September 2009- Volume 5, Issue 9
September 2009
In this Issue
Feature
What’s on your mind?
What’s on your mind?
The Windy City will host the 39th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience
Bench Press
Natural-born killers identified by British researchers
Natural-born killers identified by British researchers
A team of British researchers, led by Dr. Hugh Brady of Imperial College London’s Department of Life Sciences and publishing in the journal Nature Immunology in mid-September, have identified the master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting natural killer immune cells. This is a discovery that the team, which included researchers from University College London and the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research, believes could one day help scientists boost the body’s production of these frontline tumor-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.
Automation & Instrumentation
Bringing separations together
Bringing separations together
After several acquisitions and a closed-door transformation, Grace Davison emerges as full-fledged separations business with Reveleris system
Google that virus
Google that virus
Roche lends Google.org technological muscle for efforts centered on better tracking of viruses and preventing their spread
Stretching out a bit
Stretching out a bit
Millipore expands drug discovery and development services in Europe with BioAnaLab acquisition
Firstest with the mostest
Firstest with the mostest
Bruker Daltonics’ mass spec joint venture in India aims at market leadership
Agilent, Varian mum on blockbuster deal
Agilent, Varian mum on blockbuster deal
Proposed $1.5 billion merger would solidify Agilent's position in bio-analytical measurement
Informatics
Data analysis double play
Data analysis double play
Maaguzi and Covance acquisitions solidify Phase Forward’s leadership aims in the integrated clinical research suite market
Picture perfect
Picture perfect
FujiFilm Imaging Colorants selects Dotmatics to provide research data visualization solutions
EDC made easy
EDC made easy
Korea’s DreamCIS selects Oracle Health Sciences software solutions to speed clinical trial data collection
First comes love, then comes marriage
First comes love, then comes marriage
After one-year partnership on Phase I trial electronic data capture solutions, OmniComm acquires EDC assets of Logos Technologies
Silo breakdown
Silo breakdown
Sigma-Aldrich acquires ChemNavigator to give researchers a one-stop shop for compound selection and procurement services
Research & Development
Diabetes a sweet spot for collaboration
Diabetes a sweet spot for collaboration
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Novartis’ Genomics Institute forge diabetes drug partnership
Deterioration detection
Deterioration detection
AstraZeneca, Australia's MHRI collaborate on early detection of Alzheimer's
From Russia with love
From Russia with love
Merck Serono joins Russian-led team at MSM Protein Technologies to raise antibodies to complex cell surface receptors
Personalized cancer therapy
Personalized cancer therapy
EMD Serono teams up with M.D. Anderson researchers to accelerate development of effective oncology drugs
BMS acquires Medarex for $2.1B
BMS acquires Medarex for $2.1B
Merger is part of 'string of pearls' growth strategy; larger deals may follow
New Products
Biotin-binding microplates with higher sensitivity
Biotin-binding microplates with higher sensitivity
Thermo Fisher Scientific has expanded its line of biotin-binding microplates with the introduction of the Thermo Scientific Pierce High Sensitivity Streptavidin and NeutrAvidin Coated Plates.
Improved efficiency of intracellular delivery of bioactive molecules
Improved efficiency of intracellular delivery of bioactive molecules
Biocompatibles has launched a new product in its CelLuminate range of intracellular delivery systems.
New epoch in spectrophotometer technology
New epoch in spectrophotometer technology
BioTek has launched the Epoch Multi-Volume Spectrophotometer System for monochromator based absorbance measurements in volumes as low as 2 µL.
New mouse stem and primary cells
New mouse stem and primary cells
The Jackson Laboratory has introduced two new research tools—JAX Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells (mES) and JAX Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts (MEFs). JAX mES cells are self-renewing, non-transformed cell lines established from day 3.5 blastocysts and can differentiate into all three embryonic germ layers: endoderm, ectoderm and mesoderm.
Genomics & Proteomics
Covance picks up Merck lab
Covance picks up Merck lab
Company acquires Seattle-based Gene Expression Laboratory and will provide Merck with genomic analysis services
Genomics on the mind
Genomics on the mind
Lilly and SeqWright team up with a pair of Roche business units to get to genetic roots of psychiatric diseases
Aptamers as a targeting moiety in two deals
Aptamers as a targeting moiety in two deals
Archemix aptamers to carry the payload for miRagen and Dicerna RNA therapeutics
Alnylam, Tekmira target RNAi therapeutics
Alnylam, Tekmira target RNAi therapeutics
In a move aimed at the discovery of novel cationic lipids and lipid nanoparticles for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. have joined forces and launched a new company, AlCana Technologies Inc.
Unmasking the villain
Unmasking the villain
University of North Carolina researchers decode the structure of an entire HIV genome
Global News
Sanofi’s booster shot
Sanofi’s booster shot
Sanofi Pasteur strengthens vaccines position in India through control of Shantha Biotechnics
Novartis sponsors Avila Therapeutics’ covalent drug candidate
Novartis sponsors Avila Therapeutics’ covalent drug candidate
Avila Therapeutics Inc. has entered into an option agreement with the Novartis Option Fund focused on Avila’s advancement of a novel covalent drug program from Avila’s research pipeline in conjunction with an equity investment
Transoceanic translational collaboration
Transoceanic translational collaboration
Applied Bio's sequencing technology to be used by Australian university to accelerate pancreatic and ovarian cancer research
Research across the Pacific
Research across the Pacific
AlphaRx and Venturepharm announce agreement to develop drug development center in China
BioFocus DPI, Oncodesign join forces in oncology discovery
BioFocus DPI, Oncodesign join forces in oncology discovery
BioFocus DPI and Oncodesign have pooled their expertise and resources to form a drug discovery service specializing in the rapid generation of promising anticancer drugs
Commentary
Sample management: The elephant in the room?
Sample management: The elephant in the room?
Upgrading sample management and storage can represent a significant initial investment, but the benefits far exceed the costs. By upgrading sample management systems, the “elephant in the room” can be exposed and removed, saving time and money and averting a wide range of problems.
Why study a drug in distilled water when urine is cheaper?
Why study a drug in distilled water when urine is cheaper?
Or is it? This is the title I used at an American Chemical Society symposium on clinical chemistry in the late 1970s. Even in my youth, I was complaining about analytical chemistry faculty doing things that had very little biological relevance, when it was not that hard to do the opposite. Thirty years later, I’ve had to modify my opinion because urine, blood, rats, tissue, saliva and all the rest have recently become very expensive, and properly so.
Editor's Focus
‘Miles to go’ before Kennedy’s vision of healthcare reform is realized
‘Miles to go’ before Kennedy’s vision of healthcare reform is realized
On Aug. 25, Massachusetts Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy passed away at the age of 77 after battling a malignant glioma, leaving our nation to celebrate his accomplishments and wonder how his passing will affect Congress’ current healthcare reform proposals.
