February 2008 Volume 4, Issue 2

Volume 4, Issue 2 | February 2008
February 2008
In this Issue
Automation & Instrumentation

Roche, finally, gets Ventana
Ventana agrees to become a $3.4 billion part of Roche, but commands a pricey $89.50 per share
Reshaping for the future
Illumina reorganizes by creating separate life sciences and diagnostics units.
CellzDirect sells
Invitrogen adds to its growing cell products line with $57 million buyout of CellzDirect
IonGate secures E4.6 million, opens U.S. office
Transporter screening specialist IonGate GmbH announced in mid-January that it closed a E4.6 million third round of financing, funding the company says was used to open its first U.S. location in downtown Manhattan and which will also fund the ongoing development and commercialization of its SURFE2R workstation.Global News

Sharing the wealth
Amgen partners with Takeda on 13 small molecules in pipeline.
Cutting the cost in Europe
The initiative designed to boost drug development in Europe is cleared.
Working to scuttle schizophrenia
Taisho and Pfizer finalize an agreement for novel schizophrenia drug candidate.
Leaving the nest
Wockhardt details plans to restructure by spinning off its R&D business.
Proteologics granted first ubiquitin ligase siRNA patent
Proteologics Inc. recently announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 7,268,227 relating to its leading antiviral program.Genomics & Proteomics

HIV protein find
The Harvard Med School RNAi screen nets hundreds of human proteins exploited by HIV
New knowledge, new market
Cogenics and the John Innes Centre have introduced a Brassica gene expression array.
ExonHit\'s fresh faces
Company creates two business units to refocus its resources
Putting their heads together
Rosetta Genomics sparking miRNA-based diagnostics for brain cancer with Henry Ford
Affymetrix offers a new chip off the old block
MyGeneChip gives customers access to same advances for model organism studies as they have enjoyed with human arrays.
Multispan and Promega streamlining GPCR screening
Promega and San Francisco area-based Multispan have agreed to co-develop assay tools for G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) screening by combining Multispan GPCR cell lines and Promega bioluminescent technologies.Research & Development

Study: Marketing exceeds R&D in U.S. pharma
A new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as on R&D.
Slow going for drug development
Tufts study claims complex protocols are slowing up trials.
Myriad steps up
In an effort to ramp up discovery and development efforts, Myriad Genetics Inc. announced it has expanded its commercial and clinical capabilities, tapping several industry veterans to spearhead the effort.
TransTech acquires Nordisk programs
To advance its clinical stage drug discovery and development efforts, TransTech Pharma Inc. has taken the wraps off a deal with Novo Nordisk A/S.Informatics

The little engine that could
Compugen’s recent GPCR deal with Merck is helping it to reach “critical mass” in being a discovery and diagnostics leader.
Going out on a LIMS
Applied Bio and Mettler Toledo team up to simplify workflow and data transfer in labs.
Seeking answers
Collaboration between Thermo, Matrix combines proteomics search engines.
Eliassen, Medidata to partner in EDC solution
Eliassen Group’s eClinical Solutions Division has signed a partnership agreement with Medidata Solutions, a provider of electronic clinical data capture (EDC), management and reporting solutions.






