Issue 2 2010

Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of drug products and drug manufacturing processes

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / Prof. Thomas De Beer, Assistant-Professor, Process Analytical Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ghent

This article aims at supplying a concise overview on the application of Raman spectroscopic analysis methods within the pharmaceutical drug product manufacturing world. Firstly, there will be a focus on the rapid and nondestructive off-line analysis feasibility of Raman spectroscopy for final drug products. Herewith, several possible sources of error will be discussed. Secondly, the applicability of Raman spectroscopy for in-process monitoring of drug product production processes will be highlighted. In addition, the tendency within the pharmaceutical industry to move from batch processing towards continuous manufacturing will be envisaged. (more…)

Tagged with: PAT, RAMAN, Thomas De Beer, University of Ghent

qPCR: Current technologies and future applications

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / European Pharmaceutical Review

A diverse and widely applicable laboratory technique, qPCR is vital for the progression of drug discovery, enabling detection and quantification and commonly used for both diagnostic and basic research. This roundtable brings together experts from a wide range of pharmaceutical applications to discuss current technologies and future applications of qPCR for drug discovery and the pharmaceutical industry. (more…)

Tagged with: Afif Abdel Nour, Jim Huggett, LGC, Michael W. Pfaffl, qPCR, Technical University Munich

Article 2: The implementation of rapid microbiological methods

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / Michael J. Miller, Ph.D., President, Microbiology Consultants, LLC

This is the second in a series of articles on rapid microbiological methods that will appear in European Pharmaceutical Review during 2010. Method validation is the process used to confirm that an analytical procedure employed for a specific test is reliable, reproducible and suitable for its intended purpose. All analytical methods need to be validated prior to their introduction into routine use and this is especially true for novel technology platforms such as rapid microbiological methods (RMMs). (more…)

Tagged with: Michael J. Miller, Microbiology, Microbiology Consultants LLC

Finding novel targets for anticancer therapy

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / Wolfgang Link, Experimental Therapeutics Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO)

Advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of cancer together with novel approaches to interfere with signal transduction pathways have opened new horizons for anticancer target discovery. In particular, the image based large scale analysis of cellular phenotypes that arise from genetic or chemical perturbations paved the way for the identification and validation of disease relevant molecular targets independent of preconceived notions of mechanistic relationships. (more…)

Tagged with: Cancer Biology, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Wolfgang Link

SBS Biopharmaceuticals Symposium: Exploring synergies across drug formats

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / EPR

Date: 20 – 21 May 2010
Venue: San Francisco Hilton Union Square, San Francisco, CA, USA
Website: www.sbsonline.org

Biopharmaceuticals is a rapidly growing sector of the pharmaceutical industry. Major pharmaceutical companies have recognised this trend in recent years and defined ambitious targets for the proportion of their pipeline that is expected to be filled by novel biopharmaceuticals. It is inevitable that many of the scientists involved with small-molecule drug discovery will be called upon to contribute their experience to biopharmaceuticals discovery. Understanding of the drug-discovery process and appreciation of the similarities between these processes in smallmolecule and biopharmaceuticals are limited. (more…)

Tagged with: SBS, Show Preview

Implementation of appropriate assays and HTS technologies in drug discovery

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / Sheraz Gul, Vice President, European ScreeningPort GmbH

In this article, an overview regarding advances in assay formats for specific target classes and options that should be considered when considering hardware will be given. There has been a significant growth in the assay and automation technologies that are available for compound screening activities and it is essential to evaluate a variety of these before beginning a drug discovery program, the aims of these being to ensure the most relevant assay formats that are available are adopted. (more…)

Tagged with: European ScreeningPort GmbH, Lab Automation, Sheraz Gul

The 58th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / EPR

Date: 23 – 27 May 2010
Venue: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Website: www.asms.org

The American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) was formed in 1969 to promote and disseminate knowledge of mass spectrometry and allied topics. Membership includes over 7,500 scientists involved in research and development. Members come from academic, industrial and governmental laboratories. Their interests include advancement of techniques and instrumentation in mass spectrometry, as well as fundamental research in chemistry, geology, forensics, biological sciences and physics. (more…)

Tagged with: ASMS, Show Preview

‘Pharmaceutical Industry / University’ R&D collaboration on Process Analytical Technologies

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / Professor Nicolas Abatzoglou, Chair, PAT in Pharmaceutical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biotechnological Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke

Process analytical technologies (PAT) are mature and well advanced in the classical chemical industry. Many successful industry/university R&D collaborations are aimed at the development of analytical methods and their application in process control. However, PAT in the pharmaceutical industry is a rather new field. It is precisely this latter reality that makes many scientists, scientists-engineers and other practitioners sceptical about the possibility and the usefulness of establishing similar R&D collaborations between industry and academia. (more…)

Tagged with: Nicolas Abatzoglou, PAT, Université de Sherbrooke

ISSCR 8th Annual Meeting: International Society for Stem Cell Research

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / EPR

Date: 16-19 June 2010
Venue: Moscone West, San Francisco, CA USA
Website: www.isscr.org

The ISSCR Annual Meeting offers inspired research, new perspectives and networking with stem cell professionals from around the world. It creates a platform for the exchange of theoretical and applied information and skills, providing delegates with perspective, training and a forum to analyse the latest data. (more…)

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Turn back the clock and be healed Induced pluripotent stem cells and their future impact on drug discovery and regenerative medicine

Issue 2 2010 / 9 May 2010 / Paul D. Andrews, Drug Discovery Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

They are only four years old and are getting everyone very excited; they were Science Magazine’s ‘Breakthrough of the Year 2008’ and Nature’s ‘Method of the Year 2009.’ Their discoverer, Shinya Yamanaka, shared the Lasker Award last year and is no doubt touted for a future Nobel Prize. ‘They’ are induced pluripotent stem cells (or iPS for short). The discovery was that somatic cells from the adult body, whether from a hair, skin biopsy, cord-blood or even adipose tissue, can quite readily be changed back into pluripotent stem cells – ostensibly the state they were in shortly after conception – in the process, erasing the epigenetic modifications that make a brain cell different from, say, a liver cell. (more…)

Tagged with: Paul D. Andrews, Stem Cells, University of Dundee