June 2007- Volume 3, Issue 6
June 2007
In this Issue
New Products
Highly Multiplexed, PCR-Based Assays
Highly Multiplexed, PCR-Based Assays
Qiagen, a provider of sample and assay technologies for research in life sciences, applied testing, and molecular diagnostics, announced the launch of the first assays based on its breakthrough QIAplex PCR multiplex technology.
Global News
Enzo Biochem to acquire Axxora Life Sciences for $16.3 million
Enzo Biochem to acquire Axxora Life Sciences for $16.3 million
Enzo Biochem Inc. announced late last month that its wholly owned subsidiary, Enzo Life Sciences Inc., signed a definitive agreement to acquire Axxora Life Sciences Inc., a privately owned global manufacturer and marketer of life sciences research products, for approximately $16.3 million in cash
BMS, Pfizer Inc. ink $1 billion blood-clot deal
BMS, Pfizer Inc. ink $1 billion blood-clot deal
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. recently announced a worldwide collaboration to develop and commercialize apixaban, an anticoagulant discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb being studied for the prevention and treatment of a broad range of venous and arterial thrombotic conditions.
Micromet, Nycomed collaborate on anti-GM-CSF antibodies
Micromet, Nycomed collaborate on anti-GM-CSF antibodies
Micromet Inc. and Nycomed have announced an agreement under which the two companies will collaborate on the development of anti-GM-CSF antibodies that may be useful for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Avexa wins $4.3 million AUD grant for anti-HIV drug discovery program
Avexa wins $4.3 million AUD grant for anti-HIV drug discovery program
Avexa announced in May that it was awarded an Australian Government Commercial Ready Grant worth $4.3 million AUD to develop a new generation of HIV antiviral drugs using fragment-based drug design, a non-traditional research methodology.
Ranbaxy Labs expands U.S. dermatology market presence
Ranbaxy Labs expands U.S. dermatology market presence
Ranbaxy Laboratories Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, recently announced that it acquired from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. the U.S. rights to a group of 13 dermatology products.
Genomics & Proteomics
GenomeQuest, Servier collaborate
GenomeQuest, Servier collaborate
Work leads to creation of new GQ Gene Viewer product
An acceptable third party
An acceptable third party
GeneGo looks outside for the first time, licenses GVK Bio’s medicinal chemistry database
BioServe buys Genomics Collaborative
BioServe buys Genomics Collaborative
BioServe has acquired Genomics Collaborative from SeraCare Life Sciences and its comprehensive library of 600,000 human DNA, tissue and serum samples linked to detailed clinical and demographic data from 140,000 consenting and anonymous patients.
Research & Development
Building for the future
Building for the future
AstraZeneca begins construction of $100M R&D facility in Greater Boston area
Au natural for Metabolic Research
Au natural for Metabolic Research
Company gets license for natural product technology and installs creators as chief officers
GenVec secures additional $750,000 from PATH malaria vaccine initiative
GenVec secures additional $750,000 from PATH malaria vaccine initiative
Funding will cover last steps in preclinical development
Informatics
The new economics of discovery -- Entelos in silico + Jubilant BioSys outsourcing = cost reductions
The new economics of discovery -- Entelos in silico + Jubilant BioSys outsourcing = cost reductions
A new collaboration aimed at reducing risks and costs of drug discovery and development combines in silico disease models from Entelos Inc., with the India-based labs of Jubilant Biosys Ltd.
Deal bundles genetic analysis app and validation services
Deal bundles genetic analysis app and validation services
Geospiza and Pharmaceutical Services Corp. (PSC) announced in late April a collaboration joining Geospiza’s genetic analysis software with PSC’s services for validating the software for use in commercial manufacturing of gene-based diagnostics and therapies.
CATCHING THE BUG
CATCHING THE BUG
Antiviral InteliStrat Inc. announced in mid-May the launch of a “unique database that has no equivalent worldwide”—a Web-based product that is said to be the most complete and detailed database ever on drugs and vaccines for viral infections in humans.
Strange bedfellows -- VelQuest, Symyx merging R&D and GMP in one ELN
Strange bedfellows -- VelQuest, Symyx merging R&D and GMP in one ELN
A joint development project between VelQuest Corp. and Symyx Technologies Inc., is creating a new pharmaceutical industry alphabet soup by joining R&D and GMP in a comprehensive ELN (electronic lab notebook) software platform.
Automation & Instrumentation
Impressive array of partners
Impressive array of partners
Looking to promote the nascent market for high-throughput genotyping and gene expression in a clinical laboratory setting, Affymetrix Clinical Services Laboratory (ACSL), Agencourt Biosciences, Beckman Coulter Inc. and NuGEN Technologies announced a successful collaboration between the companies to bring forward an automated, reproducible service offering for DNA purification and genetic analysis.
Reaching the “flash point” -- PerkinElmer’s photonics license deal with Axxam is focused on drug discovery
Reaching the “flash point” -- PerkinElmer’s photonics license deal with Axxam is focused on drug discovery
PerkinElmer Inc., which already considers itself a global technology leader in health sciences and photonics, recently bolstered both areas by signing a worldwide licensing agreement with Axxam SpA, a Milan, Italy-based company focused on early-stage discovery research and services for the life science industry.
Peteros and BI ink protein analysis agreement
Peteros and BI ink protein analysis agreement
Proteros Biostructures GmbH recently entered into a research collaboration with Ridgefield, Conn.-based Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in the field of protein crystallography, in an 18-month agreement under which Proteros will receive research funding fees and milestone payments for the generation and analyses of protein-ligand-structures of hits and evolved chemical entities from in-house Boehringer Ingelheim programs.
Aspectrics teams with Thermo for EP-NIR technology
Aspectrics teams with Thermo for EP-NIR technology
Aspectrics Inc., which produces encoded photometric infrared (EP-IR) technology, has entered into an exclusive agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific to integrate Thermo Scientific GRAMS spectroscopy software with Aspectrics’ Encoded Photometric Near Infrared EP-NIR process analyzers.
