January 2011 Volume 7, Issue 1
Volume 7, Issue 1 | January 2011
January 2011
In this Issue
Instruments & Informatics

Arriving at destination
Thomson Reuters acquires ‘GPS in pathway analysis’ GeneGo
Passing the screen(ing) test
DiscoveRx acquires KINOMEscan, creating largest portfolio of proprietary GPCR and kinase assays
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
Activiomics signs technology agreement with UCBOmics & Systems Biology

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
Active Motif acquires Genpathway for success in next era of next-gen sequencing
Persistence for resistance
Canadian researchers use virtual screening to target prostate cancer receptor
Thinking and doing
Quintiles, London Genetics ink pharmacogenetic dealSpecial Reports

Research at the speed of light
High-throughput screening technology leads to advances in drug discovery
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?Research & Development

Breaking through the barrier
Geron licenses peptide from Angiochem to help get cancer therapeutics past the blood-brain barrier
Baxter’s buying
After dropping generic injectables, company adds hemophilia-related assets of Archemix to product stable
Extending its reach
EHSI acquires stem cell biotech firm Celulas Genetica
Optivia builds on UCSF work to predict liver toxicity of drugs in development
NIH awards Phase I SBIR grant for new transporter-based system
Merck plays it smart
Pharma acquires SmartCells and a unique preclinical insulin injection program for more than $500 millionFeature

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 2012Diagnostics

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
Bio-Reference Laboratories joins with Massachusetts General Hospital to refine diagnostic tests, expand personalized medicine
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
Ariana Pharma enters viral hepatitis partnership with Bio-Rad, Inserm and Beaujon Hospital
Roche inks several important diagnostic deals
Roche announced that it signed three important collaboration deals in the diagnostic arena.
An Avid acquisition
Lilly acquires Avid Radiopharmaceuticals for upfront payment of $300 millionEditor's Focus

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
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
Scientific hurdles face approval of biosimilars versus genericsGlobal News

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
Axcan gobbles up Eurand for almost $600 million
Companies converge on pain
UK’s Convergence Pharmaceuticals, Selcia join forces to develop new drugs for chronic pain
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
After months of talking and speculation, Johnson & Johnson makes official its $2.3 billion bid to acquire Dutch biotech CrucellGovernment Watch

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
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?
U.S. Department of Justice files precedent-setting amicus curiae brief in landmark DNA patent case
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

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