The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is finalizing proposals for several standards. A standard for sampling analysis is a major component of the draft, with a panel report expected this month. The draft will then be reviewed by a scientific committee. Other drafts in the works regard import regulation, risk-based analysis, flavors […]

China’s planned foray into the global vaccine market should drive down the vaccine prices of Western drug firms. The World Health Organization (WHO) said in March that China’s drug safety standards are in line with global vaccine regulations, paving the way for Chinese vaccines to be authorized by the WHO and then purchased by United […]

More often than not, scientists are unable to reproduce medical research results. The lack of reproducibility is likely due to more complicated experiments as laboratory methods evolve, the use of different equipment and materials by different studies, the high number of variables present in a study, authors not presenting all information to other researchers, and […]

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has announced a four-year, $416 million plan to expand its Genome Sequencing Program. An initial amount of $86 million annually will support basic research, new initiatives and technological improvements at three large genome sequencing centers. For the first year, fiscal 2012, the Broad Institute, Washington University and Baylor […]

Third-quarter 2011 IBO Life Science Index sales grew 6.7%, 4.6% excluding currency, to $3,149.7 million. Operating profit improved 2.1% to $641.8 million, and operating margin slipped 90 basis points to 21.4% of sales. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue for Becton Dickinson’s BD Biosciences division grew 9.6%, 4.7% excluding currency, to $354.2 million to account for 17% of […]

Newark, DE 11/11/11; London, UK 11/11/11; Newark, DE 12/9/11; London, UK 12/9/11—Antibody solutions firm SDIX has sold its Water Quality division to Modern Water, a publicly held UK firm that provides technology for water desalination and monitoring, for $4.5 million. The sale includes the division’s intellectual property, inventory, commercial contracts, equipment and staff. The division […]

Gaithersburg, MD 12/14/11—Ocimum Biosolutions announced that it has retained Burrill & Company to evaluate strategic alternatives for its Gene Logic business, which could include the sale of its operations or assets. Gene Logic provides genomics services and informatics solutions. Burrill & Company is identifying buyers to bid on the company’s assets before January 6, 2012.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands 12/8/11—Scientific publisher Elsevier has acquired the business assets of Ariadne Genomics for an undisclosed amount. Ariadne Genomics provides pathway analysis tools and semantic technologies for life science researchers, including the Pathway Studio data mining and visualization solution. “Ariadne Genomics’ pathway analysis tools and semantic technologies integrate research findings from across multiple content […]

Corning, NY 12/1/11—Corning has acquired Mediatech, including its KD Medical subsidiary, for an undisclosed amount. Mediatech develops, manufactures and sells cell culture media and molecular biology reagents related to tissue and cell culture applications, including products under the cellgro brand. “By providing customers worldwide with greater access to Mediatech’s cellgro product portfolio, this acquisition supports […]