September 2015

How to Ace Interviews

Is it time to update your resume and fine-tune your interview skills? Biopharma is seeing an unprecedented jobs boom and your dream role could be just around the corner.

Inkjet Innovation

Inkjet printing could have a place in the manufacture of tomorrow’s medicines.

The Cautious Comeback of Oral Peptides

After the initial hype and subsequent clinical failure of oral peptide formulations in the 1990s, pharma took a step back. Today, select oral peptides are yielding positive data in advanced clinical trials. But what is the real potential of the field?

3D Printing 101

Thinking Outside the Pyramid

Earlier this year, a research group used 3D printing to give tablets a geometric makeover.

Bioprinting Better Drug Development

Parallel to the development of 3D printing and additive manufacturing techniques using polymers and metals, another set of novel techniques has been developed that can print living biological cells.

Chemical Creations

Lee Cronin, Regius Chair of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow (UK), is involved in ambitious experiments exploring the assembly and engineering of chemical systems, with the ultimate goal of understanding the origins of life.

Appreciating the Potential of 3D Printing

Aprecia was actually founded in 2003 specifically to focus on – and unlock – the potential of 3D printing for pharmaceutical applications.

From Pharma-Grade Filaments to Capsular Delivery Systems

Big Pharma’s 3D Focus

Clive Roberts from the UK's University of Nottingham describes his team's work with big pharma on printing medicines.

A New Dimension to Medicine Manufacture

Fabricating medicine using a printer may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but the technology exists – and the pharma industry has finally taken the plunge. The FDA approved the first 3D-printed drug in August, and with researchers working on printing everything from tablets to organs, the big question is, will more approvals follow?

The Joy of Discovery

Sitting Down With... David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate, President Emeritus and Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, California Institute of Technology, USA.

Accepting R&D Failure

To file, or not to file – that is the question when it comes to IND applications. Companies don’t always make the right choice, but learning when to abandon ship can open the door to potential future gains.

The Trojan ADC Challenge

Often touted as ‘magic bullets’ against cancer, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) aim to combine the effectiveness of chemotherapy with the specificity of antibodies. But the same complexity that imbues them with desirable qualities adds many hurdles to development and manufacturing processes. Fortunately, solutions – and expertise – are on the rise.

Getting Under the Skin of Extractables and Leachables

There are key benefits to having an industry standard for E&L studies – but a standard is only the beginning. The bigger question is what comes next and how do we dig even deeper into single- use systems?

Fixing the Negative Perception of QbD

‘Quality by design’ has been around for years, but still the benefits are hardly leveraged in medicine manufacture. I firmly believe that knowledge management can help.

The Redeployment Dilemma

Pharma companies often redeploy or sell equipment, but without sufficient expertise it’s easy to fall foul of dangerous cargo regulations and other liability risks.

All Eyes on Antibiotics?

When you think about counterfeit and falsified medicines in developing countries, antimalarials are likely to spring to mind first – but we shouldn’t forget that antibiotics are also important targets for fraudsters. In either case, more quality control testing is needed.

CPhI in Numbers

CPhI Worldwide 2015 in Madrid is just around the corner. Are you ready for showtime?

Antibody Attack

DNA vaccine helps turn patients’ own cells into antibody-producing factories

Fighting for Freedom of Speech

Drug companies claim that off-label drug promotion is protected by freedom of speech

Quantum Leap in Real-time Monitoring?

Continuous monitoring of pharma products with an innovative matchbox-sized laser

Wasps Versus Cancer

Do Brazilian wasps hold the promise of a new anticancer therapy? The answer is in the sting

Clinical Trial Clarity

Drug makers and regulators are taking steps towards transparency, but is it enough?