The EU’s Seventh Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP7) began in 2007 as the successor to the FP6 program, the EU’s main system for funding research. Boasting a much larger budget (€50 billion [$66 billion = €0.75 = $1]) than its predecessor (€17.50 billion [$23.10 billion]) and running until 2013, the FP7’s goals […]

According to a report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the three federal agencies charged with detecting seafood fraud—the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Commerce’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the FDA—are not working together effectively. More than 80% of the five billion pounds of seafood […]

Hygiene testing is an important and regulated part of the hygiene regimen in food and pharmaceutical processing facilities. A typical application is to determine whether a cleaned surface meets the relevant standard for cleanliness with respect to organic material. Several closely related methods are used for hygiene testing. The most common is adenosine triphosphate (ATP) […]

Company Announcements Roche Diagnostics licensed rights from Exiqon A/S to use the SYBR Green I reagent in real time PCR. Enigma Diagnostics opened a US office in San Francisco, California, in December 2008. Ionian Technologies granted EnviroLogix exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and sell tests for the agricultural, plant pathogen and veterinary markets, utilizing its […]

In order to increase drug exports, Korean pharmaceutical companies are making investments to meet cGMP standards. The Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association estimates that the country’s 65 drug firms have invested KRW 1.9 trillion ($1.4 billion) over the past two years to upgrade their facilities. The country’s largest drug firm, Dong-A Pharmaceutical, intends to spend KRW […]

In a paper published this month, the EPA outlined its strategic plans to implement a new approach to chemical toxicity testing. Current approaches rely almost exclusively on animal testing. The new model for toxicity testing and risk assessment is focused on toxicity pathways. Information on the pathways will be combined with distributional data on population […]

Early-stage contract research organizations (CROs) could face a tougher time in coming years, according to Jim Miller of PharmSource. After rapid growth in 2007 and early 2008, pharmaceutical outsourcing slowed in late 2008 due to restructuring at large drug companies and efforts to preserve cash by medium- and smaller-size pharmaceutical firms. The number of drug […]

Company Announcements Metrohm opened a regional support center in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in 2008. Life Technologies stated in a January SEC filing that Invitrogen used a purchase price of $22.50 per share (the price per share two days before the merger) to value its acquisition of Applied Biosystems (see IBO 11/30/08), resulting in an […]

Cosmetics containing nanoparticles will undergo a safety assessment procedure starting in 2012, according to regulations passed this month by the European Parliament. The legislation replaces national rules for cosmetics with a single EU-wide set of regulations. Cosmetic ingredients that contain nanoparticles will be subject to additional submission criteria. If questions about the safety of a […]