Current Affairs Pharmacy

Novozymes Biopharma, part of Novozymes A/S, has recently unveiled its enhanced next generation albumin technology, which was developed in collaboration with the University of Oslo, Norway. Built on Novozymes’ original Albufuse platform, the proprietary Albufuse Flex technology has been designed to enable users to adapt and control the pharmacokinetics or their target protein or peptide with retained efficacy, ensuring flexibility and optimal use. "Novozymes Biopharma is thrilled to introduce Albufuse Flex to the industry. Albumin is a natural and benign carrier molecule, and by having the unique ability to decrease or increase its half-life it will help our customers to develop novel drugs with improved pharmacokinetic properties for a wide range of applications," said Dave Mead, Business Development Director, Novozymes Biopharma. Further, Prof Inger Sandlie, Group Leader, Norwegian Centre of Excellence for Immune Regulation, added, "The unique Albufuse Flex technology will result in enhanced treatment efficacy, more favourable dosing regimes and improved patient compliance."

ERT, a global technology-driven provider of clinical services and   customisable   medial devices to biopharmaceutical and healthcare organizations, recently   announced   that its Board of Directors has appointed Dr Jeffrey S Litwin as its new President & Chief  Executive Officer (CEO) and a member of the board. Dr Joel Morganroth, who had served as interim President and CEO, commented, "After a thorough national search by Heidrick and Struggles, our Board selected Dr Litwin, an internal candidate, as the most qualified person to lead ERT. Dr Litwin brings to ERT knowledge of the clinical research domain, that is our core business, and also experience in the adjacent markets of phase IV safety surveillance and healthcare in which ERT's assets will be employed. All of our employees look forward to continuing to work with Jeff to enhance ERT's operational successes and strategy." Dr Litwin joined ERT in 2000 as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer and was subsequently promoted in December 2005 to Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr Litwin oversaw ERT's global cardiac safety operations for seven years and was instrumental in implementing EXPERT, ERT's digital operating system. During this time period, ERT experienced tremendous growth with revenues increasing more than three-fold. For the last four years, he has been responsible for leading ERT's consulting business, assisting over 150 companies with the design and evaluation of cardiac safety testing programmes.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc, has recently announced a new upgrade programme that includes the donation of reconditioned Thermo Scientific NanoDrop 1000 spectrophotometers to academic   institutions   in developing countries. Owners of a NanoDrop 1000 UV-Vis  spectrophotometer can trade in their current instrument and receive a $1,500 credit with the  NanoDrop 2000 and NanoDrop 2000c purchase of a NanoDrop 2000 or NanoDrop 2000c UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Thermo Fisher will refurbish all traded-in instruments and donate them to Seeding Labs, an organisation that places scientific instrumentation in the academic institutions of developing nations. Providing refurbished NanoDrop 1000 instruments through Seeding Labs supports scientific research in these countries and NanoDrop instruments are ideal candidates for this programme because they are easy to use and require no consumables. Hrissi Samartzidou, Senior Global Director, marketing UV-Vis, Thermo Fisher Scientific NanoDrop, said, "When a new instrument arrives at a laboratory, another may be put out of service. Together with Seeding Labs we can ensure that these instruments continue to serve science, supporting and expanding scientific research in institutions that otherwise could not afford this technology."

Researchers have developed microchips stuffed    with    highly    sensitive 'nanosensors' that analyze how proteins bind to one another. This is a vital step for assessing the effectiveness and possible side-effects of a potential medication. Moreover, these biosensor microchips could significantly speed up the process of drug development. "You can fit thousands, even tens of thousands, of different proteins of interest on the same chip and run the protein-binding experiments in one shot," said Dr Shan Wang, Professor - Materials Science & Engineering, and      Electrical      Engineering, Stanford University, who led the research effort. This one centimetre sized array of the nanosensors can monitor simultaneously and continuously thousands of times more protein-binding events than any of the existing sensor. Furthermore, the new sensor is able to detect interactions with greater sensitivity and deliver the results significantly faster than the present gold standard method. The use of magnetic nanotags attached to the protein being studied greatly increases the sensitivity of the monitoring. Further, the analytic model that the researchers have developed enables them to predict accurately the final outcome of an interaction based on only a few minutes of monitoring data.

Payne Security has launched its newly designed website to showcase their updated innovative product range and market information, improving ease of navigation for customers. This newly designed website reflects Payne Security's continued commitment to investing in facilities that ensure that the company remains at the forefront of technology and quality. The website now provides a new online customer experience and gives visitors a better understanding of Payne Security and its extended range of products designed to beat counterfeiters and prove personal identification. Comprehensive information is provided showcasing the three main business areas - brand protection, document security and card solutions. Richard Burhouse, Business Development Manager, Payne Security, commented, "The design of the contemporary, highly graphical website reflects Payne Security's mission to not only develop innovative, high value-added products, but to deliver world class quality and service. The new website allows customers to access a comprehensive resource of products and relevant information. Payne Security is committed to keepings its customers ahead of industry challenges and developing tailored solutions to achieve continued commercial success."     

Nanoscale materials and technologies that are conventionally used for electronic devices have been combined with individual living cells by a team of Danish investigators. The researchers have shown that cells can grow and function on a carpet of small upright needles made of semiconductors, the so-called nanowires. Dr Karen Martinez, Group Leader, BioNano Group, Department - Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen (Denmark), explained, "We have developed makes it possible for us to see how the cells function when  they are impaled on carpets of nanowires. We think that the university of   technique has great  copenhagen potential and that  it could be used in laboratories within a couple of years to develop. For example, it could be used by the pharmaceutical industry to test new drugs for a variety of diseases including neurological problems, cancer and heart diseases." Nanophysicists Jesper Nygard and Claus Sorensen are in charge of the development of nanowires with a diameter of approximately 100 nm, and Dr Martinez is responsible for the knowledge of the function and handling of cells. The project benefits considerably from the interdisciplinary background of Trine Berthing, a PhD student - Nanoscience, who has been working on this project since the beginning of her graduate studies in nanoscience in 2007.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc, has recently announced new Thermo Scientific Exact Finder    software for its Thermo Scientific Exactive benchtop     Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-    MS) system powered by Orbitrap™ technology.    This new software offers food and environmental y thermoicientinc safety, clinical research and forensic toxicology ExactFinder software laboratories a single streamlined data processing, review and reporting workflow for screening results with confidence and easy quantization. When combined with the Thermo Scientific Exactive LC-MS, the ExactFinder software provides a single simplified workflow solution for routine screening and quantization. Laboratories can process data for both targeted and unknown screening experiments without the need for multiple software packages. ExactFinder software also offers ease of integration into laboratory workflows with minimal user training. Data processing and reporting are automated.

A paired laboratory and epidemiological study has  identified the cardiac drug  digoxin as the basis for a new chemotherapeutic approach for the treatment of prostate  cancer.   Investigators   at Johns Hopkins University have screened 3,187 compounds that yielded digoxin as the most potent inhibitory agent. The    investigators    then    evaluated epidemiological data from studies where incidence of prostate cancer was linked to digoxin use. This evaluation produced a cohort of about 47,000 men aged 40-75 who had participated in Harvard's Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) from 1986 through 2006 and did not have a cancer diagnosis before 1986. Results revealed that regular digoxin users, especially users for at least 10 years, had a lower prostate cancer risk. Thus, digoxin was both highly potent in inhibiting prostate cancer cell growth in vitro, and its use was associated with a 25 per cent lower prostate cancer risk. Dr Elizabeth Platz, the first author and Professor-Epidemiology, Oncology and Urology, Johns Hopkins University, said, "We realized that combining our laboratory and epidemiologic approaches could reduce the possibility that results on the candidate drugs might be due to chance. Adding the epidemiology study to the drug screen step provided an assessment of the drug's potential activity in people." However, despite the promising findings presented in this study, digoxin was not shown to prevent prostate cancer, and the authors do not suggest the drug be used to prevent the disease.   

Offering a complete range of therapeutic protein development and manufacturing services, has validated aseptic fill/finish suites for cost-effective formulation, filling and finishing of both therapeutic proteins and small molecules into vials, preformed IV bags and prefilled syringes. Therapure also provides lyophilisation cycle development and optimization A key aspect of pharmaceutical product   services at both clinical and commercial manufacturing is the delivery of a sterile   scale. Following the fill/finish, Therapure and potent product to the patient. A   provides final labelling and packaging key aspect of pharmaceutical product   capabilities.   However,   once   the manufacturing is the delivery of a sterile   product is filled and finished, 100 per and potent product to the patient, cent inspection is performed on the Therapure, an  integrated global   drug product containers prior to Contract Development  and  labelling, and then finish with packaging Manufacturing Organization (CDMO)   and cartooning. 

With an aim to carve a niche in the manufacturing segment, Elektrocraft (India) Pvt Ltd is a dedicated performer in the line of products ranging from centrifuges to stirrers. It currently caters to biotechnology, pharma and several other sectors and is looking to further widen the existing expanse. Chandreyee Bhaumik Established in 1977, Elektrocraft (India) Pvt Ltd is committed to manufacturing various types of centrifuges, laboratory stirrers as well as high- speed emulsifiers, magnetic stirrers and vortex mixers for research laboratories,   hospitals,   chemical & pharma industries, educational institutions, etc. Over the years, the facility has come to be identified with credible quality and reliability among industries. With time, the company has affirmed its position as the driving force behind some of India's most significant   scientific   and industrial projects. Further, the primary activities of the company encompass export and import of electric motors, speed reducers & laboratory equipment    for    biotechnology, pharma and food processing industry. Meeting the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) criteria, the motors manufactured here   ensure   that the customers get a wide range of state-of-the-art products. A reflection of the journey A centrifuge is a kind of equipment, generally driven by an electric motor that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis applying a force perpendicular to the axis. The centrifuge functions using the sedimentation principle, where the centripetal acceleration causes more dense substances to separate out along the radial direction (the bottom of the tube). Further, by the same method, lighter objects will tend to move to the top of the tube. Simple centrifuges are used in chemistry, biology and biochemistry for separating suspensions. These very rapidly in capacity and speed. In 1977, Elektrocraft established itself as a small scale industrial unit at Goregaon for manufacturing of electric motors. In 1981, the company started manufacturing laboratory centrifuges. Later, in 1990, it expanded its products   wing   by   introducing laboratory centrifuges with digital controls     and     manufacturing high-speed refrigerated centrifuges. In 1993, the company introduced high-volume   refrigerated   blood bank centrifuge. Elektrocraft gradually began expanding and, in 1997, started exporting its products to African and South Asian countries. In 2003, the company established itself   as   'Eitek   International' which is now known as 'Eitek Overseas Pvt Ltd'. The company is involved in the export and import'- of laboratory instruments. This year the company bagged another feather in its success cap. It implemented ISO 9001:2000 and was audited by AQSR, USA. In 2004, the company received   CE   marking   for   its laboratory     products     range.  P Ramachandran, Chairman and Managing   Director,   airs,   "We manufacture   various   types   of electric motors, including AC and DC high-speed motors. We produce gear motors as well." Commenting on the products line of the facility, Ramachandran   adds»   "We   also manufacture laboratory equipment, namely, centrifuges meant for scientific and medical research, especially laboratory mixers." Spreading wings... Two   manufacturing   units   of Elektrocraft are located in Vasai near Mumbai. One unit undertakes motor and equipment manufacturing, while the other manufactures motors only. Ramachandran avers, "Initially, all the work was carried at the Goregaon more...