May 2011 Volume 7, Issue 5
Volume 7, Issue 5 | May 2011
May 2011
In this Issue
Special Reports
Plop, fizz … fizzle
How the “fizz, fizz” part is all too often missing in today’s new drug formulationsGlobal News
A white knight rides in
Teva unexpectedly offers $6.8 billion to acquire Cephalon, rescuing the company from a hostile takeover attempt by ValeantNovartis acquires 85 percent stake in Chinese vaccine maker
Swiss pharma’s deal with Zhejiang Tianyuan strengthens its existing product portfolio and expands innovationAmgen expands footprint
Company acquires Bergamo, agrees to reacquire rights to products from HypermarcasTackling ‘the Big C’
Seattle-based nonprofit Sage Bionetworks, AstraZeneca team up to match cancer patients with best treatmentLooking outward to improve inwardly
MedImmune and Inserm form strategic collaboration around research into oncology, respiratory, inflammation and autoimmune diseasesTakeda, Heptares probe GPCR’s role in CNS disorders
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Heptares Therapeutics on April 11 announced the formation of a two-year drug discovery collaboration focused on a single G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that plays an important role in the pathology of central nervous system disorders.Research & Development
Merck eyes ophthalmology market
Pharma acquires specialty drugmaker Inspire Pharmaceuticals for $430 millionA new angle and approach
La Jolla Pharmaceutical acquires RILs from GliaMed, sets sights on regenerative medicineOn a cancer quest
Continuing its strategy to boost its oncology pipeline, Gilead partners with Yale School of Medicine to study genetic basis of cancerMRSA meets its match
With new polymers, IBM and Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology take aim against antibiotic-resistant pathogensThe kinase killers
pan-Raf kinase inhibitors are central focus of Sunesis, Millennium collaborationDiagnostics
QIAGEN gains access to Cellestis’ early disease detection technology
Tests for TB and CMV virus will provide synergies with QIAGEN’s existing assay portfolio and pipelineOn a Quest for Celera
Quest Diagnostics acquires Celera for approximately $344 millionARIAD takes ponatinib into pivotal preclinical trial
Company partners with MolecularMD to develop a companion diagnostic test for leukemia patientsForging an oncology collaboration
Caliper Life Sciences partners with Catholic Health Initiatives to develop improved methods for the discovery of cancer drugsMetabolic map is made
By identifying metabolic abnormalities in people with schizophrenia, Finnish scientists take one step closer to a diagnostic test for the brain disorderPGXL Labs, AutoGenomics to expand molecular testing in pharmacogenetics
PGXL Laboratories, a provider of pharmacogenetic testing and interpretive services, recently announced that it has established a collaborative partnership with AutoGenomics Inc., a developer of an automated, microarray-based multiplexing diagnostic platform, wherein they will utilize this platform—the automated INFINITI analyzer—for several different personalized medicine applications.Government Watch
Not passing the smell test
Recent Supreme Court decision in Matrixx v. Siracusano puts pharmas on notice about disclosure of adverse drug events after Zicam failuresTo patent or not to patent
Federal Circuit to decide by year’s end on patent eligibility of DNA in landmark caseA shifting landscape
Patent reform gains momentum in WashingtonStates take up stem cell debate
Minnesota, Oklahoma legislators seek to criminalize some embryonic stem cell research proceduresWHO urges action against drug resistance
As the World Health Organization (WHO) marked April 6 as World Health Day, the United Nations agency charged with directing and coordinating authority on health matters called for “urgent and concerted action” by governments, industry and society to slow down the spread of drug resistance.Commentary
Molecular screening tools and personalized healthcare: Determining success early in drug development
By facilitating personalized healthcare, molecular techniques have the potential to significantly improve patient care, rescue effective drugs from development failure and provide cost benefits to both healthcare systems and pharma development programs.Patent News
If separate parties perform steps of a method claim, can they each be held liable for patent infringement?
If separate entities each perform separate steps of a method claim, under what circumstances would that claim be directly infringed, and to what extent would each of the parties be liable?Editor's Focus
This just in: Stem cell research is a go
In a decision rendered just hours before we put our May issue to bed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia crowned the Obama Administration the victor in an ongoing debate over whether the U.S. government should help fund research that involves the destruction of embryos. Read on for the latest in the controversial Sherley v. Sebelius case.Instruments & Informatics
PerkinElmer adds muscle to informatics
Company signs agreement to acquire CambridgeSoft, completes purchase of ArtusLabsInkjet tech: Not just for printers anymore
Tecan and HP to market new drug-dispensing solution for pharmaceutical testing with goal of providing faster, more accurate drug screeningBreaking the ICE
LI-COR Biosciences collaborates with MitoSciences on metabolic pathway assaysNuGEN’s sample prep to be integrated with WaferGen’s analytical workflow
The two companies will co-develop integrated workflows using NuGEN’s SPIA products and WaferGen’s SmartChip systemBioTime and XenneX form platform for stem and progenitor cells
BioTime Inc., a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, and XenneX Inc., a biomedical research tool provider, recently announced the formation of LifeMap Sciences Inc., a joint effort that plans to make available a database for use by stem cell researchers.Omics & Systems Biology
Blockbuster buddies
RXi Pharmaceuticals signals new course with acquisition of AptheraGetting lively over lipids
Agilent and National University of Singapore begin research collaboration, marking Agilent’s first collaboration in lipidomics R&D worldwideMaking their mark
Technology collaboration between New England Biolabs and Sequenom delivers EpiMark Methylated DNA Enrichment Kit, the first product for epigeneticsMight is right
Four new Alzheimer’s disease genes discovered by UPenn-led consortium double known contributing genesFeature
Spicing up microbiology
The 2011 annual conference of the ASM in New Orleans has some new features to jazz it upThe language of New Orleans
It's not just what you say but how you say it, and whether you understand the lingua france of the cityPleasing the palate in New Orleans
A roundup of some of New Orleans’ most famous edibles and eateriesAround and about New Orleans
Getting to know the famous French Quarter and other areas in the city proper
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