Earlier this month, the US Department of Energy (DOE) released its final operating plan for fiscal 2007 (see IBO 2/15/07). The DOE’s budget of $23.598 billion includes $3.8 billion for the Office of Science, a 4.5% increase over the fiscal 2006 appropriation. Within the Office of Science, funding for biological and environmental research decreased 14.3% […]

Investment in US refineries is on the upswing due to increased profitability. Driven by higher oil prices, rising demand and years of underinvestment, US refining margins remain healthy. According to Wood Mackenzie, US demand for gas is forecasted to outpace supply over the next three years due, in part, to shutdowns of refineries, as upgrades […]

Routine Becomes Commonplace Although advancing technology remains an important aspect of instrument companies’ product development and reputation, companies are putting greater emphasis on instrumentation for so-called routine applications, such as quality analysis and quality control testing, or other nonresearch applications. Many of the fastest growing markets, including food and beverage and metals testing, do not […]

Upcoming moves by the FDA could spur a number of pharmacogenomic studies for warfarin and eventually bring pharmacogenomic tests into the mainstream. The Food and Drug Administration is considering changes to the label of warfarin, a popular anticoagulant, that warn consumers of the drug’s varying effects on people depending on their genotypes. While there are […]

This month, the EPA published the “Framework for Metals Risk Assessment,” which examines the special attributes and behaviors of metals and metal compounds from the perspective of their effects on human health and the environment, and recommends strategies for future research by EPA risk assessors. As concentrations of environmental metals varies around the country, the […]

Public funding sources in the EU and Australia are establishing programs to assist biotechnology projects that are trying to negotiate the so-called “valley of death”—the funding gap that lies between academic grants and industrial licensing or venture capital backing. The European Investment Fund entered into a €8 million ($10.6 million) partnership with Belgium’s University of […]

The fiscal 2007 federal budget was finally signed into law by President Bush on February 15. The law makes permanent most of the funding amounts in the continuing resolution passed by Congress in December 2006 that essentially froze agency and program budgets at fiscal 2006 levels. However, Congress did provide funding increases for selected programs […]

The FDA plans to define the term “gluten-free” for the purposes of food labeling. The FDA has produced a draft proposal in January and is accepting comments on the proposal until April. According to the FDA, a gluten-free food does not contain wheat, rye or barley; it also should not contain any ingredient made from […]

According to a survey by Chemical & Engineering News, the 16 chemical firms that gave answers about capital spending will increase capital spending by an average of 7.6% this year. Increases of 28.1% and 16.5% were recorded in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Among the firms, the largest increase in capital investments, 36.4%, will be recorded […]

M&A activity among pharmaceutical outsourcing companies in 2006 was rapid. In this highly fragmented industry, consolidation often marked companies’ interest in establishing an international reach. Covalent Group’s acquisition of Remedium Oy is an example of this. Another trend was a shift among private equity firms towards expanding their portfolio outsourcing companies with an eye on […]