January 2011- Volume 7, Issue 1
January 2011
In this Issue
Editor's Focus
A positive image never goes out of style
A positive image never goes out of style
Plagued by the economic downturn, generic competition, sluggish innovation and concerns over drug safety and efficacy, the pharma and biotech industries in recent years have undergone serious makeovers in the form of cost-cutting, layoffs, reorganization, mergers and acquisitions—but are these industries putting their best faces forward?
Commentary
Oversaturation vs. tunnel vision
Oversaturation vs. tunnel vision
Pharma has a difficult balance between trying to tackle many targets and do well with the ones it already had to work on
Similar or not similar: That is the question
Similar or not similar: That is the question
Scientific hurdles face approval of biosimilars versus generics
Global News
Thermo turns up heat on Asia-Pacific expansion plans
Thermo turns up heat on Asia-Pacific expansion plans
Company plans to acquire Dionex Corp. for $2.1 billion and Lomb Scientific for undisclosed sum
A lot to digest
A lot to digest
Axcan gobbles up Eurand for almost $600 million
Companies converge on pain
Companies converge on pain
UK’s Convergence Pharmaceuticals, Selcia join forces to develop new drugs for chronic pain
A star is born
A star is born
Boehringer Ingelheim draws a bead on multiple antibody targets and therapeutic areas in a collaboration with Austria’s f-star
From courtship to formal engagement
From courtship to formal engagement
After months of talking and speculation, Johnson & Johnson makes official its $2.3 billion bid to acquire Dutch biotech Crucell
Government Watch
Wherever you go (online), there the sales pitches are
Wherever you go (online), there the sales pitches are
Healthcare marketing on the Internet draws interest from privacy groups
Stem cell case makes its way through courts
Stem cell case makes its way through courts
Contentious case could be in for long haul as attorneys for both sides make arguments to appellate court
Throw the biotech baby out with the bath water?
Throw the biotech baby out with the bath water?
U.S. Department of Justice files precedent-setting amicus curiae brief in landmark DNA patent case
Compare and contrast
Compare and contrast
As U.S. regulators look to implement a regulatory pathway for biosimilars, Brookings Institute panel shares lessons learned from other countries’ experience
Research & Development
Merck plays it smart
Merck plays it smart
Pharma acquires SmartCells and a unique preclinical insulin injection program for more than $500 million
Extending its reach
Extending its reach
EHSI acquires stem cell biotech firm Celulas Genetica
Optivia builds on UCSF work to predict liver toxicity of drugs in development
Optivia builds on UCSF work to predict liver toxicity of drugs in development
NIH awards Phase I SBIR grant for new transporter-based system
Breaking through the barrier
Breaking through the barrier
Geron licenses peptide from Angiochem to help get cancer therapeutics past the blood-brain barrier
Baxter’s buying
Baxter’s buying
After dropping generic injectables, company adds hemophilia-related assets of Archemix to product stable
Diagnostics
An Avid acquisition
An Avid acquisition
Lilly acquires Avid Radiopharmaceuticals for upfront payment of $300 million
In vitro to in vivo
In vitro to in vivo
Seeking to bridge gap between in-vitro assays and in-vivo results, Caliper acquires CRi for $20 million
Opportunity knocks
Opportunity knocks
Bio-Reference Laboratories joins with Massachusetts General Hospital to refine diagnostic tests, expand personalized medicine
Transgenomic Inc. acquires Clinical Data’s diagnostic unit
Transgenomic Inc. acquires Clinical Data’s diagnostic unit
Addition of high- growth business accelerates company’s expansion into molecular diagnostics
Creating biomarkers to strike disease early
Creating biomarkers to strike disease early
Ariana Pharma enters viral hepatitis partnership with Bio-Rad, Inserm and Beaujon Hospital
Roche inks several important diagnostic deals
Roche inks several important diagnostic deals
Roche announced that it signed three important collaboration deals in the diagnostic arena.
Feature
Start of a new era
Start of a new era
Palm Springs plays host to the last distinct LabAutomation meeting as former ALA members look toward mingling with former SBS members in a single annual meeting in 2012
Omics & Systems Biology
Thinking and doing
Thinking and doing
Quintiles, London Genetics ink pharmacogenetic deal
Teaming up to fight Alzheimer’s
Teaming up to fight Alzheimer’s
GE Healthcare enters research collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica to identify biosignatures in Alzheimer’s disease detection
A pathway to the future
A pathway to the future
Active Motif acquires Genpathway for success in next era of next-gen sequencing
Persistence for resistance
Persistence for resistance
Canadian researchers use virtual screening to target prostate cancer receptor
Special Reports
Research at the speed of light
Research at the speed of light
High-throughput screening technology leads to advances in drug discovery
Billions of screens have produced … what?
Billions of screens have produced … what?
Critics of high-throughput screening ask: Is the approach of building a bigger haystack really the best way to find more needles?
Instruments & Informatics
Arriving at destination
Arriving at destination
Thomson Reuters acquires ‘GPS in pathway analysis’ GeneGo
Passing the screen(ing) test
Passing the screen(ing) test
DiscoveRx acquires KINOMEscan, creating largest portfolio of proprietary GPCR and kinase assays
Of standards and armored RNA
Of standards and armored RNA
Asuragen to collaborate with Novartis on the development of BCR-ABL1 RNA IS calibrators and laboratory software reporting tool
Sending the right signals
Sending the right signals
Activiomics signs technology agreement with UCB
