Manufacturing

Following years of development, DataMatrix codes are now a viable labelling solution for pharma manufacturers.

Michael Rubenstein, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer at Alcan Packaging, talks about applying a philosophy of sustainability to the pharmaceutical packaging supply chain.

Population ageing is an issue often discussed in the media, but its impact on all facets of life has been poorly characterized.

In 2010, Braille embossing will be required on all European pharmaceutical packages. Is the industry ready?

Apopular definition of insanity is repeating the same task over and over again while expecting a different result. It would appear, therefore, that many people in the contract services industry think the major global bio/pharma companies are insane.

What trends have you witnessed in the pharmaceutical packaging industry in the last 2 years?

Paper is no longer a sufficient format for information storage and interchange in the pharmaceutical industry; documents are inflexible and costly for production and storage.

Researchers at the University of Leicester (UK) have combined crime research and space-age technology to create a new method of detecting counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The technique, Spectral ID, works by detecting the differences between the characteristics of light reflected from printed packaging.

Mark Copley discusses the methods used for DPI testing and the challenges presented by the current regulatory framework.

With counterfeit drugs on the rise, the Chairman and CEO of Ahura Scientific discusses the issue and explains how a handheld device is helping companies to tackle the problem.

Cargill has recently announced a number of innovations connected to its range of polyol excipients.

An inhaler mouthpiece that optimizes drug delivery to the lungs and reduces the amount of wasted medication has been developed by US researchers.

Also, Astellas and Medivation sign development pact; WuXi PharmaTech appoints VP of business development, more...

The US Food and Drug Administration is using prescription data from Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions to track the treatment of influenza A (H1N1) and other influenza viruses, according to a statement that the company released last week.

New barcoding technologies are helping to aid product traceability and fight counterfeits. Mark Beauchamp of Citizen Systems Europe explains how.

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 US Food and Drug Administration issued a guidance for industry and review staff titled, Labeling for Human Prescription Drug and Biological Products-Determining Established Pharmacologic Class for Use in the Highlights of Prescribing Information.

Company and People Notes: SurModics forms agreement with Roche and Genentech; Hospira names Daphne Jones senior VP and chief information officer; more...

Following the completion of its $68-billion acquisition of Wyeth (Madison, NJ), Pfizer (New York) began joint operations of the combined company last week.

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.

PharmTech's monthly newsletter, Equipment & Processing Report, reviews the Editor's Picks for the October 2009 edition from Emerson and Minitab.

Economic pressures are forcing pharmaceutical manufacturers to look for ways to become more competitive. Many companies realize that they must reduce operating costs but maintain or improve product quality.

For the first time, cancer treatments accounted for 5% of overall drug spending in the first half of 2009, said Medco Health Solutions in a press release last week.

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

IMS Health delivered some good news last week with its updated pharmaceutical market forecast.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Novartis, sanofi aventis and Baxter International have provided updates regarding the development, manufacture and shipment of pandemic (H1NI) vaccines.

A new drug delivery method developed by scientists could enable prescription drugs to be buried inside the body where drug release could be prompted by a biological trigger, such as a drop in blood sugar levels, or activated manually with a pulse of light.

A long-term joint venture between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and China's Jiangsu Walvax Biotech Company hopes to develop and manufacture paediatric vaccines for use in China.

Thomas LaVake, manager, worldwide environment, health & safety at Johnson & Johnson, provides a perspective on sustainability practices for the pharmaceutical industry.