Over the last year or so, there has been an inordinate amount of press questioning the safety and tolerability of various drugs, whether in clinical trials or on the market.
The recent hospitalization of people participating in a British clinical trial for TGN 412, as well as the rampant lawsuits against the makers of products like Vioxx, have shown the industry that it clearly has a lot of work ahead of it when it comes to maximizing the safety of people taking its drugs. While it has been widely acknowledged that animal studies will only take science so far in understanding a new drug’s behavior, I wonder if we still don’t put too much stock in animal models as a gauge of human response.
Early last month, when Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific executives convened the conference call to announce what to date is the largest merger of its kind in the life sciences industry, one phrase kept popping up during the call: “industry transforming transaction.”
Every major pharmaceutical company has by now invested in supercritical or sub-critical fluid chromatography (SFC) technology. This fact represents a win-win situation. Scientists like SFC because it is greener, safer, cleaner, and uses more nearly inert and easier to recycle solvents in the research laboratory compared to LC.
The most popular tool for modulating gene activity is RNAi knockdown, but the logical alternative, cDNA overexpression, has also proven fruitful in discovering new gene functions. Why, then, has it gotten so little attention compared to RNAi? Let’s see how these two alternatives actually compare.
Genzyme Pharmaceuticals and Brookwood Pharmaceuticals embark on collaboration to develop novel drug delivery solutions, with an initial focus on peptide delivery.
Sigma-Aldrich recently announced the creation of an RNAi Partnership Program that will see academic researchers garner the benefits of work arising from within Sigma and its membership in The RNAi Consortium (TRC).
In a recent issue of Science, researchers believe they have found a way to selectively target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) with small-molecule compounds that interrupt protein-protein interactions.
In a move that was perhaps equal measure protective and proactive, SRI International announced recently it has acquired all the operations of clinical pathology analysis company Quality Clinical Labs (QCL).
In a move that will expand its oncology pipeline, Biogen Idec announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement for the acquisition of Conforma Therapeutics Corp.
Aureus Pharma has teamed with Budapest, Hungary-based ChemAxon; the Budapest University of Technology and Economics; and Paris-based sanofi-aventis for a project called KnowTox.
GenoLogics Life Sciences Software finalized two integration deals that are expected to help propel the company along its path to be not just a conduit but a consolidator.
Scientists at IBM Research announced recently the discovery of conserved sequence patterns within the human genome that suggest biological functions for DNA previously thought to represent dead areas between genes—the so-called junk DNA.
Seeking to help distinguish its immunotoxicity competencies from the phage-based biosensor business that is its namesake, Biophage Pharma Inc. recently completed a restructuring of its contract research organization (CRO) business.
PerkinElmer has expanded and deepened its screening and diagnostics offerings with the acquisition of Spectral Genomics’ assets for molecular karyotyping technology used to evaluate chromosomal abnormalities.
SeraCare Life Sciences will consolidate its facilities and streamline operations by moving from California to Massachusetts and occupying a newly purchased manufacturing facility.
Former Neos Discovery has taken on a new name to more accurately reflect its area of expertise—Trana Discovery—and has also brought on board five former Glaxo executives to commercialize the company’s technology.
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