Unite, Britain and Ireland's largest trade union with 1.5 million members, said it will fight the closure of Sanofi's pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in northeast England. Last week, Sanofi announced the closure of the facility, which employs 450 people and makes solid-dose oral drugs mainly for the UK and European markets.

The European Medicines Agency has recommended that manufacturing processes for two anticancer medicines be transferred from Ben Venue Laboratories to alternative facilities. The decision follows GMP shortcomings identified at the US-based manufacturer in late 2011, and marks the end of the EMA's review of all fourteen centrally authorized medicines that were produced at the site.

In a presentation published on FDA's website on Mar. 15, 2012, Janet Woodcock, director of CDER, outlined the current status and future plans for FDA's Sentinel Initiative, an electronic drug safety tracking system established as part of the FDA Amendments Act of 2007.

Teva Pharmaceuticals received a Warning Letter from FDA informing them that promotional materials as well as an associated webpage for Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) solution for subcutaneous injection were found to be false and misleading.

FDA Issues Warning Letter to Warner Chilcott; Sigma-Aldrich Expands in Asia; and More.

In our tablet coating process, we are losing up to 15% of our coating solution in each processing run. What can we do to prevent this problem in order to reduce waste and increase our cost efficiency?

Excellence United, an alliance of six specialty equipment companies, will make its first North American appearance at INTERPHEX 2012, held May 1–3 at the Javits Center in New York.

On Mar. 12, 2012, FDA released a draft guidance document for industry direct-to-consumer television advertisements that describes FDA's plans for implementing predissemination review.

The European Medicines Agency has launched a pilot program for submitting centralized marketing authorization applications electronically.

GlaxoSmithKline is launching a new program that will create apprenticeships in several areas including manufacturing and R&D at the company's United Kingdom sites.

AstraZeneca Files Suit Against FDA; Pfizer, Biocon Terminate Biosimilar Alliance; and More.

BASi Restructures; Celerion, Ricerca Biosciences Form Biosimilars Alliance; and More.

The Bulk Pharmaceuticals Task Force, an affiliate of the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA), issued its support for the introduction of a House bill, the Generic Drug and Biosimilar User Fee Act (HR 3988), which SOCMA says will help to achieve parity between foreign and domestic firms.

Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) has announced the expansion of its biopharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities at its plants in Biberach, Germany and in Vienna, Austria. The expansion will include cell-culture and microbial-fermentation capacity, and support cell-line and process-development services for BI's contract manufacturing business.

FDA has issued a list of planned draft and final guidance documents for release throughout 2012. There are approximately 50 such guidances planned.

GlaxoSmithKline and Daiichi Sankyo have formed a joint venture that they claim will create the biggest vaccines company in Japan. The joint venture will seek to improve access to vaccinations in the Asian nation as well as introduce new vaccines.

A roundup of developments in corporate social responsibility and sustainability from the bio/pharmaceutical industry, its suppliers, and other private and public organizations.

Several major pharmaceutical companies detail their contributions for combating neglected tropical diseases.

In a world where product recalls can mean the end of a company, all batches must be perfect.

Brazil's generic-drug market is growing steadily.

US Pharmacopeia documents best supply-chain practices and seeks broad input on proposal.

SOCMA's Bulk Pharmaceuticals Task Force outlines key goals and challenges for user-fee legislation.

Has the long-awaited guidance answered all of the industry's questions?

Traditionally more prevalent in less industrialised regions, counterfeit medicines are now more frequently entering the heavily regulated supply chains of EU countries.

Eli Lilly plans to invest EUR 330 million ($443.2 million) at its Kinsale location in Ireland to create a new biopharmaceutical commercialization and manufacturing facility.

JHS Secures Four Sterile Parenteral Products Manufacturing Contracts; Samsung Biologics, Biogen Idec Establish Biosimilars Joint Venture; and More.

GlaxoSmithKline is recalling 394,230 bottles containing its antihypertensive drug DynaCirc CR (isradipine) controlled-release tablets. The lots are being recalled due to concerns regarding the level of cGMP compliance and procedural controls related to line clearance during the packing process at the Lincoln, Nebraska, facility of Novartis Consumer Health, where the product is made.

Merck KGaA announced measures intended to reduce costs and increase efficiency to ensure the long-term success of its business model. The measures announced this week are part of a comprehensive transformation program that will be implemented in two phases.