India’s INR 60,000 crore ($11 billion) drug market is growing 17%–20% annually, but domestic drug companies face new challenges to their businesses. The country’s National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy has announced new price reductions for 276 drugs, which is expected to affect margins for both local and international drug makers. In addition, reductions in income taxes […]

The European Research Council (ERC) announced this month the selection of 536 researchers to receive nearly €800 million ($1 billion) in “Starting Grants,” which are designed to fund researchers early in their careers. Each grant awards up to €2 million per project over five years. The number of researchers receiving grants increased 11.6% from 2011. […]

Semiconductor firms’ R&D spending is forecast to grow 10% this year to $53.4 billion. In 2011, 12 companies spent more than $1 billion on R&D, with Intel accounting for 17% of the semiconductor industry’s total R&D spending. US, Japanese and European companies accounted for 57%, 17% and 10% of worldwide semiconductor R&D spending last year. […]

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Developments’ (OECD) “OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2012,” countries face new challenges to spur innovation in the face of economic constraints. Following the economic crisis, total R&D investments by businesses in OECD member countries declined 4.5% in 2009. Future growth for such expenditures is expected to […]

This month, researchers published 30 papers detailing results of the nine-year Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project. Designed to study the 99% of the human genome that does not code for proteins, the project has so far assigned functions to around 80% of the genome. This part of the genome consists of over 70,000 promoter […]

Second-quarter 2011 IBO Life Science Index sales grew 3.1%, 3.2% excluding currency, to $3,326 million. Operating profit expanded 0.6% to $694 million. Based on continuing operations, operating margin slipped 30 basis points to 18.5% of sales. Fiscal third-quarter revenue for Becton Dickinson’s BD Biosciences division declined 2.7% but grew 0.2% excluding currency to $268.2 million […]

Hombrechtikon, Switzerland 9/3/12—Sias has agreed acquire to Xiril, effective September 30. Sias provide OEM systems for robotic liquid handling. Xiril specializes in the development and manufacture of lab equipment and software for DNA analysis and diagnostics. The purchase price was not disclosed, but the transaction was paid for in stock. Sias said it will retain […]

Torrance, CA 8/22/12—Phenomenex has formed Phenova, a new company that integrates and expands the Phenomenex’s purchase of Wibby Environmental (see IBO 3/15/11). Phenova supplies proficiency standards and testing services to environmental labs, including the PT Manage data-reporting tool. “The acquisition is part of our growth strategy, which centers on providing total solutions to the application […]

Madison, WI 9/13/12—Promega announced that the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has overruled a February jury ruling in favor of Promega in the company’s 2010 patent infringement suit against Life Technologies (see IBO 2/29/12). According to Promega, the ruling leaves intact the prior ruling that Life Technologies’ US sales of short […]

Yokohama, Japan 9/4/12—Netzsch Japan has acquired Bruker’s Thermal Analysis instrument business in Japan. Financial details were not disclosed. Netzsch Japan had distributed Bruker AXS’s Thermal Analysis instruments and Bruker had distributed Netzsch Thermal Analysis products in Japan. “We are convinced that having a large R&D and production site that understands the needs of the Japanese […]