Adeline Siew, PhD

Ilaris (canakinumab), a selective, fully human, monoclonal antibody that inhibits interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), has been approved in the EU for symptomatic pain relief in patients suffering from gouty arthritis whose condition cannot be managed with current treatments.

AstraZeneca's three patents protecting Crestor (rosuvastatin) have been ruled invalid by the Federal Court of Australia.

Engineering nanoparticles with optimal properties for use in cancer therapies.

Pharmaceutical Technology brought together a panel of industry experts for a special forum to discuss solubilizing polymers and the related formulation strategies for poorly soluble drugs.

The tableting science anti-research (TSAR) project seeks to understand why certain formulations stick to tablet tooling.

Belgium drug developer Ablynx and UK-based Spirogen have entered into a research collaboration to discover and develop novel anticancer drug conjugates combining Spirogen's proprietary cytotoxic drugs, pyrrolobenzodiazepines (PBDs), and the company's associated linker technology, with nanobodies generated using Ablynx's proprietary technology platform.

The EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended Sanofi's six-in-one pediatric vaccine for marketing authorization.

Merck's investigational integrin inhibitor cilengitide did not meet its primary endpoint in the CENTRIC Phase III trial evaluating if the agent could prolong overall survival when added to the current standard chemoradiotherapy regimen (temozolomide and radiotherapy).

Merck has agreed in principle to pay $688 million to settle two federal securities class-action lawsuits involving the company's anticholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zocor, thereby avoiding trial.

Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced that Bivigam [immune globulin intravenous (human), 10% liquid] is now available in the pharmaceutical distribution channel for use by physicians, pharmacists and hospitals throughout the US. Bivigam is a sugar-free, glycine stabilized intravenous immune globulin that has been approved by the FDA in December 2012 for the treatment of patients with primary humoral immunodeficiency (PI).

Shire announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with the US government to resolve the previously disclosed civil investigation into its sales and marketing practices in the US relating to the company's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs, Adderall XR and Vyvanse as well as the ADHD patch Daytrana.

Protecting patients from counterfeit medicines is a pressing issue facing governments and the pharmaceutical industry.

Endo Pharmaceuticals and GVK Biosciences (GVK BIO), a contract research organisation (CRO) based in India, have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the development of small molecules targeting an undisclosed protein. Using its discovery expertise, GVK BIO will deliver a clinical candidate and Endo will be responsible for the development and commercialisation of the product.

Allergan and MAP Pharmaceuticals have entered into a definite merger agreement under which Allergan will purchase all of MAP?s outstanding shares for the price of $25.00 per share.

With so many blockbuster drugs falling off the patent cliff, research-based drug companies are now embracing new development paradigms to increase R&D productivity.

Shire has signed an agreement to acquire Lotus Tissue Repair, Inc., a biotechnology company developing the first and only protein replacement therapy for the orphan disease, dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB).

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and GlycoVaxyn AG have entered into a three-year agreement to collaborate on the research and development of a multivalent bacterial vaccine utilizing GlycoVaxyn's bio-conjugation technology.

Happy New Year! It's the beginning of another year in this digital age where science and technology continue to advance with leaps and bounds. And one can't help but ask, what awaits pharma in 2013?

Mylan issued a voluntary recall of three lots of the painkiller tablets hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen.

BASF extended its offer period to acquire Pronova BioPharma, a producer of omega-3 fatty acids.

Roche's MycoTOOL, which offers rapid detection of mycoplasms based on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, has received FDA acceptance.

Roche and the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) have recently launched an academic-industry partnership, known as STEMBANCC, under which 10 pharmaceutical companies and 23 academic institutions will collaborate on using stem cell technology to accelerate the development of safer and more effective drugs for patients.

As the battle against counterfeits gains momentum, PharmTech speaks to Mark Davison, CEO of Blue Sphere Health, and Craig Stobie, global life sciences sector manager at Domino Printing Sciences, about the challenges involved.

Adeline Siew PharmTech speaks to Lynne Byers and Brian Johnson about Rx-360's initiatives to protect patient safety.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently conducted a workshop on clinical-trial data and transparency in London following the agency's decision to proactively publish all data from clinical trials and enable interested parties to access to full data sets.

No one likes needles, so imagine the benefits of needle-free delivery systems, especially for chronic conditions where lifetime therapy is required, for example rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Boehringer Ingelheim has entered into a non-exclusive technology and commercial license option agreement with BaroFold. Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will license BaroFold's pressure-enabled manufacturing technology (PreEMT).

As an industry that is constantly being scrutinised, pharma is now under pressure to openly publish all data from clinical trials, including negative results such as failures of medicines during phase I–III evaluation.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has officially opened its new manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China. The $20-million plant will manufacture life-sciences consumables and equipment as well as establish local production capabilities to meet increasing demand in China and other regions in Asia Pacific.

Novartis is investing more than half a billion US dollars in the construction of a new state-of-the-art biotechnology production site in Singapore for the manufacturing of drugs based on cell culture technology.