July 2007- Volume 3, Issue 7
July 2007
In this Issue
New Products
2007 DDT New Product Showcase
2007 DDT New Product Showcase
New Products Featured at DDT 2007
Research & Development
Evoking innovation: Evotec pulls together innovation center for fragment-based drug discovery work
Evoking innovation: Evotec pulls together innovation center for fragment-based drug discovery work
Evotec AG launched its new Innovation Centre for Fragment Based Drug Discovery (FBDD) in late May. The center draws on internal capabilities and outside scientists, and is the first of a series of new business units aimed at providing enhanced access to innovative discovery techniques.
Teaming up on next-gen growth hormone products
Teaming up on next-gen growth hormone products
Ambrx has high hopes that a recently announced collaboration with Merck Serono to develop and commercialize Ambrx’s long-acting growth hormone products will mean much more than just milestone payments and royalties.
Frontage Laboratories acquires Advanced Biomedical Research Inc. to expand services
Frontage Laboratories acquires Advanced Biomedical Research Inc. to expand services
Frontage Laboratories, a five-year-old CRO that provides bioanalytical, preclinical and drug development services, announced that it has acquired a “significant equity interest” in Advanced Biomedical Research Inc., a Princeton, N.J.-based CRO which operates clinical trials internationally.
Genomics & Proteomics
Rabies virus helps provide a means to get RNAi therapy past the blood-brain barrier
Rabies virus helps provide a means to get RNAi therapy past the blood-brain barrier
One of the biggest barriers to effective drugs for neurological and neurodegenerative disorders is the blood-brain barrier, which is designed to keep pathogens out of the brain.
New RNA control standards will improve ability to characterize performance of gene expression assays
New RNA control standards will improve ability to characterize performance of gene expression assays
The External RNA Controls Consortium (ERCC) recently brought approximately 100 of its selected external RNA controls into a final testing phase, which will be completed by the end of 2007.
Abbott and Caprion extend work on antibody targets for cancer
Abbott and Caprion extend work on antibody targets for cancer
Abbott and Caprion Proteomics will continue to collaborate in the investigation of human therapeutic antibody targets for oncology using Caprion’s CellCarta technology platform.
BioServe finds work for Global Repository
BioServe finds work for Global Repository
BioServe will use its Global Repository—which comprises more than 600,000 human DNA, tissue and serum samples linked to detailed clinical and demographic information—to assist the Specialized Clinical Center of Research (SCCOR) conduct a novel study aimed at identifying the genetic cause of thoracic aortic disease. The repository was the key asset of Genomics Collaborative which was recently acquired by BioServe (DDN, June 2007).
Automation & Instrumentation
Thermo Fisher Scientific launches RNAi services lab
Thermo Fisher Scientific launches RNAi services lab
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s RNAi research and production center in Lafayette, Colo., is now home to the new RNAi Discovery and Therapeutic Services laboratory.
Reverse merger lets WaferGen recapitalize
Reverse merger lets WaferGen recapitalize
WaferGen Bio-systems Inc completed in early June an acquisition of WaferGen Inc. through a “reverse merger,” and also completed a private placement of $10.7 million of common stock.
Application co-marketing deal with Promega to widen CyBio\'s market exposure
Application co-marketing deal with Promega to widen CyBio\'s market exposure
CyBio AG announced last month a collaboration to provide validated application protocols for its liquid handling equipment with selected reagents from Madison, Wis.-based Promega
Biotage starts molecular imaging research
Biotage starts molecular imaging research
Biotage enters into joint R&D work at McMaster U to expand into molecular imaging
Global News
Bayer, Onyx submit sNDA for Nexavar to treat liver cancer
Bayer, Onyx submit sNDA for Nexavar to treat liver cancer
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently announced that a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets has been submitted to the FDA for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer.
Roche grants AIDS technology transfers to two African companies
Roche grants AIDS technology transfers to two African companies
BASEL, Switzerland—Roche recently announced two new technology transfers with local manufacturing companies in Africa: Addis Pharmaceutical Factory in Ethiopia and Varichem Pharmaceuticals in Zimbabwe.
Symyx to gain from Ilypsa sale
Symyx to gain from Ilypsa sale
The recent announcement that biotech heavyweight Amgen intends to buy Ilypsa for $420 million was more than just music to the ears of Ilypsa’s venture capital partners.
Informatics
Thermo Fisher and Megaware partner to deliver an end-to-end bioanalysis/equivalence solution, starting in Asia
Thermo Fisher and Megaware partner to deliver an end-to-end bioanalysis/equivalence solution, starting in Asia
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has entered a new strategic partnership with Megaware Inc., a life science technology organization with offices in Westborough, Mass., and Mumbai, India, to deliver a bioanalysis and equivalence solution and joint support services for pharmaceutical, biotech and contract research organizations (CROs).
Illumina takes the controls -- iControlDB makes data of 10,000 genotyping control samples available to researchers
Illumina takes the controls -- iControlDB makes data of 10,000 genotyping control samples available to researchers
Looking to help drive sales of its high-density microarrays and to potentially provide its customers with significant savings in time and money in their whole-genome association studies, Illumina Inc. announced last month iControlDB, a company-hosted genotyping repository that contains data from nearly 10,000 control samples.
More than academic -- Universities want N.Y. to take lead in computational biology
More than academic -- Universities want N.Y. to take lead in computational biology
A group of major universities recently announced that they plan to take a coordinated approach in the development and application of computational sciences and intend to focus their efforts on the rapidly emerging field of computational biology.
Combination of two distinct Genedata platforms proves valuable for a range of pharma needs
Combination of two distinct Genedata platforms proves valuable for a range of pharma needs
Genedata, a leading computational solutions provider, recently initiated what it calls a “major research informatics solution deal” with the global biopharmaceutical company UCB, a Brussels, Belgium-based biopharmaceutical company focused on products in the areas of central nervous system disorders, allergy/respiratory diseases, immune and inflammatory disorders and oncology.
