePharma this week announced the approval of their controlled release formulation of high blood pressure drug Sular (nisoldipine).
A group of US researchers have developed a new computer model to study and design miniature biosensors, which could help life scientists perfect lab-on-a-chip technology.
Several pharmaceutical packaging players completed deals in time for the holidays, with Schott, Gerresheimer and Alcoa all announcing developments in the closing days of 2007.
A new technique that allows scientists to visualise protein dynamics in live cell cultures could help scientists fish out specific rare cells out of a sea of clones.
Barriers to innovation and technology transfer must be lowered if the US is to continue being a global leader in nanotechnology research and development in the future.
Applied Biosystems, Pharmos, Pearl Therapeutics, Pacira Pharmaceuticals and Covance have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
A team of US researchers have uncovered a cocktail of three drugs that could be effective at treating every patient with a particular type of brain cancer that typically has a dismal prognosis.
Merck & Co has handed the reins of one of its US active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facilities over to new a owner, who has also secured a lucrative contract manufacturing deal with the drug giant.
While GSK, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have hit the headlines in the UK Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) investigation into illegal bribes paid to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime, many more pharma firms are on the organisation's hit list.
Italy's Fine Foods has purchased a domestic contract manufacturer operating in the pharmaceutical arena, extending its presence in this industry.
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