Manufacturing

At a public meeting, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) discussed its recommendation that Congress establish a national database to publicly reveal financial relationships between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry.

John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Bart Stupak (D-MI), chairman of that committee's Subcomittee on Oversight and Investigations, directed a letter to US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach to request further information regarding FDA's process for inspecting manufacturing facilities of the generic drug manufacturer Actavis following several product recalls by the company.

PharmTech's monthly newsletter, Equipment & Processing Report, reviews the Editor's Picks for the October 2008 edition from Cognex and W.L. Gore and Associates.

Vacuum-conveying technology is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry to move materials through the processing line, blend ingredients in various solutions, and handle tablets. The vacuum conveying of powders and granules, however, must be performed properly to avoid segregation, the separation of ingredients that results in an uneven mixture.

Integrating MES with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can bring companies greater control over production than before and make manufacturing processes more flexible.

Under a definitive merger agreement, Eli Lilly and Company will acquire ImClone Systems, Inc. (New York) in a cash tender offer of approximately $6.5 billion.

The electronic pedigree mandate for prescription drugs has been delayed again. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that delays ePedigree implementation until 2015.

Also, Merck & Co. discontinues development of its obesity drug taranabant; Synthetech names Frederic Farkas director of manufacturing; more...

Several strategies and software applications help pharmaceutical companies integrate their manufacturing execution systems and enterprise resource planning systems.

Pharmaceutical companies want software vendors to make integrating manufacturing execution systems and enterprise resource planning systems easier.

Industry needs a standard to connect systems and equipment sooner rather than later.

The authors studied the effect of the combination of binders on the flow and compressibility characteristics of the agglomerates of binary combination of lactose and dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate.

In the wake of economic growth, healthcare reforms, and large-scale industry investment, Turkish pharmaceutical companies are charting their own destiny.

The author describes the benefits, processes, and practicality of using hot-melt extrusion to mix active pharmaceutical ingredients with pharmaceutical-grade polymers.

Planning ahead will ensure successful efforts to improve packaging and packaging operations.

Advancements add yet another challenge for industry's already overextended regulatory body.

Brief pharmaceutical news items for October 2008.

This article summarizes the classification systems for topical liquid and semisolid dosage forms used for dermatological application and notes some differences between FDA and USP classification.

To err may be human, but to really mess things up, you need management.

Emerging pharmaceutical companies represent an important client base for CROs and CMOs. Lessons learned for successful customer–supplier relations.

Manufacturers seek real-world benefits from investment in QbD and risk-management strategies. This article contains bonus online-exclusive material.

Can previous trends of Democratic and Republican administrations predict industry's future?

A book offers a detailed introduction to the new area of risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.

Editors' Picks of Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Innovations

Cycle design and robustness testing using advanced process analytical technology.