Thursday, 29 January 2009
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
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
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
Monday, 26 January 2009
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
Sunday, 25 January 2009
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
Science not politics for FDA
Acting FDA Commissioner, Frank Torti, has promised that the agency will make its regulatory decisions based on science rather than politics. He admitted that the job would be difficult as the Agency awaits a permanent leader, but said that it should work efficiently and base decisions on the laws that govern food and drugs.
FDA
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
Thursday, 15 January 2009
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
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
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
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
