The recent India–EU summit was expected to bring news about the upcoming Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India; however, a dispute regarding the supply of generic drugs from India to developing countries has taken centre stage.

According to the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the closure of Pfizer's UK R&D facility, announced last week, is part of a long-term decline in drug development that is affecting all major UK pharmaceutical multinationals.

India is set to become a "biosimilar powerhouse", with manufacturers in this country well placed to capitalize on the growing biosimilars market, according to market analysts at Datamonitor.

According to the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the closure of Pfizer's UK R&D facility, announced last week, is part of a long-term decline in drug development that is affecting all major UK pharmaceutical multinationals.

Pfizer Acquires Ferrosan's Consumer Health Business; Patheon Appoints Former Biogen Exec as CEO; and More.

On Feb. 4, 2011, the European Medicines Agency released new document on drug products that are manufactured using stem cells.

The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA), in a statement submitted to the US Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxic and Environmental Health, provided support for a bipartisan review of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as that subcommittee considers reforming the  chemical control law.

Last Thursday, the US Senate scheduled the Patent Reform Act of 2011 for debate after the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill.

The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) launched a 12-month pilot Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to provide developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa with greater capacity to test the quality of medicines.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has published its final 'Road map to 2015', a document that sets out the agency's key drivers for progress and strategic vision of operation for the next 5 years.

Taking inspiration from nature, researchers have devised a way of giving drug-bearing polymer vesicles armored protection that could enhance drug delivery.

President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, delivered last week on Jan. 25, 2011, to the US Congress, was largely well received by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

The European Medicines Agency has released a new Annex 11-Computerized Systems to its GMP Guide Chapter 4 on Documentation to account for the increased use of and complexity of computerized systems in the drug-manufacturing community.

FDA Holds Workshop on Orphan Drugs

Last Friday, Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reintroduced their "Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act," which would presume that pay-for-delay settlements were illegal and give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the power to block them.

Company and People Notes: Pfizer Completes King Tender Offer; Cook Pharmica Names VP of R&D and CSO; and More

Follow-ons were all the rage at this year's JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.

The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development held a symposium in December 2010 to continue dialogue on how the private and public sector can work together in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Government and private sector efforts take on counterfeit drugs online.

As biologic-drug patents move toward expiration in the US, Indian firms with experience in the follow-on biologics arena are eager to partner with global manufacturers and secure their place in the growing biosimilars market.

Legislation has hampered cross-border drug importation and limited choice.

USP helps to improve drug quality in 32 countries.

Taking care to note, file and re-check information can save one from future mishaps.

One year following the earthquake in Haiti, the pharmaceutical industry and private sector participate in efforts for long-term relief.

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

Novartis is looking to advance its personalized medicine treatment programs by entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Genoptix, a laboratory offering personalized diagnostic services, for approximately $470 million or $25 per share.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has initiated a safety review of Sanofi's anti-arrhythmic medicine Multaq following reports of serious liver injury in patients.

Novartis Acquires Genoptix; Lilly Exec Becomes Savient CEO; and More.