PharmTech's monthly newsletter, Equipment and Processing Report, reviews the Editor's Picks for the February 2010 edition from ABB and David Round.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers that launch ePedigree and serialization initiatives today will improve their competitive positions in the short and long terms.

Drugmakers have many incentives to avoid overfilling their containers, including the scarcity, and correspondingly high cost, of certain cells and ingredients. These concerns highlight the need for techniques that can fill small volumes of product with great accuracy. Many strategies are available to the industry, but which one works best?

Following its $68-billion acquisition of Wyeth, Pfizer is integrating its manufacturing and outsourcing activities (Podcast).

Personalized medicine is still a nascent area for pharmaceutical companies, but several large companies recently reported developments in this area.

GSK Chief Executive Andrew Witty outlined the company's strategic priorities for 2010, which include further diversification into emerging markets, consumer healthcare, and vaccines.

Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, unveiled a new program to improve the efficiency of import inspections.

VaxGen Shareholders Reject OXiGENE Merger; Roche Creates Research Hub In Singapore; And More.

GSK launched a stand-alone unit that will specialize in the R&D and commercialization of medicines for rare diseases.

Capsules that can release their contents at a selected temperature have been developed by researchers in France, and could lead to the development of therapeutic agents that are applied to the skin and triggered locally by rubbing.

A highly functioning New Product Planning (NPP) group is a company's first line of defence against losses caused by products that fail to reach the market, according to research and consulting firm Best Practices LLC.

Pfizer's first updated pipeline since its acquisition of Wyeth includes fewer projects than before and is targeted to specific diseases.

FDA Releases Annual Guidance Agenda; OMB Urges Obama to Issue Revised Executive Order.

Less than a week after president Obama proposed a spending freeze on nonsecurity-related federal programs, the US Food and Drug Administration released its fiscal year 2011 budget request, calling for a 23% increase.

Cephalon Buys Mepha; BASi's CEO Retires; and More.

AstraZeneca announced this week that it plans to undertake further restructuring in its research and development operations, resulting in the elimination of 3500 jobs.

Sharing too much-or too little-information can have disastrous onsequences.

FDA impersonators and counterfeit drugs threaten the public's trust in online pharmacies.

A look at the formulation challenges in pancreatic enzyme products.

A recent book provides information about formulating biopharmaceuticals that is easy to swallow.

Regulators and industry move to require inspections of API manufacturing facilities.

When it comes to healthcare rform, we must not overlook investment in innovative technologies.

How to cut time and cost by re-using already submitted documents.

We never thought implementing complex changes could become more cumbersome.

With the pharmaceutical industry being in a current state of unrest in light of the recent spate of mergers, acquisitions, job cuts, divestments, patent expiries, and so on, we wanted to know how you felt about all these changes that will have directly or indirectly affected you.

Novartis CEO To Step Down; DSM To Close Netherlands Facility; And More.

New York Governor Wants Stricter Limits On Pharmaceutical Marketing; And More.

The Director-General of the European Generic medicines Association has reiterated the group's Vision 2015 plan.