Prosonix licenses Rafael ultrasound technology

Prosonix has licensed Rafael's ultrasonic particle engineering technology. Prosonix has already demonstrated the technology, in combination with its ultrasound reactors, on a range of APIs and excipients.
In-Pharma Technologist

SAFC is adding a $600,000 second-phase expansion to its Pharmorphix solid state research facility in Cambridge, UK

CNN

Eden Biodesign will develop iQur’s ‘tandem core’ vaccine for hepatitis A and B

Eden Biodesign

NPIL adds high potency suite

NPIL Pharma is adding a sixth high potency substances production suite for manufacturing antibody drug conjugates at its Grangemouth, Scotland facility. The $270,000 cGMP facility has a capacity of 50kg/year and is due on stream in Q1 2008.
NPIL Pharma

Johnson Matthey's fine chemicals division saw increased sales in 2007 on the back of continued US growth

Market Watch

Scots showcase at Informex

The Scotsman

Codexis launches metabolite tool

Codexis has launched a research productivity tool which can more rapidly identify and synthesise drug metabolites and novel drug lead candidates.
Codexis

Rhodium catalysts could improve pharmaceutical manufacturing

University at Buffalo

13 years for FDA

According to a US Government Accountability Office report the FDA would take 13 years to inspect all foreign drug manufacturing facilities at current rates.
New York Times

Up and down for Albemarle

Albemarle's Q4 2007 fine chemicals sales decreases 20% to $131.1m, primarily due to reduced revenue from clear brines volumes and the absence of revenue from manufacturing intermediates for Tamiflu in 2006. However, full year fine chemicals income rose 40% to $86.9m.
Forbes

Shasun establishes US facility

Shasun Pharma Services is setting up a process development facility in Piscataway, NJ. The facility will provide API development services. The plant will be operational from April and reach full capacity from October 2009.
Forbes

Scientific Protein Laboratories will produce Onconase for Alfacell

Alfacell

FDA confirms overseas plans

The FDA plans to base inspectors in nations like India and China and regions like Central and South America and the Middle East as it strives to improving the quality of the food and medicines increasingly flowing to the US. The agency’s commissioner, Dr Andrew von Eschenbach, said that he wanted the agency’s presence abroad to be on an 'ongoing and continuous basis rather than episodic and periodic'.
New York Times

Peptisyntha will supply peptides for Helix BioMedix

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

Dishman looks for growth and Euro acquisition

Dishman Pharma is looking at a minimum growth of 30% in the next 2-3 years, according to managing director, JR Vyas. The company will close its $25m acquisition of a European contract manufacturer in mid-February.
India Earnings

Cobra Biomanufacturing will manufacture GenVec's anticancer agent, TNFerade

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

Krebs will manufacture L-cysteine for Wacker Chemie

Business Standard

Codexis goes east

Codexis has established its second research facility in Europe. The facility, in Budapest, will focus on fermentation strain development and process technology.
Codexis

Novasep has increased its high potency API capacity at its facility in Le Mans, France

In-Pharma Technologist

Lonza will produce cell cultured vaccines for Sanofi Pasteur

Forbes

Lonza profits up, acquisitions possible

Lonza saw income grow 51% to SFr301m and EBIT 36 % to SFr408m in 2007. Chief executive, Stefan Borgas, said the company would continue to make smaller acquisitions and would rather plough back any extra cash into its business than return money to shareholders.
Swiss Info
Reuters

Angel Biotechnology is granted manufacturer's and importers license by MHRA

Hemscott

Ian Shott discusses his vision behind Excelsyn

Financial Times

Extinction for drugs

More than 10,000 species of medicinal plants face extinction, including many used in prescription drugs that cannot be commercially synthesised. Around 50% of prescription drugs are based on palnt-derived molecules. For many of these no synthetic process has been developed.
Financial Times

Nicholas Piramal has purchased an injectables manufacturing facility from Healthline

India Infoline

FDA's passage to India

The US Food and Drug Administration is considering establishing a presence in India as a result of the increasing ties with the US pharma industry.
In-Pharma Technologist

Another Pfizer sale

Actavis will acquire Pfizer's Nerviano, Italy, oncology product manufacturing site. Following the acquisition, Actavis will supply oncology products to Pfizer.
Actavis

NPIL saw custom manufacturing sales grow 7.2% to Rs3.4bn ($87m) for the third quarter

Hindu Business Line

BASF appoints Ruchatz

Dr Folker Ruchatz has been appointed as head of BASF's custom synthesis business and managing director of BASF Orgamol Pharma Solutions SA.
BASF

Cobra slithers into the red

Cobra Biomanufacturing reported a pre-tax loss of £1.9m in the year to end September 2007, having made a profit the previous year. Additionally, chief executive David Thatcher has stepped down and Simon Saxby has joined as chief operating officer.
Sharecast

Codexis goes Green

Codexis has appointed Nick Green as the president of its pharmaceuticals division.
San Jose Business Journal

EC investigates big pharma

The European Commission has launched an investigation into the European pharmaceutical sector. Many companies were raided in teh past two days to investigate whether there was any evidence of foul-play hampering the launch of new medicines on the market.
Lab Technologist

More outsourcing expected

A report from IDC Health suggests the life sciences industry will see much more outsourcing in 2008 as part of a cost-cutting drive. Singapore is expected to lead India and China as the ideal place for outsourcing.
Birmingham Business Journal

FDA to send staff overseas

The US Food and Drug Administration is planning to send more staff overseas to perform inspections and foster relationships with foreign government counterparts and industry.
Medical Devices Today

SAFC invests in biologics

SAFC is investing $12m in its viral product manufacturing facility in Carlsbad, California. Due to be operational in H2 2009, the two fully segregated state-of-the-art manufacturing suites will add 800m² of manufacturing space and utilise disposable technologies.
In-Pharma Technologist

Investors shun pharma

Despite the pharma pipeline having more than 50% more potential therapies than 10 years ago, investors remain cautious of the pharma sector, which showed just 1.7% return last year.
PM Live

Celltrion will development and manufacture CSL's CSL 360 monoclonal antibody

Earth Times

Euro pharma squeezed

Standard & Poor's reports that the European pharmaceutical industry is looking to improve its new product flow in 2008. Not only do companies face the challenge of low R&D output but also increasing competition from generics as more products lose patent protection.
Business Week

AMRI expects to further expand its workforce during 2008

Albany Times Union

Saltigo goes west

Lanxess subsidiary, Saltigo, has established a facility on the US west coast. The site, which was previously owned by Icos Corporation includes offices and laboratories alongside cGMP standard kilo lab and pilot plant API manufacturing facilities.
Saltigo

Teva invests

Teva is undertaking a $1bn expansion programme in India. Initially, the company plans to use $250m-$300m to build new generic ingredients manufacturing facilities. The first of these is a large API manufacturing facility Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
In-Pharma Technologist

Peakdale Molecular has completed a £1m round of equity funding

RX Times

Cambrex Karlskoga will acquire ProSyntest AS for an undisclosed amount

CNN Money

Hikal has signed a long-term manufacturing deal with Pfizer

Reuters

Marketing spend double R&D

Big pharma spends almost twice as much on marketing than on R&D according to a study published in PLoS Medicine. In 2004, US drug companies spent $57.5n on promotion in the US and $31.5bn on R&D.
CBC

Fewer approvals

The FDA approved the fewest new drugs in 2007 than any year since 1983. Last year the FDA approved 16 NMEs and two biologics, the lowest total since 1983 when it approved 14 NMEs.
In Vivo

Akzo Nobel has completed its takeover of ICI

BBC

Big Pharma sells - part two

PRWT Services has acquired Merck's Riverside, Pennsylvania manufacturing facility. PRWT has entered into a five-year supply agreement with Merck valued at $100-200m/year.
Reuters