Breaking News on Drug Discovery

New China:US preclinical partnership formed

02-Jan-2008 - US-based MPI Research and China's Shanghai Medicilon have formed a joint venture in preclinical services, as they position themselves to cash in on what is a budding market sector in China.

More pharmas implicated in Iraq bribery probe

02-Jan-2008 - While GSK, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have hit the headlines in the UK Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) investigation into illegal bribes paid to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime, many more pharma firms are on the organisation's hit list.

IDM Pharma will cut jobs after Sanofi scraps melanoma collaboration

02-Jan-2008 - Sanofi-Aventis has decided to pull out of its skin cancer collaboration with IDM Pharma, leaving the Californian biopharma firm considering job cuts as a way to lower costs.

Pfizer buys CovX to bulk biologics pipeline

19-Dec-2007 - Pfizer, the world's largest pharma firm, has reached into its pockets to buy CovX, a privately-held US biotech that specialises in combining the strengths of peptides and antibodies into new drugs.

NIH cash for new tools to unravel genome's secrets

18-Dec-2007 - The technology used to decipher an organism's gene sequence has come on in leaps and bounds this year. So much so that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has now released funds to create new tools to analyse this wealth of data.

French CROs have eye on niche market

18-Dec-2007 - Two French contract research organisations (CROs) that specialise in ophthalmology have banded together to offer specialised services to this niche market.

Japan says Tamiflu/psychiatric link unclear

17-Dec-2007 - Any link between the antiviral Tamiflu and neuropsychiatric problems is inconclusive, according to the Japanese Government.

Biogen Idec shares nosedive after withdrawing 'for sale' sign

13-Dec-2007 - Like countless pets after every Christmas, it seems that nobody wanted Biogen Idec after all; the firm has announced it will remain independent after it 'did not receive any definitive offers to purchase the company'.

Merck confirms diabetes retreat

12-Dec-2007 - Merck Serono intends to forge ahead with severing its investment in diabetes and either sell or partner out its existing research and development (R&D) activities in this field, which it no longer feels able to compete in effectively.

Roche targets Ventana's board to force takeover

11-Dec-2007 - The latest twist in Roche's long-running bid to acquire diagnostics expert Ventana has seen the pharma giant announce it intends to elect directors to Ventana's board at its next AGM (annual general meeting).

Galapagos branches out with new GSK deal

10-Dec-2007 - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is the latest drug firm to involve Galapagos in a new development partnership, in a deal worth up to €218m for the Belgian biotech.

Two early-phase CROs merge

10-Dec-2007 - Two US players in the early-phase contract research organisation (CRO) space have announced their intentions to merge.

Eisai continues biologics push with $3.9bn MGI Pharma buy

10-Dec-2007 - Japanese drugmaker Eisai has agreed to buy US biopharma firm MGI Pharma for $3.9bn (€2.7bn) in a bid to expand its US presence and strengthen its oncology pipeline.

BMS reveals plans to trim the fat

06-Dec-2007 - Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has finally detailed its plans to trim the fat and save cash, months after first revealing that big changes would be on the cards.

Morphosys to exit fee-for-service upon Novartis deal

05-Dec-2007 - Morphosys has landed in the money after scoring a lucrative 10 year antibody development deal with Novartis and as a result, will now place all its eggs in one basket and cut ties with its fee-for-service customers.

India's Glenmark pioneering through prioritising preclinical

04-Dec-2007 - Glenmark is one of a handful of pharma firms in India pushing forward a preclinical programme as a priority.

Regeneron helps make Sanofi VelocImmune to its 'weak' pipeline

03-Dec-2007 - Sanofi-Aventis recently admitted it needed to increase the number of biotech compounds in its pipeline and now, true to its word, the French pharma heavyweight has signed a big antibody deal with US biotech Regeneron.

Pfizer plans more off-shoring and outsourcing

03-Dec-2007 - Pfizer is looking to Asia for both R&D and manufacturing outsourcing and to help it cut costs in a bid to mitigate the effects of patent expiries and competition from generic drugs.

Jubilant Organosys eyeing up European acquisitions

30-Nov-2007 - Indian pharma services provider Jubilant Organosys is looking to buy up European contract research organisations (CRO) and contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) and it has got $100m to spend, according to a report in The Economic Times.

Private equity firm puts crores into Indian CRO

27-Nov-2007 - GVK Bio has reinforced its claim to be India's top contract research organisation with a 100-crore ($25m) push from a private investment company. The funds will be used to expand its drug discovery services and push further into preclinical and clinical development.

ERC to provide 4bn Euros for 'far-reaching research'

27-Nov-2007 - The European Research Council (ERC) has announced it will fund Europe's very best research projects to the tune of €4bn in a bid to improve Europe's position at the frontiers of research.

Weekly Comment

Paediatric drugs and testing highlighted

26-Nov-2007 - The importance of paediatric drug formulations and clinical trials in children was highlighted at this month's American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) conference in San Diego.

Preclinical services news in brief

26-Nov-2007 - In this week's review of activity within the preclinical research services arena, news has emerged involving ChemDiv, SRI International, ShangPharma, Ranbaxy and Xceleron.

Pharma should keep outsourcing in mind

23-Nov-2007 - The pharmaceutical industry is backward when it comes to outsourcing, industry experts said at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) conference in San Diego last week.