Chemical Business Newsbase articles from March 2008

Chemical Business Newsbase archives from March 2008

Mapreg granted orphan status in Europe for lead drug candidate for treatment of spinal cord injury.
March 31, 2008... The European Commission has granted orphan drug status to the neurosteroid derivative MAP4343 as a treatment for spinal cord injury. This is the lead drug candidate for Mapreg. MAP4343 is targeted against Microtubule Associated Protein type...

Magnisense readies for next phase of development with a new laboratory in Lyon.
March 31, 2008... The French diagnostics firm Magnisense has opened new laboratories in Dardilly. This will develop next-generation biological assays for Magnisense customers. These will cover human and veterinary diagnostics as well as food safety and...

Generex Biotechnology's Metcontrol submitted to regulatory agencies for the conduct of a clinical study.
March 31, 2008... The drug delivery specialist Generex Biotechnology has completed the protocol for Metcontrol, a Metformin chewing gum product. It is submitting applications to the regulatory authorities for clinical trials.

AbD Serotec receives large research antibody order from proteomics specialist Proteomika.
March 31, 2008... MorphoSys AG's AbD Serotec business unit is to supply research antibodies to Proteomika, a Spanish firm which specializes in biomarker identification. Proteomika has ordered antibodies against a broad range of target molecules. The order will...

Teva sues FDA over generic Risperdal exclusivity.
March 31, 2008... Teva Pharmaceuticals has begun legal action against the US FDA after the agency refused to restore the firm's 180-day exclusivity for the generic version of Janssen Pharmaceutical's antipsychotic Risperdal (risperidone). It claims that it was...

Solvay gets good and bad news from partners.
March 31, 2008... Solvay will receive $20 M from Jazz Pharmaceuticals following FDA approval for Luvox CR (fluvoxamine maleate). The drug will be used to treat social anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. Solvay granted US marketing rights to Jazz in Jan...

Teva to invest in Hungarian unit.
March 31, 2008... Teva is to invest almost $100 M for a new production facility at its Hungarian subsidiary in Debrecen.

Glenmark gets US rights for clobetasol propionate.
March 31, 2008... Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has begun marketing of five clobetasol propionate dermatologicals in the US.

Astellas sees delay on transplant drug Advagraf.
March 31, 2008... The US authorities have asked Astellas Pharma for more information to support the registration of its kidney transplant drug Advagraf. This will cause an additional delay of at least six months to the launch of the immunosuppressant.

Eisai submits application for Aricept in Japan.
March 31, 2008... Eisai has submitted an application in Japan for the marketing of a new oral gel formulation of Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride).

Genitope suspends Myvax development.
March 31, 2008... Genitope Corp has suspended development of its Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment MyVax.

Keryx diabetes drug fails clinical trial.
March 31, 2008... Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc has had an unsuccessful late-stage clinical trial for its antidiabetic Sulonex. The announcement has led to a significant fall in the firm's share price.

Astellas to move clinical development base to US.
March 31, 2008... The Japanese pharmaceutical producer Astellas Pharma is setting up a new company in Illinois. This will be responsible for the clinical development activities of the whole group.

Eastman expanding Eastman Tritan copolyester capacity.
March 31, 2008... Eastman Chemical is expanding production capacity for Eastman Tritan copolyester at Kingsport, TN. This is scheduled for completion in late 2009. The project will involve the construction of new facilities as well as the conversion of...

Gilead submits marketing application for aztreonam lysine.
March 31, 2008... Gilead Sciences has submitted a registration request to the European Union authorities for a 75 mg powder nebulizer formulation of aztreonam lysine.

DSM Biologics and Crucell announce additional licensing agreement with MorphoSys, announce PER.C6 technology milestone.
March 31, 2008... MorphoSys AG has extended its PER.C6 technology licence with DSM Biologics and Crucell. The original agreement was signed in Sep 2004. The extension will allow MorphoSys to use PER.C6 for its MOR202 therapeutic cancer antibody research as...

Hovione buys drug manufacturing facility in China.
March 31, 2008... Hovione has acquired 75% of Hisyn Pharmaceuticals. The Chinese authorities have already approved the joint venture. The deal will give Hovione further pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. It includes development laboratories in Shanghai and...

Genentech exercises option to Exelixis compound.
March 31, 2008... Genentech has taken up its option with Exelixis for an anticancer compound. This covers further development and marketing. It triggers a milestone payment of $3 M.

Oregon's AVI buys Ercole Biotech.
March 31, 2008... The US drug development firm AVI is acquiring its partner Ercole Biotech.

M's Science, Eisai sign agreement for SA4503.
March 31, 2008... Eisai and M's Science Corporation have signed an option agreement for the sigma agonist SA4503. The compound is being developed in Europe by M's Science as a treatment for depression and for patients who have suffered a stroke.

Suven, Eli Lilly open CNS drug discovery.
March 31, 2008... The Indian company Suven Life Sciences has signed a second collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly. This covers preclinical research into new compounds to treat central nervous system disorders.

Aoxing to acquire Shuiazhuang Lerentang.
March 31, 2008... Hebei Aoxing Pharmaceutical Group (a subsidiary of China Aoxing Pharmaceutical) has signed a definitive agreement to buy Shijiazhuang Lerentag Pharmaceutical.

Eusa Pharma to buy Cytogen for $23 M.
March 31, 2008... EUSA Pharma Inc is to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Cytogen Corp. for $22.6 M. The two firms have signed a definitive agreement.

Strides Arcolab, Aspen complete transaction.
March 31, 2008... The Indian pharmaceutical company Strides Arcolab has completed a deal to sell 50% of its S American operations to Aspen.

Dr Reddy's, 7TM Pharma ink drug research pact.
March 31, 2008... Dr Reddy's Laboratories has entered into an agreement with 7TM Pharma covering the identification of drugs to treat metabolic disorders. No financial details have been released.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical, PDL Biopharma close sale of IV Busulfex.
March 31, 2008... Otsuka Pharmaceutical has completed the acquisition of rights to IV Busulfex (busulfan) from PDL Biopharma at a cost of $200 M. The deal includes trademarks, patents, intellectual property and related assets.

Wyeth ends collaboration with Curis.
March 31, 2008... Wyeth is ending its collaboration with the biotechnology firm Curis. The two partners began their drug research cooperation in 2004.

Symbollon to purchase Chinese company.
March 31, 2008... Symbollon Pharmaceuticals plans the acquisition of Xi'an Maidefa Pharmaceutical for $1.5 M.

Marcadia inks development deal with Merck.
March 31, 2008... Merck & Co has signed an agreement with the US startup firm Marcadia Biotech. The partners will collaborate on the development of Marcadia's diabetes treatments.

Avanir licenses anthrax programme to Emergent.
March 31, 2008... Emergent BioSolutions is acquiring Avanir Pharma's portfolio of human monoclonal anthrax antibodies.

NexMed confirms acceptance of NDS (new drug submission) in Canada.
March 31, 2008... NexMed Inc has sent Health Canada a new drug submission for its topical erectile dysfunction treatment. The product uses NexACT drug delivery technology. The file has been accepted for review.

Strides Arcolab receives Health Canada approval for Tazo Pip.
March 31, 2008... The Indian firm Strides Arcolab has obtained approval from Health Canada for its Tazo Pip Sterile injection. The registration covers three formulations.

Ranbaxy gets nod for Risperdal.
March 31, 2008... Ranbaxy Laboratories has obtained US FDA approval to market a generic version of the schizophrenia treatment Risperdal.

Dabur gets approval for generic Camptosar in Italy, Denmark.
March 31, 2008... Darbur Pharma Ltd has obtained approval from Denmark and Italy for the marketing of a generic injection version of Pfizer's Camptosar (irinotecan hydrochloride). A generic version has already been launched by Dabur in the US.

Venus Remedies gets nod for cystic fibrosis drug.
March 31, 2008... The Drug Controller General of India has given the go-ahead for Venus Remedies to launch a fixed-dose combination of latest-generation cephalosporin with an aminoglycoside as a treatment for cystic fibrosis.

Codexis launches Codex MicroCyp platform to produce drug metabolites and novel lead compounds.
March 31, 2008... The biotechnology firm Codexis Inc has launched Codex MicroCyp Plate. This will be used to speed up identification and synthesis of drug metabolites and novel drug lead candidates. It is based on a specific cytochrome (cyp) enzyme, 102A1....

Aptuit acquisition of Evotec AG CPD business completes unique global API development supply chain.
March 31, 2008... Aptuit Inc has completed the acquisition of Evotec's chemical and pharmaceutical development (CPD) activity. This includes an active pharmaceutical ingredient facility in Oxford, UK and a parenteral formulation fill/finish unit in Glasgow....

CiVenti Chem expands in India by building a pilot plant with cGMP capabilities.
March 31, 2008... CiVenti Chem is expanding its scale-up synthesis activities with the construction of a new pilot plant at Indus Biosciences in Hyderabad, India.

Syrgis Performance Products announces new capacity for custom synthesis and contract manufacturing.
March 31, 2008... Syrgis Performance Products is increasing custom synthesis capacity at its subsidiary Lycus Ltd. This is due to increased demand for the outsourcing of smaller speciality chemical projects in N America. Lycus Ltd can offer more than 30,000...

Scotland's chemicals industry.
March 31, 2008... Scotland's chemical sector is made up of more than 120 organizations. It includes world players such as Ineos, GlaxoSmithKline and Ciba Specialty Chemicals. Some #256 M/y is spent on chemical research. More than 60% of chemical products...

Shasun Chemicals to set up new facilities in Piscataway, US.
March 31, 2008... Shasun Chemicals & Drugs Ltd is opening new process development facilities in Piscataway, NJ. This will provide active pharmaceutical ingredients for preclinical and clinical trials in N America. The first phase is scheduled to go into...

ISP builds to increase its pharma-grade THF capacity.
March 31, 2008... International Specialty Products (ISP) is building a new 16,000 tonnes pharmaceutical grade tetrahydrofuran (THF) plant at Marl, Germany. This will almost double the firm's pharmaceutical grade THF capacity (currently 20,000 tonnes). The new...

Saltigo opens new APIs and intermediates plant in Leverkusen.
March 31, 2008... Saltigo has officially opened a multi-purpose unit to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates at Leverkusen, Germany. This has involved an investment of about EUR 10 M. The cGMP site has four production modules which...

Russian Ireks.
March 21, 2008... OOO Ireks (Lubertsy, Moscow region, Russia, subsidiary of Ireks, Germany) is a producer of ingredients for bread making and confectionery. Its product range is almost 100 items. It specializes in concentrates for rye bread production which...

Russian Skorpio Aromat.
March 21, 2008... OOO Skorpio Aromat (Moscow, Russia) is a producer of aromatizers for confectionary, dairy products, vegetable oils and mayonnaise. Its production unit is located in Odintsovo (Moscow region). Its range includes more than 1000 items of...

Geleon stabilizing systems.
March 21, 2008... OAO Zelenye linii (subsidiary of ZAO Souzsnab, Russia) developed and put on the market a series of stabilizers intended for cultured milk products under the brand Geleon. They include 7 Geleons (112, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127 and 140 series),...

Ingredient for microbe suppression in foods.
March 21, 2008... OOO Spektroplast (Russia) is a food ingredient producer. It has developed and started producing PRAM, which has all the properties of propylene glycol but also suppresses the growth of microorganisms. It is most effective in prolonging...

New technologies for bakers.
March 21, 2008... OAO Obedinennaya khlebnaya kompaniya (OKhK, Tatarstan republic, Russia) holds 80% of the bread market of the republic, producing 150 items of bakery and confectionery products. ZAO Moguntsiya Interrus (OKhK subsidiary) has developed 250 items...