NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE PHARMACEUTICAL FINE CHEMICAL AND CUSTOM MANUFACTURING SECTOR

Thursday 29 January 2009

SAFC Pharma has commenced operations at its 700m2 biologics laboratory in Carlsbad, CA

Sigma-Aldrich

Excelsyn reports strong sales; strengthens capabilities

Excelsyn's sales in its H1 2008/2009 were $10.98m. President and CEO Ian Shott said that progress has continued in the third quarted and it is "on track to more than double our EBITDA for FY 2008-09 – moving up to 16% from the 7% delivered in FY 2007/08".
Excelsyn has recently strengthened its capabilities at the Holywell, North Wales facility with the addition calorimetry equipment and a laboratory hydrogenation capability. The company has also completed the initial phase of its three-year expansion and upgrade programme at Holywell.
Excelsyn

Socma sees weaker outlook for 2009

Socma President, Joe Acker, persented the results of Socma's fifth busienss outlook survey at Informex 2009. The survey showed that overall outlook for the chemical industry has weakened in the 2008 reporting cycle with fewer companies reporting an increase in sales and more of them report actual declining sales. This trend is expected to continue in 2009.
Despite the less positive outlook, companies reported planned investments in R&D remain comparable to the last two years.
Socma

Tuesday 27 January 2009

Albemarle sees record fine chemicals income

The Fine Chemicals business of Albemarle saw a 23% increase in sales in Q4 2008 to $161.3m. The company said the rise was due to "increased volume and pricing from fine chemistry services and improved pricing from our bromine portfolio". The company's Fine Chemicals segment reported a record income for the year.
Forbes

Pfizer to close five manufacturing plants

Pfizer is to reduce its number of manufacturing facilities from 46 to 41. The company will assess where its capabilities overlap with those of Wyeth, which the company is in the process of acquiring, before deciding which plants will close.
In-Pharma Technologist

Lonza reports strong year

Lonza reported a net income rise of 39% to CHF419m in 2008. Stafan Borgas, Lonza CEO, said the company saw solid demand overall and an increased trend towards outsourcing. The company's Exclusive Synthesis saw strong sales growth especially in samll molecules. The Biopharmaceuticals business was stable despite some project postponements. Borgas said the company was looking for some small to mid-sized acquisitions for its bioscience business in 2009 and that it was in advanced negotiations for a number of new custom manufacturing deals.
Reuters
Easy Bourse

Rohm and Haas sues Dow to force takeover

Bloomberg

Monday 26 January 2009

Cytovance Biologics will develop a process for and manufacture Selexys Pharmaceutical's Chron's disease candidate

Business Wire

Pfizer confirms Wyeth bid

The worst kept secret in pharma has been confirmed. Pfizer is to pay $68bn to acquire Wyeth. The deal will be financed through $22.5bn in bank loans combined with stock and cash, of which Pfizer has roughly $26bn.
New York Times

Saltigo expands US site

Saltigo has doubled the capacity of its cGMP pilot plant and added a second kilolab at its Redmond, WA, site. Site Manager Timothy Fitzpatrick said the company has also installed a low temperature unit in the pilot plant.
Lanxess

Wyeth has withdrawn from its negotiations to acquire Crucell

Reuters

Sunday 25 January 2009

Dow wins FTC approval for Rohm and Haas takeover

Financial Times

Pfizer to buy Wyeth

Further consolidation may be coming to the pharma sector as rumours spread that Pfizer is looking to acquire Wyeth for $60bn. The news comes shortly after Pfizer announced another swathe of redundancies.
New York Times

Lonza starts-up Nansha API plant

Production has started at Lonza's new large-scale facility in Nansha, China. Lonza CEO Stefan Borgas said "this $200m investment enables Lonza to continue addressing the needs of our expanding worldwide customer base by adding manufacturing capacity, expanding our R&D services, and increasing flexibility.” The fully cGMP-compliant large-scale production facility is a six–train, multipurpose API manufacturing complex and complements the small-scale plant which started operations in September 2007.
Manufacturing Chemist

Thursday 22 January 2009

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Lonza in biosimilars deal with Teva

Lonza will commence its partnership with Teva to develop, manufacture and market biosimilar medicines in the first quarter of 2009. Stefan Borgas, Lonza’s Chief Executive Officer said Lonza's capabilities in the area of biologics manufacturing will add value to this joint venture to produce the copycat products
Reuters

Angel Biotechnology saw its share price rise as ReNeuron announced stem cell clinical trials

The Times

Ranbaxy considers purchase of US manufacturing facilities

Financial Times

Prosonix will use its ultrasonic particle engineering technology to produce generic inhaled medicines for Aeropharm

Prosonix

Cel-Sci to support drug development programme through contract manufacturing

Outsourcing Pharma

Thursday 15 January 2009

BayBio calls for California’s leaders to promote biomanufacturing in the state

In-Pharma Technologist

Lonza invests $26m in 4100m2 Walkersville expansion

Frederick News Post

FDA launches safety pilot programme

The FDA is seeking 100 companies to participate in its Secure Supply Chain pilot programme, which aims to improve the safety of drugs and active drug ingredients produced outside the US. Applicants must show they maintain control over the drug products from the time of manufacture through entry into the country.
Fierce Biotech

Wednesday 14 January 2009

Agencies launch inspection sharing programme

The European, American and Australian regulatory agencies are looking at sharing inspection duties to best use resources. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA), FDA, and the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) have commenced an 18-month pilot programme.
In-pharma Technologist

Jubilant Organosys and BioLeap have started a drug discovery partnership

Economic Times

Sunday 11 January 2009

SOCMA reveals "First 100 days" priorities

SOCMA has made its legislative priorities known for the first 100 days of the new Congress. The three key areas the trade association seeks action on are: the FDA’s inspection process of foreign drug-manufacturing facilities, security at chemical facilities, and chemical testing and risk management.
Pharmaceutical Technology

Sanofi-Aventis refuses to confirm links to Crucell

Reuters

FDA opens Costa Rica office

Outsourcing Pharma

Sunday 4 January 2009

FDA approvals in 2008 highest for three years

The FDA approved 24 new, or first-of-a-kind, drugs in 2008. The agency approved 18 drugs in 2007, 22 in 2006 and 20 in 2005. However, the agency has missed its targets for a number of other products.
CNN

Rhodia closes last paracetamol plant in Europe

Bloomberg