Breaking News on Pharmaceutical Technology

Nycomed to acquire Bradley

Nycomed is to acquire Bradley Pharmaceuticals for $346m (€240m) in a bid to make a niche for itself in the dermatology market.

Once-weekly diabetes treatment looking good

A once-weekly Type II diabetes treatment has shown promise when compared to its twice-daily counterpart.

Covance posts healthy 3Q growth

Covance is feeling positive after reporting healthy growth in both business units for the third quarter, with its early phase segment continuing to have the edge over its late stage unit.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: people on the move

Pfizer, Savient Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, NPS Pharmaceuticals and MicroCHIPS have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Outsourcing-Pharma.com special focus

Inyx drama highlights crucial need for due diligence on contractors

There are lessons to be learned about the importance of rigorous due diligence of pharma contractors, now that Inyx' customers are facing possible supply issues and a scramble to find alternative manufacturers after the firm's collapse.

Premature ejaculation spray coming to clinical climax

A nifty spray-on solution could make all the difference for men plagued with the problem of climaxing too soon, as the product makes its final thrust in clinical development.

Thermo continues fishing in India

Thermo Fisher Scientific continues to fish for new opportunities in India and has begun setting up a new clinical services base in the country.

Outsourcing-Pharma.com special focus

Karma for big pharma? Sanofi-Aventis caught out by Inyx collapse

Sanofi-Aventis has had to take Inyx USA to court after it failed to deliver on a contract manufacturing and supply agreement, a situation that Aventis feared could "seriously harm its interests". There may be important lessons to be learned for all of big pharma.

Big pharma reaches to Summit for zebrafish safety screening

Summit (formerly VASTox) has signed a $450,000 (€312,000) deal with one of the world's top five pharma firms to enable it to use Summit's zebrafish-platform in its drug safety programme.

Explosions at two pharma plants

Two pharmaceutical companies have faced explosions at their plants in the last week, local media reported.

Bayer banishes high dose MS drug

Bayer Schering Pharma this week announced that it has scrapped plans to introduce a double-dose version of its top-selling multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Betaferon (interferon beta-1b) by the end of the year following disappointing trial results from its BEYOND study.

Another safety scare for Roche

In another safety concern over a long-approved drug, Roche has been forced to add new warnings to its anti-transplant rejection drug CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil (MMF)) amid the news that it is associated with increased risk of miscarriage and congenital birth defects.

Survey asks: what to do about counterfeit drugs?

Action should be taken to curb the counterfeit drug trade, but not via legal intervention, the results of a European survey say.

Major Singapore investment for Novartis

Swiss pharma Novartis today announced the largest manufacturing investment in its history, revealing plans for a $700m (€486.5m) biotech facility to be built alongside its new solid dose plant in the low cost, high quality biopharma hub of Singapore.

Europe's latest drug recommendations

Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) today released the report from its October meeting, with highlights including GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia (rosiglitazone), Atripla (efavirenz, emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil), clobutinol cough products and biosimilar approvals.

Contact lenses for drug delivery

Investigations into the use of contact lenses as a drug delivery system have been recommended in a review article.

Pfizer to cut another 200 jobs

Pfizer is already cutting jobs in relation to its failed Exubera with the announcement that some 200 jobs are to go at the drug giant's Portage and Kalamazoo sites, according to local media reports.

Contract manufacturing news in brief

Novavax, Cobra Biomanufacturing, Catalent Pharma Solutions, and Suven Life Sciences have all recently announced new contract manufacturing news.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: news in brief

In-PharmaTechnologist.com brings you a selection of other headlines from the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

GSK axe begins to fall

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been swift in implementing its plant cuts, already announcing the first sites to be axed mere hours after revealing its restructuring plans.

Singapore's output down

Figures released today reveal a slow-down in Singapore's pharmaceutical manufacturing output compared to this time last year.

Gardasil vs Cervarix - winner gets UK supply contract

The race is on between cervical cancer vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix as they begin to battle it out to win a more than £100m a year supply contract with the UK Department of Health.

GSK to strip down through outsourcing and offshoring

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is planning to strip itself down closer to the bare bones of the business through further outsourcing and offshoring, with hopes of making itself into a lean, mean, pharma machine.

Sigma-Aldrich set to break $2bn yearly sales barrier

Sigma-Aldrich continued its strong year with both revenues and pre-tax profits showing strong double-digit growth in the third quarter predicting it will break the $2bn (€1.4bn) revenue mark this year.

Pharmaceutical patent round-up

In-PharmaTechnologist.com brings you an update of pharmaceutical patent litigations.

GSK cut down by Avandia scare

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has emerged as the latest pharma firm to announce closures and job cuts along with its third quarter results, yet another casualty of generic competition and product safety scares.

Wockhardt makes latest US move

Indian generics specialist Wockhardt is continuing its drive to strengthen its foothold in the US market, snapping up US firm Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals.

BioSPM drives JPK into 'Technology Fast 50'

Scanning probe microscope (SPM) maker, JPK Instruments has been named as Germany's fastest growing nanotechnology company in accounting firm Deloitte's 'Technology Fast 50'.

Illumina's revenue soars as Affymetrix sues again

Illumina's third quarter revenues soared 82 per cent while Affymetrix looked to bolster its slice of the genetics market by filing more patent infringement claims against the young pretender.

Almac to take on US with $100m

Contract manufacturer Almac has set its sights on establishing a new US headquarters and has set aside $100m (€70m) for the purpose.

MannKind all but shuts the door on Pfizer

MannKind Corporation needs an outside boost to get its inhaled insulin off the ground, but the likelihood of that partner being Pfizer is a 'very long shot', the president of the company says.

WHO flu vaccine forecast an underestimate

The forecast that 4.5 billion doses of pandemic influenza vaccine could be produced by 2010 is an underestimate, according to GlaxoSmithKline.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: people on the move

Novartis, Immunosyn, Alpharma and Cegedim Dendrite have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Bentley to separate its two businesses

Bentley Pharmaceuticals has announced it is planning to split in two in a bid to bolster its two business divisions.

Pfizer's cost-cutting focus no 'Kindler surprise'

As it faces an increasingly uncertain financial future, Pfizer's reaffirmation that it plans to retain its focus on cutting costs, including outsourcing and offshoring, comes as no 'Kindler surprise', unlike the firm's decision to suddenly walk away from its market failure Exubera.

Global pact to fight fakes

A major new trade agreement aiming to combat counterfeiting has been proposed by representatives of a number of key markets, including the US, EU and several other countries worldwide.

Inhaled insulin: make or break?

Eli Lilly is remaining optimistic about its yet-to-be-approved inhaled insulin despite the dramatic downfall of Pfizer's Exubera. But is Exubera's fall from grace an indication of things to come for inhaled diabetes treatments?

Outsourcing-Pharma.com special focus

Inyx Pharma gets new life; Ashton awaits fate

Inyx Pharma has been given a new lease on life after it was bought by another UK firm, bringing relief after it was dragged into administration when its US parent company Inyx Inc. ran aground financially.

Icon living up to its name

Icon is living up to its name, according to a recent contract research organisation (CRO) survey, which also recognised Quintiles and PPD in terms of quality performance.

Inhalers failing asthmatics

Complicated inhaler devices are failing patients according to a recent report, with tricky mechanisms and techniques resulting in low drug delivery and poor disease management.

DepoDur gets the nod for Australia

Pacira Pharmaceutical's modified-release formulation of morphine has been approved for marketing in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Vitamin B12 the key to oral insulin?

Pfizer may have given up on its non-injectable insulin, but researchers in the US think they may have cracked a way to deliver the hormone orally, linking it up to vitamin B12 to protect it through the digestive system.

King trims its court following Altace about-turn

King Pharmaceuticals last week announced that it would be cutting 20 per cent of its workforce after the US Court of Appeals reversed a previous court ruling and invalidated a patent covering the firm's blood pressure drug, Altace (ramipril).

Topical Voltaren Gel gets the nod

Novartis has received US approval for its osteoarthritis pain gel - the first for a topical prescription treatment for the indication.

EU drug regulations not good enough, says report

The European Medicines Agency is prejudiced in favour of big pharma and EU drug regulations need an overhaul, a new report says.

Capacity doubled for fishy pharmaceutical

Danish firm Pronova BioPharma announced this morning that it is to double manufacturing capacity for its marine-derived active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), following increased demand for its omega-3 based drug.

Weekly Comment

Pfizer partners in shock after surprise Exubera exit

We've all cringed at stories of people dumping their partners via text message but in the world of business, Pfizer seems to have taken things to a new level when its Exubera partners were allegedly left to find out the product was being scrapped through a press release.

Pfizer counts the cost of Exubera, Nektar suffers

With yesterday's perhaps unsurprising news that Pfizer has cut its losses and pulled out of the inhaled insulin market by dropping Exubera and giving up on second generation devices, the world's biggest pharma firm is in the process of scrabbling to get back on track and reaffirm its position at the top of the tree.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: news in brief

In-PharmaTechnologist.com brings you a selection of other headlines from the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

Revival of honey as wound healer

The use of honey as a wound healer is making a comeback and according to a new report surgeons should be considering the kitchen pantry as an alternative to the drugs cupboard.

Viracept back on the market in selected countries

Roche heard early this morning that the European Commission (EC) has decided to reinstate the marketing authorisation for the company's HIV drug, Viracept (nelfinavir), but countries outside the EU have yet to make a final decision.

Online social networking a treasure trove for pharma

Pfizer's unprecedented move to network with physicians online has been described as a 'watershed moment' for the pharmaceutical industry by the chief executive of the social networking site Pfizer has joined to.

Galenica acquires Aspreva

Swiss pharmaceutical and logistics company Galenica is to acquire Canadian pharmaceutical company Aspreva Pharmaceuticals for $915m (€645.2m).

Big players boosting 3PL clout

Three big industry names have been busily bolstering their pharma logistics clout: Thermo Fisher Scientific, UPS and Kuehne+Nagel.

Guarding against the misuse of synthetic genomics

A new report has outlined a series of recommendations for government policymakers to help mitigate the potential risks of the burgeoning synthetic genomics area.

Fingerprinting the structure of pharmaceuticals

A new solid-state proton NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) technique has been developed that can quickly determine polymorphism of active pharmaceuticals within tablet formulations.

Novartis suffers from generics, cuts jobs

Novartis has turned in its results for the first nine months of the year, with income gnawed at by generic competition and product suspensions, but still claiming record earnings helped along by divestment gains.

Next gen cancer prodrug to challenge Pfizer's Camptosar

French firm Diatos has created a second generation irinotecan cancer therapy using its patented peptide-based drug delivery system, coming up with a drug that has greatly improved efficacy and safety profile compared to current irinotecan drugs such as Pfizer's Camptosar.

Pfizer abandons ship as Exubera sinks

Pfizer revealed today that it is abandoning its once-touted blockbuster Exubera, ending months of speculation as to whether the fledging world-first inhalable insulin would sink or swim in the fierce waters of pharma.

Epicept screening for cancer 'executioner'

Epicept's ASAP screening platform examines levels of a cell 'executioner' in order to get its cancer drugs into the clinic faster.

INC Research bags lucrative development grant

INC has bagged local development funding that could be worth nearly $15m (€10.5m) for the firm over a number of years.

Meldex moves in Germany, inks new deal

Growing demand has prompted tableting specialist Meldex International, formerly BioProgress, to launch a new sales and distribution hub in Germany, with the UK firm also announcing a new manufacturing contract for its XGel film.

Contract manufacturing news in brief

Microbix Biosystems, PacificGMP and Insulet have all recently announced new contract manufacturing news.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: people on the move

ViRexx, Aesica, Velcura Therapeutics, Helix BioPharma and Avalon Pharmaceuticals have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Gerresheimer expects more growth

A worldwide growth in the sales of pharmaceutical bottles, and in the pharma sector in general, has had a positive impact on packaging company Gerresheimer's financial results.

New lollipop is a sucker for pain management

Sucking a lollipop before having an endoscope placed down your throat is looking like the sweet treat for pain relief, according to new research.

Pfizer gets chatty with docs online

Pfizer has gone where no pharmaceutical company has gone before - a social networking website.

US dragging its heels on biosimilars, says report

The US is woefully lagging behind the EU when it comes to approving biosimilars, a new report says.

Roche results up on oncology portfolio

Roche announced its third quarter financials today, with its portfolio of oncology products such as Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab) performing strongly, and helping off-set the massive 60 per cent drop in Tamiflu (oseltamivir) sales.

Orexo buys Biolipox for pain pipeline

Drug formulation and delivery specialist Orexo has decided it has had enough of improving established drugs and wants to develop its own, so has bought speciality pharma firm Biolipox.

Industry news in brief - week 42

LabTechnologist.com brings you its periodic round up of industry news, with developments at Affymetrix Labs, AlphaSniffer, Corning, DNAPrint Genomics, Illumina and Rules-Based Medicine.

Results: 2007 European outsourcing awards

The ten winners of the European outsourcing awards for 2007 were finally unveiled at the recently-held CPhI trade show in Milan.

Crucell up on MedImmune deal

Following the shaky moment Crucell experienced last month after the failure of Merck's HIV drug, share prices had a healthy boost this morning on the news that MedImmune will be collaborating with the Dutch firm to develop new antibodies for hospital acquired infections.

Indian firm takes over German biologics plant

An Indian firm has taken over the contract biologics manufacturing business of German corporation Siegfried.

Moss protein factories scaled up

Normally, they are green, sort of spongy and found in dank nooks and crannies - but mosses have now been designed as therapeutic protein producing factories and are being implemented on a grand scale.

Improved infrastructure key to cheaper drugs

Improving the technology infrastructure of drug development could save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a new US government study, with the ultimate winners being patients.

Paving the way to next generation biologics

As biologic drugs become ever more prominent, Avecia Biologics is winning plaudits for its advanced protein expression system pAVEway, gaining recognition from international industry experts and investing to meet increased demand.

Patch-based travel vaccine looks good

The first vaccine for travellers' diarrhoea is looking promising after the announcement of Phase II results.

Cough and cold products for under-twos recalled

Several big drug-makers are voluntarily recalling some of their cough and cold products for under-two-year-olds in the US as a precautionary measure against overdosing on the drugs.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: news in brief

In-PharmaTechnologist.com brings you a selection of other headlines from the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

Best biopharma bosses

There have been a few changes in the top ten employers according to leading journal Science's annual survey of the best companies to work for in the biotech, biopharma, pharmaceutical and related industries.

Boehringer UK plant 'couldn't compete'

Boehringer Ingelheim has been forced to announce the planned closure of a UK manufacturing site as a result of pricing pressures that mean the firm is unable to produce unit dose vials (UDVs) at the site cost-effectively.

India's Indoco pursuing the West

Indian contract formulations specialist Indoco has been actively angling itself to compete more heartily in the western market.

UCB opens Irish facility

UCB is a wee bit excited after the opening of its newly expanded Irish facility, which will manufacture the company's overactive bladder drug, anticipated to be launched within the next two years.

Avecia takes on new MS drug

Avecia Biologics has signed a development and manufacturing deal with US firm BaroFold, making use of the company's protein processing technology to produce its lead interferon-based multiple sclerosis (MS) candidate.

It's a NanoDrop for Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired micro-volume UV-Vis (ultra violet visible) instrument manufacturer NanoDrop Technologies for an undisclosed amount.

Lab-on-a-chip enables cell-free protein synthesis

Researchers have developed a new microfluidic device that enables high-throughput (HT), cell-free protein synthesis for genomic and proteomic functional analysis.

Ertl wins Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Professor Gerhard Ertl of the Max-Planck Society in Berlin, Germany, has won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on his 71st birthday for his 'groundbreaking studies in surface chemistry'.

Emergent BioSolutions moves forward with typhoid vaccine

Emergent BioSolutions is on the path to finding gold with its typhoid vaccine following positive results in a Phase II trial.

Cosmo lands partner for world-first drug

Italian firm Cosmo Pharmaceuticals today announced a licensing agreement with Ferring for its reformulated budesonide product, predicted to be the first oral corticosteroid for ulcerative colitis approved worldwide.

Docetaxel head to head

Two manufacturers launched their docetaxel products at CPhI last week, each trying to stake their claim in the market in anticipation of patent expiries on Sanofi-Aventis' Taxotere (docetaxel) towards the end of the year.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: people on the move

GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Nastech Pharmaceutical Company, Covalon Technologies and Invivi Technologies have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

GE Healthcare introduces new bioprocessing products

UK-based GE Healthcare is introducing nine new product lines for biopharmaceutical production.

AMRI embraces India

US-based contract manufacturer AMRI has been busily embracing India with the purchase and construction of infrastructure to cement itself in this popular location, delegates heard at this year's CPhI in Milan.

China luring preclinical players

China is one of the best destinations to outsource preclinical work, delegates heard at this year's CPhI trade how in Milan.

Drug delivery sponging the nanoscale

Forget the washing up, the sponge could soon be used to deliver drugs - but on the nanoscale.

Dr Reddy's beefs up quality image

India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories has become the first company in the world to receive a new verification mark for two of its products, it was announced last week at the CPhI trade show in Milan.

Univar fills EU phosphate gap

Dutch chemicals and excipients distributor Univar has hooked up with US manufacturer Innophos to provide the EU pharmaceutical market with its entire portfolio of excipients, helping to fill the gap left by the departure of Rhodia from the phosphate market.

Weekly Comment

'We are not anti-Asia' says EU chemicals body

There have been more calls this month to tighten regulations on pharmaceutical ingredient suppliers in the wake of the recent safety concerns emanating from low-cost regions such as China and India. However, despite having recently established a dedicated 'China Taskforce', a major EU chemicals consortium insists that it has nothing against the region or its manufacturers.

FDA backs tablet imaging tech

UK-based TeraView has had its tablet imaging technology backed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following a study by the regulatory agency.

US firm unveils new cell culture services

US drug discovery firm BioProcessors has unveiled a new range of cell culture services to assist in biopharmaceutical process development.

Bavarian Nordic meets milestones

Denmark-based Bavarian Nordic has received an advance payment of $50m (€35.4m) from the US Government for meeting milestones in one of its smallpox vaccine supply contracts.

Proteomics shows 3D cell cultures are better than 2D

German researchers have shown 3D cell structures better resemble tumour phenotypes than traditional cultures, suggesting they will make better models for testing new anticancer agents.

Weekly Comment

Pharmaceuticals is top R&D spender

As an increasingly desperate pharma industry strives to fill drug pipelines, the sector has, for the first time, topped a poll of which industries spend the most on research and development.

Novo to sell off its NNE engineering unit

Denmark's Novo Nordisk, could be on the verge of selling off its engineering division, if reports in the local business daily Borsen are to be believed.

FDA generics initiative waste of money?

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association has questioned a new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiative as possibly "throwing money down the drain".

Novartis osteoporosis drug gets EU nod

Swiss pharma Novartis has got the thumbs up from the EU for its once-yearly treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Excipients unregulated and unacceptable

The European Fine Chemicals Group (EFCG) has called for stricter regulation of pharmaceutical excipients in a bid to prevent substandard and potentially dangerous products ending up in medicinal drugs.

Three more nailed in fake drugs scandal

Three more individuals have been sentenced following last month's exposure of the largest counterfeit drugs conspiracy ever to be encountered in the UK.

GSK seeks WHO backing for cervical cancer vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline is seeking prequalification status from the World Health Organisation for its new cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix, in a bid to speed up its availability to developing countries.

Amgen indefinitely postpones Irish plant

Amgen has announced the 'indefinite postponement' on plans for its $1bn (€0.71bn) manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland, following further navel gazing by the company.

Chilli hot on easing pain

An ingredient in chillies could form the basis of a new pain management formulation without creating numbness, researchers in the US have found.

Genzyme gets slapped on the wrist by FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a letter to Genzyme to warn it about manufacturing issues at its biomanufacturing facility in Lyon, France.

Tamiflu waste could create drug resistant flu viruses

The excessive use of a popular influenza drug, and the associated build up of its waste in the environment, is heightening the risk of creating viruses in nature that are resistance to the therapy.

Bayer, Biocon discuss potential R&D and outsourcing deal

German pharma firm Bayer is currently discussing with Indian company Biocon about a potential deal that would include the co-development of new biologics with an outsourcing element, according to Biocon.

Price of FMC cellulose skyrockets

FMC BioPolymer has been forced to raise the price of its pharmaceutical grade cellulose by up to eight per cent to meet market pressures.

Granulation technology launched

Finland-based Atacama Labs has launched its proprietary technology system for developing solid oral dosage forms.

Horiba illuminates protein interactions

Horiba Jobin Yvon's protein interaction analyser, which can analyse up to 400 biomolecular interactions in 10 minutes, made its UK debut at the L.A.B. show on Tuesday.

Polyclonal antibodies developed in transgenic chickens

The era of human polyclonal antibodies has dawned as efforts get underway to produce the next generation therapeutics in transgenic chickens.

SAFC bets on drug conjugates with new manufacturing suite

SAFC has announced its plans to build a new high potency conjugation suite at its Missouri manufacturing plant in order to target pharma clients developing novel anti-cancer drug conjugates.

BMS takeover speculation mounts, again

Investors in Bristol-Myers Squibb were in a frisson of excitement earlier this week as speculation mounted - not for the first time - that the firm could soon become the target of a major pharmaceutical acquisition.

Sprinkles help the medicine go down

US regulators have found a new 'hundreds and thousands'-like drug treatment to be very palatable.

Sperm stopped in their tracks by vaginal gel contraceptive

Forget diamonds, a new vaginal gel contraceptive could be the 21st Century girl's new best friend with the ability to be applied up to 18 hours before a naughty rendezvous.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing: people on the move

Mylan, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, VaxGen, Osprey Pharmaceuticals, Bioject Medical Technologies, and Othera Pharmaceuticals have all had people on the move in the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Genzyme, Bioenvision merger on the rocks

A major shareholder in Bioenvision could seriously compromise the biotech company's proposed $345m (€242m) takeover by Genzyme as it is preparing to vote against the merger arguing the offer is too low.

Discovery Labs finally sorts out manufacturing issues

Discovery Laboratories could see the end of its struggle to launch its Surfaxin (lucinactant) drug on the US market as it has finally resolved the manufacturing issues that have plagued the product for months.

Weekly Comment

FDA told its safety monitoring of clinical trials not good enough

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been called into question again after the release of a damning report, this time suggesting the agency is inadequate in its safety monitoring of clinical trials.

Drug theft costs industry up to $1bn a year

Pharmaceutical companies not only have to face the consequences of a burgeoning counterfeit drug black market but have to contend with the theft of their own manufactured drugs for illicit uses, according to a US consumer advocacy group.

Mitsubishi/Tanabe merger makes Japan's fifth biggest drugmaker

The merger between Mitsubishi Chemical Holding's pharmaceutical unit and Tanabe Seiyaku has been completed and the new entity is looking to expand its presence outside Japan and create a more efficient R&D and manufacturing machine.

One in the eye for systemic therapy

TheraKine and Capsulution NanoScience are collaborating to develop new drug delivery systems to aid in the treatment of serious eye diseases.

Contract manufacturing news in brief

Baxter, LifeCyte, arGentis and Pfizer CentreSource have all recently announced new contract manufacturing deals.

Pfizer's Nigerian court trial over Trovan scandal to kick off

Pfizer will appear this week in a Nigerian court to face allegations that it caused the death of Nigerian children over a decade ago when it conducted a clinical trial of its meningitis drug Trovan (trovafloxacin) in the country.

Batches binned in new production tech link up

Novartis has hooked up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to fund a project aimed at 'revolutionising' pharmaceutical manufacturing and doing away with traditional batch-based production techniques.

Novartis diabetes drug gets thumbs up in EU

Novartis's potential Type II diabetes blockbuster has been given the green light in the EU after receiving approval.

DSM accelerates its new image

DSM has announced the conclusions for the company's complete overhaul as it accelerates the shift to a life sciences and materials sciences company.