February 2009- Volume 5, Issue 2
In this Issue
Research & Development
Is nanotechnology safe?
Is nanotechnology safe?
U.S. lawmakers address need for more risk research, oversight
PPD acquires Merck’s 130,000 square-foot vaccine lab
PPD acquires Merck’s 130,000 square-foot vaccine lab
PPD Inc. recently entered a strategic collaboration with Merck & Co. Inc. whereby it acquired the latter’s vaccine testing lab in Wayne, Pa.
Roche lines up at Synta’s CRACM gate
Roche lines up at Synta’s CRACM gate
Billion-dollar alliance to produce oral agents for arthritis, inflammatory diseases
Town meets gown in J&J-Vandy deal
Town meets gown in J&J-Vandy deal
Janssen Pharmaceutica and Vanderbilt University forge industry-academia research partnership
Healing the wounded
Healing the wounded
OmegaGenesis, Mayo Clinic to develop nanomaterials for angiogenesis applications
Pfizer buys Wyeth for $68B
Pfizer buys Wyeth for $68B
Will cut 800 R&D jobs as company seeks reinvention in face of patent expirations
Informatics
Image is everything
Image is everything
PerkinElmer and IDBS aim to ease high-content screening analysis burdens with Columbus-ActivityBase integration
The release of FireFly
The release of FireFly
Prosolio and Indigo BioSystems create data conversion software for mass spec users
Delving downstream
Delving downstream
Ariadne integrates Pathway Studio with Illumina’s GenomeStudio software
FDA e-data review in next Phase Forward
FDA e-data review in next Phase Forward
FDA extends use of Phase Forward’s WebSDM software in submission and review of electronic CDISC format data
Automation & Instrumentation
‘Simple but elegant’ system
‘Simple but elegant’ system
UT Southwestern Medical Center to use WaferGen’s SmartChip system to identify gene expression biomarkers involved in wound healing
Test tube trials
Test tube trials
VistaGen, Capsant merge stem cells, cell culture and measurement tools for new screening platform
A sign of the times?
A sign of the times?
LabAutomation 2009 doesn’t skip a beat with strong year-opening event
BioTrove, Cisbio enter screening services distribution deal
BioTrove, Cisbio enter screening services distribution deal
Companies will combine Cisbio’s HTRF with BioTrove’s RapidFire mass spec platform
Culture for growth
Culture for growth
Hamilton, GCS collaboration yields high-density cell culture product
Genomics & Proteomics
Breathing new life into pipeline
Breathing new life into pipeline
Alnylam and Cubist enter into partnership to develop RNAi therapeutics for respiratory syncytial virus infection
They’re locked and loaded
They’re locked and loaded
RNA deal with Wyeth could mean as much as $847 million to Santaris even before royalties
Cardio candidates
Cardio candidates
Mutant gene puts South Asians at much higher risk of heart disease
NCI planning to look far and (genome) wide
NCI planning to look far and (genome) wide
Agency plans to award up to $96 million for multicenter genome-wide association studies
Running interferon
Running interferon
Bristol-Myers Squibb, ZymoGenetics PEG-Interferon lambda deal could be worth $1 billion
Global News
Warding off MS
Warding off MS
Apitope and Merck Serono to advance MS vaccine
Out of failure, opportunity
Out of failure, opportunity
The Medicines Company acquires Targanta for $42M
Out-of-pocket expense
Out-of-pocket expense
Lilly pays $1.4 billion to end Zyprexa probe, with cash earmarked for settlement
Of (bio)similar interests
Of (bio)similar interests
Teva and Lonza seek to capture a large chunk of the emerging biosimilars market
Playing hard to get
Playing hard to get
EXACT Sciences rejects $41 million acquisition offer, and Sequenom refuses to give chase
Editor's Focus
Does anyone know what 2009 holds?
Does anyone know what 2009 holds?
Heading for LabAutomation 2009 in Palm Springs, I was sure I would get a pulse on what folks in the industry felt about the financial crisis. But if I went with plenty of questions, I probably came back with a whole bunch more.
Patent News
Bayer sues Abbott over Humira; Abbott thanks them with their own lawsuit
Bayer sues Abbott over Humira; Abbott thanks them with their own lawsuit
Last month, Abbott Laboratories was sued by Bayer AG’s HealthCare unit, alleging that Abbott's best-selling drug Humira infringes on a Bayer patent. In one new twist, Abbott has sued Bayer AG’s HealthCare unit, claiming the Bayer patent is invalid, not infringed or unenforceable.
