Drug Development

The European Fine Chemicals Group (EFCG) gave an update of some of its activities at a press conference held at CPhI Worldwide (Spain) last week, and revealed some disturbing facts regarding counterfeit APIs, which the group is particularly concerned about.

The manufacturing process, which influences a drug's safety and efficacy, is particularly critical for drugs administered through injection, and personnel must closely supervise lyophilization to ensure product quality.

ISP Pharmaceuticals is embarking on a Drug Solubility Initiative to support pharma companies working with poorly soluble drug actives.

Company and People Notes: Bayer Schering Pharma forms collaboration with Compugen; Takeda San Francisco appoints VP of process science; more...

Reading PharmTech's October article on Critical Challenges to Implementing QbD gave me the impression that we might have the road map to Moksha or Nirvana. Unfortunately that was not meant to be.

The US Food and Drug Administration issued an alert to healthcare professionals of a change in heparin manufacturing that is expected to decrease the drug's potency.

Company and People Notes: GSK forms joint venture with China-based Jiangsu Walvax Biotech; Sigma-Aldrich appoints VP and board member; more...

AAPS President offers hope and solutions for the industry's challenging future.

The authors relay the outcome of a two-day workshop that brought together regulators and generic-drug industry representatives.

The nation's healtcare system needs an overhaul, but it has to be done right.

Like life, the workplace also can have many surprises.

New nanotechnology-based delivery systems offer promise in drug delivery, particularly for anticancer therapeutics.

Brief pharmaceutical news items for October 2009.

Representatives of one pilot program participant, Wyeth, outline the experiences and lessons learned for implementing a science- and risk-based approach to drug-development and manufacturing.

The author discusses control strategies via near infrared instrumentation for continuous mixing, granulation, drying, and extrusion with a more focused detail on mixing.

Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration discuss best practices for applying quality-by-design concepts. This article contains bonus online-exclusive material.

USP workshop participants support new methods to safeguard heparin products but desire international harmonization. This article contains bonus online-exclusive material.

A review of NIPTE's core projects and its plans for training-and retraining-the pharmaceutical industry.

The FDA issued a proposed rule to clarify the cGMP requirements applicable to combination products in the Federal Register.

The author describes the framework needed to implement QbD and achieve the deeper process understanding that is fundamental to QbD.

Endotoxin removal from a finished product is a major challenge for biopharmaceutical manufacturers; particularly as all endotoxin removal methods have operational limitations and may result in loss of protein.

Formoterol presents formulators and manufacturers in the asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease marketplace many challenges.

Company and People Notes: Boehringer Ingelheim will acquire Wyeth's animal health business; Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics appoints CEO; more...

Company and People Notes: Wyeth and Ambrx form development pact; Elite Pharma appoints CEO and CSO; more...

Company and People Notes: Sanofi Pasteur signs H1N1 vaccine deal with Brazilian government; Helsinn Group appoints CEO of US business; more...

Generic-drug companies are increasingly viewing the development of controlled-release formulations as a way of obtaining a competitive edge, according to a report published by Espicom Business Intelligence in August 2009.

Company and People Notes: Neoprobe and Laureate Pharma form manufacturing agreement; Akela Pharma appoints CEO and chairman; more...

The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) and the Permanent Commission of the Pharmacopeia of the United Mexican States (FEUM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week.

Also, Orexo and Novartis form agreement; Affitech appoints Robert Burns CEO; more...

Brief pharmaceutical news items for September 2009.