Breaking News on Laboratory Equipment

Industry News in Brief

It's been a busy week for acquisitions in the sector, with Beckmann Coulter purchasing Biosite, Roche acquiring 454, and Shimadzu agreeing to buy the assets of Evolved Digital Systems.

Stem cell nanotech tracker system

Researchers have found a new technique that allows stem cells to be tracked as they move through the body, potentially allowing a greater understanding of regenerative medicines.

Horiba Jobin Yvon's Activa-M excites for bronze

A new inductively coupled plasma (ICP) optical emission spectrometer (OES) brings the technique into the hands of the non-expert for the first time.

More preclinical data needed for high-risk first-in-man trials

More analysis of a drug's target and mode of action in the preclinic has been called for in the draft guidelines for first-in-man trials published by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

Russian laboratory equipment market

The expansion of a Russian laboratory exhibition highlights the growth in the Russian analytical and laboratory equipment market.

Extreme pipetting

Artel is sending three of their employees to the most extreme environments in the US to demonstrate the impact of environmental conditions on pipetted volumes.

Gerresheimer expands pharma glass ops

German packaging firm Gerresheimer has bought up the glass manufacturing operations of an American packaging company in its second significant acquisition in three months.

Kyowa Hakko to raise European amino acid prices

Kyowa Hakko Europe is to increase prices across its range of L-amino acids by ten per cent as of April 1, in an effort to stave off margin deterioration and ensure long-term availability of the ingredients.

Rhodia to close French intermediates site

French chemicals company Rhodia has decided to shut down a local production site for its Rhodia Organics business, citing competitive pressures in the market for pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates.

Scripps researchers free natural product synthesis from the protection racket

New findings from The Scripps Research Institute in the US have challenged the conventional wisdom that protecting groups are a wearying yet unavoidable rung on the ladder to natural product synthesis.

Eisai buy cancer antibody specialists

Japanese pharma firm Eisai has made a foray into biological drug discovery by buying a US company who specialise in cancer antibodies.

MDS to finalise Molecular Devices acquisition

MDS is nearing completion of its $615m (€461m) acquisition of the bio-analytical instrument maker Molecular Devices.

Technology Sector wins in the UK budget?

On the face of it, the UK's 2007 budget looks good for the technology sector with increased R&D tax relief - but is it all as good as it seems?

Agilent and ABI look east

Both Agilent and Applied Biosystems (ABI) have announced new facilities in Asia and are looking to gain from the increasing pharmaceutical industry presence in the region.

New software could curb drug failures

New software has been launched that its developers say will help companies to spot drug candidate safety failures at an earlier clinical stage.

New smart hologram transforms to protect pharma

An innovative new platform technology with a myriad of applications has been developed by a UK firm, and promises to be a novel arrow in the quiver of the pharma industry in its attempts to shoot down drug counterfeiters.

Native kinase profiling

ActivX has launched a new profiling platform, which the company claims allows the functional analysis of twice the number of protein kinases than competing systems.

GSK opens new Singapore facility and doubles staff

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has today opened a new medicinal chemistry laboratory in Singapore and plans to double the number of researchers hired at the site to 60.

Sony PS3 powers Alzheimer's research

Scientists hope to harness the power of Sony's new PlayStation 3 games console to conduct research on protein folding and associated diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer.

Pall protests patent breach

Pall has filed a patent infringement case in the US, claiming another firm is manufacturing and selling a device that violates patent protection of one of Pall's sterile connector products.

Millipore licenses neural stem cells

A new licensing deal will allow Millipore to supply researchers with a commercial source of neural stem cells for the first time.

Thermo induces silver at Pittcon

A new mass spectrometer (MS) that is claimed will provide proteomics researchers with far more information than ever before, in dramatically reduced time frames, is now available.

LAB trade show announced

A new laboratory equipment trade show in London has been announced filling the gap in the UK's trade exhibition landscape.

Affymetrix wins round one against Illumina

The US District Court of Delaware returned a verdict in favour of Affymetrix in the first stage of its patent infringement case against Illumina.

BMS to pump $300m into India with new R&D deals

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has this week inked two large R&D services contracts in India as it dips its toe further into this budding region.

UK issues consultation on enforcing EU chemicals law

The UK has become one of the first countries in the EU to issue draft proposals on enforcing the bloc's new chemicals controls law, due to add to the regulatory cost burden faced by industry.

Pharma logistics outsourcing to reach $2bn in 2011

European spending on outsourced logistics services in the pharma industry is likely to exceed $2bn (€1.5bn) in 2011 as opportunities arise for 3PL providers who want to grab a chunk of this burgeoning market, according to a new report.

Whatman makes it through the year

After getting through a difficult 2006, separation technology specialist Whatman has made it through to the end of the year, reporting preliminary annual financial results and looking towards a more prosperous 2007.

Industry project aims to cut animal testing of excipients

10 major pharmaceutical companies are taking part in an international data-sharing initiative to drive down the need for animal testing.

Avantium pushes crystallisation services forward

Crystallisation specialist Avantium is doubling its research capacity as demand for this type of services is set to grow.

Pittcon Editors' Awards - 2007

The editors and reporters pick of the new product launches made at this year's Pittcon, held last week in Chicago, Illinois.

Waters pan for gold at Pittcon2007

The Pittcon 2007 gold-award winning mass spectrometer allows the differentiation of sample ions not only by charge and mass but also by size and shape.

Frontier Biosciences settles in China

US services provider Frontier Biosciences has announced that it has bought a majority stake in a China-based preclinical contract research organisation (CRO).

Paraytec's David snatches silver from Goliaths at Pittcon2007

A two-year-old lab equipment company has beaten off competition from more established rivals to scoop an award for its new UV detector.

Bio-Rad launches protein interaction analyser

Bio-Rad launched a new instrument at Pittcon last week that allows the analysis of up to 36 protein-protein interactions in one rapid experiment.

In-Pharma Technologist Special Feature

Focus on: radio frequency identification (RFID) technology

In-PharmaTechnologist takes an indepth look at the new radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that will soon revolutionise pharmaceutical supply chain management.

GSK ramping up drug production in Poland

UK drug goliath GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is ramping up drug production at its Polish site as it prepares to more than double the number of markets the plant will supply.

Genome of meningitis-causing bacteria uncovered

Yale University researchers have sequenced the genome of a bacteria that can cause various infections, including meningitis and pneumonia.

Bayer confirms over 6,000 job cuts

Bayer Healthcare last week confirmed that 6,100 jobs will be cut in the reshuffle following Bayer's takeover of Schering announced last year.

Labcyte release acoustic sample preparation technique

The Portrait 630, launched by Labcyte at Pittcon 2007, allows accurate and reproducible matrix deposition for high quality MALDI imaging.

Pharmacogenetics to fuel molecular diagnostics market

The market for molecular diagnostics is predicted to grow to over $92.1bn (€70m) by 2016, a significant jump from $17.9bn in 2006.

Agilent launch next generation GC instruments

Agilent looks to maintain its strong market presence in the gas chromatography (GC) sector with the launch of two new instruments.

Galapagos lands further in the red after spending spree

A highly-acquisitive and research-intensive year has left drug discovery services provider Galapagos further in the red at the end of its 2006 financial year, although sales soared.

Contract manufacturing news in brief

Lonza, Athersys, TyRx Pharma, JFC and Precision Pharma Services have all announced new contract manufacturing deals this week.

High-shrink film covers unusually shaped containers

A new label film designed for narrow neck containers, can combine high-shrink properties with a tamper evident seal, its manufacturer claims.