Washington, DC (Dec. 28)-The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed regulations for improving security at high-risk chemical facilities, a category that may include some pharmaceutical production facilities.

Darmstadt Germany (Jan. 8)-Merck KGaA closed on its roughly CHF 16.6 billion ($13.3 billion) deal to acquire a majority stake in the European biotechnology company Serono (Geneva, Switzerland), officially launched Merck Serono SA as a new entity within Merck KGaA, outlined its integration strategy, and announced plans to divest its generics business.

Berlin and Leverkusen, Germany (Dec. 29)? Bayer Schering Pharma AG was officially launched as a new company following the acquisition of Schering AG (Berlin, Germany) by the Bayer Group (Leverkusen, Germany).

ARmark, Chattem, Johnson & Johnson, more.

Stockholm, Sweden (Dec. 15)-As part of a plan to expand its biotechnology production capacity, Pfizer, Inc. commissioned the construction company Skanska AB to build a plant in Strangnas, Sweden for manufacturing Pfizer's human growth hormone product "Genotropin" (somatropin [rDNA origin] for injection).

Hafnarfjordur, Iceland (Dec. 21)-The generic drug manufacturer Actavis Group is expanding its manufacturing capabilities in India and plans to close a facility in Norway.

The recent struggles of Cardinal Health's and Patheon's contract dose manufacturing businesses offer a lesson on good business practices.

Industry will be challenged to embrace new methods of supply chain collaboration.

The closing presentation was perfectly pitched to bring a lump to our throats and have us cheering for fast-track drug development. I and 30 other journalists had spent the day touring a Big Pharma plant, and now sat shoulder to shoulder in a warm conference room, awaiting the final speaker.

Defects in Herceptin vials stem from a fault in the packaging process.

The production staff was sure the lab couldn't test their way out of a paper bag.

Dec. 28, 2006 Company Notes: Albemarle, Clinical Data, Crucell, Merck, PDA, QLT, Sanofi Pasteur, Shimadzu

Pharmaceuticals current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) violations accounted for just 36 of the 441 Warning Letters issued by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2006.

Symposium held at 2006 AAPS Annual Meeting in San Antonio

Altus, GSK, Novasep, More

US District Court for the Eastern District of New York Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson's Nov. 30 2006 "Report and Recommendation" supporting a preliminary injuction requested by the plaintiffs in RxUSA Wholesale, et al v. FDA.

US District Court for the Eastern District of New York Judge Joanna Seybert's Dec. 11, 2006 Order granting a preliminary injunction in RxUSA Wholesale, et al, v. FDA, barring FDA from enforcing some drug pedigree rules.

Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo) will sell three European plants to the Temmler Group (Marburg, Germany), a pharmaceutical company and contract manufacturer. The move is part of Astellas's plan to reduce the number its production sites.

The US Food and Drug Administration has modified its requirements for drug pedigrees accompanying wholesale pharmaceutical transactions, following a US District Court preliminary injunction barring the agency from enforcing certain provisions of the rule that was to have gone into effect on Dec. 1.

The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, MI) has agreed to acquire Wolff Walsrode, a manufacturer of cellulose products and a business unit of the Bayer Group (Leverkusen, Germany, www.bayer.com).

Biotechnology stocks dropped 14% in 2006, giving up more than half of the value they'd picked up during a "stellar" 2005, according to G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company (www.burrillandco.com), the venture and merhant banking company. "Overall, it wasn't a great year for biotech," said Burrill in a year-end analysis, indicating that the biotechnology industry will finish the year with its collective market capitalization essentially unchanged, at approximately $490 billion. As for the future, biotechnology will continue to fuel a the transformation in healthcare, a tansformation emphasizing earlier disease detection, more targeted treatments, and adjunctive support through enhanced nutrition. We will see further progress on the personalized, predictive, preventative front...with new products targeting the "individualization" of medicine in the marketplace. Other predictions for 2007 include...

Washington, DC (Dec. 13)-After considerable debate and negotiation, Congress this week passed four bills poised to affect pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, development, and manufacture. All are currently awaiting signature by the President.

Rockville, MD (Dec. 12)-Citing serious safety concerns, the US Food and Drug Administration is ordering unapproved quinine drugs from the market, including those containing quinine sulfate and any quinine salt.

Basel, Switzerland (Dec. 5)-Lonza Group Ltd. and Singapore?s Bio*One Capital have formed a joint venture, Lonza Biologics Tuas, to build a large-scale mammalian cell-culture facility in Singapore for as much as $350 million.

Rockville, MD (Dec. 12)-The US Food and Drug Administration is proposing amendments to its final rule regarding labeling requirements for convenience-size over-the-counter human drugs.

Bothell, WA (December 12)?If the shareholders of biotechnology company Icos Corp. approve a proposed buyout by Eli Lilly and Co., all of Icos?s 700 employees will lose their jobs.

Dec. 11, 2006 (Rockville, MD)-Effective Jan. 16, 2007, Scott Gottlieb, MD, deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs at the US Food and Drug Administration, will leave the agency and will return to the American Enterprise Institute.

Brussels, Belgium (Dec. 5)-The debate over biosimilars in Europe was heightened last week between the European Generics Association and the International Alliance of Patients Organizations, a patient advocacy group that issued a briefing paper on biosimilars to the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU).