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March 2010 Volume 6, Issue 3

Volume 6, Issue 3 | March 2010

In this Issue

Research & Development

Three of a kind

Roche allies with MGH, Harvard to develop stem cell-derived cell lines for drug discovery

As a key part of its plan to expand its global operations and supply chain to achieve increased efficiencies in production, Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently completed the acquisition of Eden Biopharm Group

Envoy for metabolic disorders

Envoy pairs with Merck affiliate to discover novel diabetes and obesity drug targets

Biopharmas bonded by blood

Ipsen and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals to create hemophilia franchise

Diagnostics

Thermo Fisher Scientific stakes claim in diagnostics

Acquisition of high-performance PCR solution provider Finnzymes gives the company a foothold in molecular diagnostics market

The right medicine for the right patient

Pfizer, QIAGEN unit to develop companion diagnostic for brain tumor patients

Going under the needle

Asuragen launches multi-center collaboration for development of diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer

Fulfilling an unmet need

Health Discovery Corp. will use PBLSC’s specimen bank in search of non-invasive diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer

Omics & Systems Biology

Map of billions

Scripps Research and GIS map out epigenome of human stem cells during development

The right sequence makes the difference

Duke, SAEC lead effort to better understand the role of rare genetic variation in clozapine-induced agranulocytosis using whole genome sequencing

Into the gaps

TGen and Geisinger Health System announce strategic partnership to shape future of personalized medicine

Connected by ChIPs

Beckman Coulter Genomics partners with Genpathway to unravel complex DNA-protein interactions

Government Watch

Pharmas heed FDA warnings

Eli Lilly, Amylin, Bayer and Cephalon comply with FDA concerns about drug marketing materials

ACLU patent case could have far-reaching consequences

Plaintiffs seek to stop Myriad Genetics, Utah researchers from patenting breast cancer genes

Nanotechnology concerns are big in D.C.

Senate bill giving FDA authority to study nanomaterials

Arizona animal testing bill stopped in its tracks

Covance-backed bill, which passed committee in early February, dropped a week later

Lilly settles Mississippi lawsuit for more than $18 million

Eli Lilly & Co. will pay $18.5 million to end Mississippi’s case against it for promotional claims related to the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa, according to an announcement made by state Attorney General Jim Hood at the end of January.

Global News

Taking the distress out of ARDS

Apeiron and GSK sign an exclusive license agreement for Apeiron’s therapeutic enzyme project APN01

Strength in numbers

Galapagos gains Argenta Discovery’s medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, ADME and biology activities

Diabetes double team

Alizé Pharma, Lilly collaborate on UAG agonists for the treatment of type II diabetes

Fluidigm and IntegraGen partner to create a genetic analysis service embedded in a France-based demonstration facili

Fluidigm, the inventor of integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs), has joined with IntegraGen SA, a leading provider of genetic research testing services, to bring IFC technology to European researchers.

Ranbaxy eyes vaccines, biologics growth with Biovel asset acquisition

Weeks after rumors began to circulate that Ranbaxy was in talks to buy a vaccine company, the Indian pharma announced in late January that it has acquired certain assets of Biovel Life Sciences Private Ltd., a biotechnology firm focused on the manufacturing of biogenerics, biosuperiors and biopharmaceuticals based in Bangalore, India.

Commentary

Efficient R&D process can position a drug candidate for commercial success

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are under increased pressure to differentiate new drugs from those already on the market.

Every flower needs a STEM

It doesn’t take a very elegant sensor to detect the current general malaise. Those of us who are old enough to have suffered a half-dozen such cycles know that we’ve come out of them by focusing on and delivering on innovation.

Instruments & Informatics

Getting selective with febit

Company pushing forward with established and new HybSelect technology to capture NGS market

Everyone take note(book)

David H. Murdock Research Institute partners with ArtusLabs for cross-disciplinary electronic lab notebook

InfoSys RISes to meet Elan’s informatics needs

Company to deploy informatics system to aid Elan’s drug discovery programs

Applied Biosystems and Idaho Technology enter into cross-licensing agreement

Applied Biosystems LLC, part of Life Technologies Corp., and Idaho Technology Inc. announced in late January that they signed a cross-licensing agreement that covers a broad range of products, including hardware, software and reagents

Editor's Focus

Readers show support for Cleveland biotech hub

Two interesting events followed my February commentary, “Cleveland: The next biotech hub?” First, readers began to contact me to show support for my argument that with some effort and organization, multi-challenged Cleveland could become the next Research Triangle Park.

New Products

Automated decapper for screw-cap sample storage tubes

The ScrewCap DeCapper available from Micronic Europe BV is a compact, automated instrument for the opening and closing of screw-capped tubes (0.5 - 1.4ml).

Assay kits for measuring complete range of HDAC enzymes

AMSBIO has announced two new histone deacetylase (HDAC) cell-based assay kits that provide a tool for studying the activity and inhibition of the full range of HDAC enzymes (1 to 11).

March 2010