March 2017

Protein Synthesis – But Not as We Know It

Fighting Generic Drug Price Gouging

The high cost of innovator medicines often makes media headlines, but what about when it comes to generic drug pricing?

Flow Chemistry Focus

Professor Steven Ley runs a research group at the Whiffen and Innovative Technology Centre in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, UK – and a significant focus of the group’s work right now is on flow chemistry and organic synthesis. We catch up with Daniel Fitzpatrick, a PhD student with the group, to find out how the group is working to synthesize a range of APIs on a single reactor platform that uses flow chemistry and a clever cloud-based system.

Passing the Emflaza Baton

Marathon sells Emflaza to PTC Therapeutics, but questions remain about FDA approval processes

Chemistry, Conjugation and Management: Lessons Learned with Bernhard Paul

From bench chemist to a general manager, small molecule APIs have always been a strong focus for Bernhard Paul. Here, he describes his career transition, and offers his take on the latest API trends.

Freezing Down Time in Bioprocessing

Can high density cryopreservation allow biopharma manufacturers to buy back time? The answer is “yes” – and specialized media (both catalogue and customized) for perfusion processes are being designed for this purpose.Can high density cryopreservation allow biopharma manufacturers to buy back time? The answer is “yes” – and specialized media (both catalogue and customized) for perfusion processes are being designed for this purpose.

Make Global Pharma Great Again!?

President Trump’s verbal assault on the industry is a manifestation of long-standing underlying structural issues that have been poorly addressed over time. It’s time for a change of direction for the industry.

Space Age Drug Development

Professor Lee Cronin, Regius Chair of Chemistry at Glasgow University, UK, has interests ranging from the origins of life to making drugs on Mars. Here, he shares his vision for the future of drug manufacturing.

Cell Science

The manufacture of cell therapies, antibodies, or other biologic drugs is a complex and time-consuming process that many would feel does not lend itself to “on-demand” systems. But synthetic biology could help to re-write the rules of biopharma production.

Going with the Flow

Three researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – chemical engineer Klavs Jensen, chemist Tim Jamison, and crystallization expert Allan Myerson – decided to collaborate and bid for a DARPA grant, resulting in a pharmacy on demand system based on continuous chemical flow processing.

Battlefield Pharma

Tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed on battlefields in remote locations where even the most common drugs can be hard to come by. Portable units that can synthesize both small- and large-molecule drugs on demand may sound like the work of science fiction, but efforts in this field are progressing at a surprising pace.

Hopping Aboard the Darjeeling Limited

India has held pharma’s interest for decades, but now – more than ever before – there is great interest in setting up regional facilities.

Blistering Headspace

Stability challenges are a constant issue for new formulations, which is why packaging solutions should target headspace.

Time for Ethics and Honor

The pharma industry can’t fix its reputation until it honestly faces up to its problems. Is it time for an industry ethical code?

Think Small, But Smart

Small molecules already represent the bulk of the contract manufacturing market and FDA approvals are on the up. For CMOs, this presents opportunities and challenges.

Proving Biosimilarity

Sitting Down With... Fiona Greer, Life Sciences Global Director, Biopharma Services Development, SGS.

What’s Your Poison?

Could compounds derived from tick saliva make effective pharmaceuticals?

Oral Vaccine Innovator

Can genetically engineered bacteria help alleviate cold chain issues for oral vaccines?

Outsourcing Boasts Growth

Outsourced manufacturing set to grow by 6.6 percent over the next four years, according to Results Healthcare

Mutual Respect

FDA and EMA forge an agreement to mutually recognize drug manufacturing inspections

Return of the Cells

Drug injection could treat noise-induced hearing loss by unlocking the ability to regenerate inner ear hair cells

Weeding Out Pain

What does patient preference for pot over prescriptions mean for the pharma industry?