Drug Development TechnologyNews and commentary for the Drug Development Technology community.Seasoned Veterans Join INC Research Board of Directors- May 27, 2008 INC Research, a therapeutically-focused contract research organization (CRO) with a process for delivering reliable results, today announced that David Gill and William Hall have been elected to its Board of Directors. Both new members bring necessary expertise to help guide the company's strategic growth plans. David Gill, former CFO of NxStage Medical, will also serve as the chairman of INC Research's Audit Committee, which has the responsibility to ensure the integrity of financial...http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/contract_research/inc/press20.html Epistem to Provide Preclinical Efficacy Testing Services for Exponential Biotherapies- May 19, 2008 Epistem announced today that Exponential Biotherapies, Inc (EBI). of Virginia, USA, have contracted Epistem to provide their specialised preclinical efficacy testing services for agents likely to protect the gastrointestinal tract against radiation damage. The first compound that Epistem will assess is EBI's lead candidate drug, EA-230, which is a small peptide immunoregulator, which has shown the potential to treat (minimise) radiation insult and could therefore be administered following a...http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/contract_research/epistem/press5.htm... Epistem and AstraZeneca Complete Plucked Hair Biomarker Study for Oncology Drug Development- May 19, 2008 Epistem announced today that it had successfully completed a preliminary study with AstraZeneca for the use of its proprietary, minimally invasive plucked human hair biomarker technology to help steer oncology drug development. The technology includes analysing gene expression change in RNA extracted from the bulb of cells located at the base of a single human plucked hair. Changes in gene expression can be used to identify biomarkers ('core gene sets') to aid decision making in the drug...http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/contract_research/epistem/press6.htm... Epistem to release data on it's Cancer Stem Cell Assays at AACR- May 19, 2008 It has been suggested that tumours are derived from a small subpopulation of 'cancer stem cells'. If these stem cells are not affected by a cancer therapy the treatment is only likely to be palliative and the tumour will re-grow. Epistem are currently developing and validating cancer stem cell assays to test the effect of novel cancer agents on this cell type to help identify more effective treatments. The poster presentation will demonstrate that a key regulator of epithelial stem cells,...http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/contract_research/epistem/press4.htm... Irish Prime Minister, Mr Bertie Ahern Launches BioUETIKON- May 14, 2008 BioUETIKON, the new biotech services division of Chemie Uetikon (CU) and Chemie + Papier Holding (CPH), was officially launched on Monday 28th April in Dublin, Ireland by the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern TD. BioUETIKON Ltd provides process development and GMP CMO services to the biopharmaceutical, medical device and related industries. Located in a flexible, high quality facility approximately 15 minutes from Dublin Airport on the Dublin City University (DCU) campus, BioUETIKON is ideally...http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/biochemicals/biouetikon/press3.html Introducing Immunology Services at LAB Research Denmark (Scantox)- May 12, 2008 LAB Research Denmark is pleased to announce the introduction of Immunology Services now available in their facility. Introduction of bioanalysis for biotechnology products complements the service offerings, which LAB Research Denmark already has available, particularly the in-life studies and its expertise in pharmacokinetictoxicokinetic. Mette Loftager, who recently joined this facility will head the Immunology Department at LAB Research Denmark and brings over 15 years of post-doctoral...http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/contract_research/lab-research/press... Newly Validated Capability to be Used in Gastrointestinal Cancer Study- May 12, 2008 The Almac Group today announced a deal with Biogen Idec, a global biotechnology company based in Cambridge, USA, to use Almac Diagnostics' expertise in extracting genetic information from Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded tissue (FFPE) for SNP analysis in a Phase II trial of one of its drug candidates for the treatment of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST). Almac Diagnostics has developed unique capabilities to work with FFPE that allow researchers to use the samples in qPCR and microarray.http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/contract_research/almac/press6.html Istaroxime- May 12, 2008 Istaroxime is an investigational drug for acute decompensated heart failure under development by Debiopharm of Switzerland. It was originally identified and developed by sigma-tau Industrie Farmaceutiche Riunite SpA (sigma-tau) of Italy, from which Debiopharm acquired the right to develop and commercialise istaroxime worldwide, except in Italy. These rights also extend to istaroxime follow-on compounds. Istaroxime is still in early-stage development, having been evaluated in phase II trials in.http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/projects/istaroxime/ Pharmatest Announces New Customer Contracts Worth Nearly US$700.000 with Various Pharmaceutical Companies- May 10, 2008 Pharmatest Services a full-service Contract Research Organization (CRO) announces today that it has signed new customer contracts valued at nearly US$700,000 during the first quarter of 2008 with multiple leading biopharmaceutical companies worldwide. The new contracts include research projects in the therapeutic areas of oncology, women's health and inflammation (osteoarthritis). Services to be provided are preclinical lead validation and efficacy studies for new drug compounds.http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/contractors/contract_research/pharmatest/press2.... |