Baxter

Developers seek alternatives to animal ingredients

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:59:57 -0400

The brouhaha over heparin has cast a spotlight on the use of animal products in therapies. It also underscores new development activities aimed at coming up with synthetic versions of drugs that will circumvent the need to source materials from animals. Altus Pharmaceuticals, for example, is developing an alternative to heparin with the help of financing from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

When tainted heparin was first linked to the deaths of patients, investigators quickly focused on the role that an active ingredient extracted from pig intestines may have played. Most of those ingredients are now sourced in China and would be threatened by any serious viral outbreak in those animals.

- read the article in the New York Times

Related Articles:
Post-heparin, no oversight excuses. Report
Heparin recall spreads in Europe. Report
More heparin recalled. Report
Baxter: Fake heparin predated API. Report

ALSO NOTED: Novartis faces development bottleneck; Bayer lowers 2008 expectations;and much more...

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Five years ago Novartis set out to speed drug development, hoping to quickly advance discoveries in the lab to approval. Now the project has been so successful that the company now has a Phase II/III bottleneck. Blog

> Call it Bad News Bayer. The German company reported a whopping 78 percent drop in profits for the fourth quarter and forecast 2008 sales growth at its lowest level in years. Though 2007 full-year results were actually quite good--sales grew 11.8 percent--shares are down 15 percent since January 1 on a series of disappointing news. Report

> It's a grim trifecta of heparin news today. Regulators say they've now found 21 deaths that may be linked to Baxter's recalled blood thinner. FDA inspectors uncovered quality-control problems at the Chinese plant where crude heparin was processed for Baxter's supplier. And Baxter widened its recall to include not just its multidose heparin vials but single-dose packaging and diluted heparin. Report

> The FDA's pleas for more money are gaining attention in Congress. Report

> Victory for Amgen--and maybe for Roche, too. The California drug maker persuaded a judge to temporarily ban Roche's competing anemia drug Mircera in the U.S. Report

And Finally... A CDC study confirms what many of us already know: American's aren't getting enough sleep. Report

ALSO NOTED: Halozyme inks tech pact; Bioniche gains SPA; Ariad shares on rise; and much more...

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> Halozyme Therapeutics has agreed to put its technology to work to develop a new formulation of Baxter's Gammagard Liquid for subcutaneous delivery. Gammagard is used to treat primary immunodeficiency disorders and Baxter believes it could be more effective if delivered under the skin. Halozyme pockets $10 million upfront for the use of its Enhanze Technology in a pact worth a potential $47 million. Release

> Bioniche Life Sciences has hammered out a special protocol assessment agreement on a Phase III trial of its bladder cancer therapy. The pact clarifies the critical endpoints researchers will have to meet in order to gain an approval. Release

> Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals were on the rise this morning after the company announced a special protocol assessment deal with the FDA for oral deforolimus in patients with metastatic sarcomas. The drug is being developed with Merck. Report

> Lev Pharmaceuticals is touting positive results from a Phase III trial of Cinryze, a new therapy for hereditary angioedema. Release

> Endo Pharmaceuticals says that the FDA will make a decision on a new use for Frova by September 30. Release

> Merck has exercised an option for the exclusive use of Crucell's PER.C6 technology and an option for access to Crucell's AdVac vaccine technology in two infectious disease areas. Release

> Germany's MediGene has raised €15.6 million in a private placement. Release

> Anemia drugs just can't get a break. Now, the FDA is questioning whether the drugs--Amgen's Epogen and Aranesp and J&J's Procrit--actually improve kidney patients' quality of life. Report

> The atmosphere could be contentious when Bayer's Trasylol comes before an FDA advisory committee Wednesday. FiercePharma

> GlaxoSmithKline CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier struck back at critics over the weekend in an interview with London's Telegraph newspaper. He blamed a slide in the overall pharmaceuticals industry for the company's lackluster stock performance, which has drawn fire from investor groups. FiercePharma

And Finally… New research indicates that most people still behave pretty much like Neanderthals when it comes to choosing a mate. Release