Industry Briefs: February 11, 2013

Company News

Almac has undergone a successful inspection of its new US Commercial Packaging operations located in Audubon, Pennsylvania, by FDA. The inspection took place on Jan. 9–10, 2013 from which the regulatory body concluded that aforementioned site is fully compliant with GMPs, with no 483 issued. Read More

AMRI has signed an exclusive license agreement with Chai Therapeutics, an affiliate of Bessor Pharma, for the development of ALB 109564(a), AMRI’s tubulin inhibitor compound in late Phase I testing for treating cancer. The agreement follows the exercise of an option to license the intellectual property, which was granted in March 2012 by AMRI to Bessor Pharma, a translational drug development company. Read More

FDA has approved Celgene’s Pomalyst (pomalidomide) therapy new molecular entity for patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies including lenalidomide and bortezomib and have demonstrated disease progression on or within 60 days of completion of the last therapy. Read More

Gilead Sciences completed its acquisition of YM BioSciences on Feb. 8, 2013. Read More

MeadWestvaco, a provider of packaging and packaging services, has expanded its pharmaceutical manufacturing Centre of Excellence, based in Hemer, Germany. The Centre is the core for MWV’s global pharmaceutical-dispensing systems manufacturing network. The $7.5-million project includes expanding cleanroom molding and assembly capacity, and the introduction of a logistics system to control the flow of finished goods and components. Read More

Pergamum and Cadila Pharmaceuticals have formed a collaboration to develop a treatment of infections with a targeting mechanism distinguished from classical antibiotics. The two companies will collaborate on the preclinical and clinical development of a novel therapeutic peptide that has been developed by Pergamum. The development will be conducted at the facilities of Cadila Pharmaceuticals in Ahmedabad, India. Cadila will be responsible for all costs related to the development of the product up to Phase II and global rights will be shared between the companies. Read More

Perrigo Company has completed the acquisition of Leeds, United Kingdom-based Rosemont Pharmaceuticals for approximately £180 million ($283 million) in cash. Read More

Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) has expanded its central laboratory testing services in infectious diseases. PPD has expanded its testing capabilities at its Brussels and Singapore laboratories, offering additional microbiology, peripheral blood mononuclear cell and molecular pathology services. Read More

Tranzyme’s board of directors has made a determination to explore and evaluate strategic alternatives, including the possibility of a merger, sale, other form of business combination, or other transaction to maximize value to its stockholders. Read More

UPS has expansded its global healthcare distribution network in five markets in North America. Expanding locations include facilities in Burlington, Ontario; Louisville, Kentucky; Mira Loma, California; Atlanta, Georgia; and Reno, Nevada. The new expansions add nearly 800,000-ft² to UPS’s global network of 37 dedicated healthcare facilities, which now total nearly 6 million ft² of distribution space. Read More

People News

BASi has named Jacqueline Lemke president and CEO. Read More

Mylan has appointed Melina Higgins and Rajiv Malik to its board of directors. Read More

Teva Pharmaceuticals has appointed Arie Belldegrun to its board of directors. Read More