DSM Biologics says successful XD tech expansion paves way for smaller bioreactors that lowers cost of production facilities and, ultimately, of bio-drug manufacture.
CMO Goodwin Biotechnology Inc (GBI) is collaborating with Hyprocell to help clients that need manufacturing services but have a sub-optimal cell line producing low concentrations.
The incoming Xcellerex CEO plans to move the company from validation to penetration, boosting revenues and client base, and invest in the contract manufacturing side of the business.
ACRO is aiming to increase recognition and analysis of the value CROs bring to drug development, spanning their role as strategic partners throughout the process, by funding academic research.
Microfluidics chose Interphex 2010 in New York, US to unveil a new processing technology that it claims can help manufacturers save time and money by switching from batch to continuous particle production.
ATMI is using Interphex 2010 to launch the Integrity PadReactor, a disposable bioreactor designed to provide a highly scalable entry point in its line of mixing and process manufacturing systems.
Ajinomoto AminoScience has launched AjiPhase, a peptide synthesis service which makes it practical and efficient to produce and scale up products that were previously considered too complex.
A project bringing together researchers from academia and pharma companies, including GSK and AZ, has received a £709,000 ($1.09m) grant to create crystals using continuous flow production.
Rising use of biologics and a tax initiative will drive the streamlining of Indian supply chains, helping companies to deliver drugs at affordable prices, according to PwC.
DiscoveRx has added GPCR platforms to its portfolio, enhancing its ability to provide information on a compound’s mode of action, activated receptor recycling and efficacy in animal models.
The drug industry will gain new options for sterile contract development and manufacturing in the near future with DPT Laboratories, NextPharma and Vetter each working on new dedicated units.
Contract manufacturing organization (CMO) ScinoPharm says strong anticancer API sales and growing demand in Europe and Asia were key to record performance in 2009.
PPD has added capabilities at the facility acquired from Merck & Co and improved integration of other sites to create its Vaccines & Biologics Center of Excellence, a single provider of multiple laboratory services.
IRL and Epichem have entered into a strategic alliance to provide the Australasian pharma market with services from drug discovery through to cGMP production.
Affinity Life Sciences and JSW Life Sciences have entered into a strategic partnership to bolster their contract research and manufacturing capabilities.
Industrial filtration specialist Pall and testing firm Sotax say their new co-marketing deal is only first stage of planned pharmaceutical industry certification solutions partnership.
CRO NexMed says new data from preclinical trials show that its NexACT delivery technology can act as a sustained release “depot” for drugs like insulin and taxol.
Millipore has expanded its microbial detection offering with Milliflex Quantum which, it says, enables manufacturers to respond to contamination issues earlier in the drug and vaccine production process.
Compugen has developed a computer-based, in silico system which can assist drug delivery research by identifying peptides that have the potential to penetrate cell membranes.
Drug researchers will have greater access to some top selling molecules, including currently patented compounds atorvastatin, sildenafil and celecoxib, thanks to Sigma Aldrich’s new bioactives deal with US drug major Pfizer.
The Chinese government is supporting a $100m (€73m) project to build a contract biologics production facility in Beijing, which, by some measures, would be the largest in Asia.
Pharmadule AB is creating a complete modular biologics production facility, which will be 80 per cent completed in its workshop before delivery, to Lithuania-based Silcor Biotech by 2011.
Glycos Biotechnologies has produced lactic acid in a pilot plant using its sustainable technique, successfully scaling up from a laboratory setting to provide an alternate source for the chiral synthon.
Wacker Chemie AG has expanded its biologics production facility, adding GMP manufacturing capacity and a process development building in response to customer demand.
New Synthemax synthetic growth matrix promises improved scalability for large-scale hESC production which, say developers Geron and Corning, will cut cost of cell therapy manufacture.
Asterand has gained GLP accreditation at its UK lab, enabling it to support regulatory submissions and furthering its goal of becoming a fully integrated human tissue service provider.
German pharmaceutical firm Merck KGaA says proposed Millipore acquisition will transform its chemicals unit and give it a more balanced business profile.
SAFC Pharma is preparing for the shift towards cell culture-based vaccines, while still supplying and growing in the traditional sector, to ensure it can grow in coming years, according to a company director.
Lek has opened a 430m² modified protein manufacturing facility in Slovenia to produce epoetin alfa drug substance for use in the biosimilars marketed by its parent company, Sandoz.
The FDA has issued Eli Lilly with a warning letter detailing a significant deviation from cGMP at its API production facility in Puerto Rico, which makes ingredients used in Humalog (insulin lispro), a diabetes treatment.
Codexis’ enzymatic biocatalysis technology offers numerous processing and cost advantages for API and chemical intermediate manufacture says Dishman CRAMS unit president Nick Green.
Revenues fell 3 per cent in 2009 at SAFC but pharmaceutical sector demand for vaccine manufacturing products helped firm finish year with six months of growth.
Rusnano, the group set up to promote Russia’s nanotechnology infrastructure, says nanodrug development partnership will improve patient access and cut cancer death rates across the country.
Parexel has formed an alliance with Proteome Sciences to enhance its biomarker capabilities, allowing it to help clients make earlier assessments of new compounds in development.
US CDMO Avrio Biopharmaceuticals’ new aseptic fill-and-finish facility in Irvine, California has been approved for the manufacture of biologics by state drug regulators.
MDRNA’s liposomal drug delivery formulation, DiLA2, lost no potency when stored for 12 months in conditions ranging from -80ºC to 4ºC, helping to validate it for administration of UsiRNA.
ISCO’s stem cell manufacturing facility has passed final building inspection, enabling it to implement the processes and cGMP standards needed to produce clinical-grade products.
TTP LabTech has launched a contract screening service to assist various aspects of clients’ drug development programmes, from target identification through to preclinical toxicology.
Belgium-based Galapagos NV has acquired Argenta Discovery for €16.5m ($23.1m), creating a drug discovery service company with 390 employees and estimated revenues of €70m.
