Pharma Horizons: leading-edge formulation
This report addresses the key factors shaping pharmaceutical formulation, including regulation, QC and analysis.
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This report addresses the key factors shaping pharmaceutical formulation, including regulation, QC and analysis.
16 December 2010 | By Frank McCaughan, MRC Career Development Fellow, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
The delivery of personalised medicine is a key goal of modern cancer medicine and refers to the tailoring of anticancer therapy to the molecular characteristics of an individual tumour. To facilitate personalised medicine, it is important to have robust and reproducible means of gaining molecular information about a patient’s cancer…
16 December 2010 | By Attila A. Seyhan, Translational Immunology, Inflammation and Immunology, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Recent advances in RNA interference (RNAi) technology and availability of RNAi libraries in various formats and genome coverage have impacted the direction and speed of drug target discovery and validation efforts. After the introduction of RNAi inducing reaagent libraries in various formats, systematic functional genome screens have been performed to…
This is the sixth and final paper in a series of articles on rapid microbiological methods that have appeared in European Pharmaceutical Review during 2010. Over the past year, we have explored the world of rapid microbiological methods (RMMs), focusing on validation strategies, regulatory expectations, and the technical and quality…
16 December 2010 | By Matt Moran, Director, PharmaChemical Ireland
PharmaChemical Ireland published a major strategy document in March 2010. The document, titled, ‘Innovation and Excellence-PharmaChemical Ireland Strategic Plan’ was launched at the Drug Chemical and Allied Technologies (DCAT) meeting at the Waldorf Astoria, New York City on 16 March 2010. The document outlines the industry response to the major…
16 December 2010 | By Dana Buckman, Senior Scientist, Biomarkers – Translational Research, Pfizer
Flow cytometry can be used to advance our understanding of diseases in multiple ways. Drug effects and dosages can be ascertained in vitro, along with patient selection based on mutations and antigen profiles. Within the Diagnostic Biomarkers group of Translational Research at Pfizer, we are utilising flow cytometry in conjunction…
16 December 2010 | By Carl A.K. Borrebaeck and Christer Wingren, Department of Immunotechnology and CREATE Health, Lund University
Deciphering crude proteomes in the quest for candidate biomarker signatures for disease diagnostics, prognostics and classifications has proven to be challenging using conventional proteomic technologies. In this context, affinity protein microarrays, and in particular recombinant antibody microarrays, have recently been established as a promising approach within high-throughput (disease) proteomics1-3. The…
16 December 2010 | By Abina M. Crean & Anne C. Moore, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork and Conor O’Mahony, Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork
Vaccination represents the primary public health measure to combat infectious diseases. However, limitations of cold-chain storage, vaccine wastage, hazardous sharps-waste and the requirements for trained personnel add significant and unsustainable financial and logistic costs to immunisation programmes. Developments of needle-free methods should aim to overcome these logistics issues from the…
16 December 2010 | By Wolfgang M. Brueckl & Joachim Ficker, Department of Internal Medicine 3, Lung Cancer Center and Thomas M. Mundel, Roche Parma AG
Despite innumerable clinical studies in the past three decades with lots of traditional chemotherapeutical drugs and drug combinations, survival in lung cancer has increased by far less than other entities. Research now focuses on inhibitors of tyrosine kinases which have been shown to have a central role in the development…
1 November 2010 | By Michael J. Miller, President, Microbiology Consultants, LLC
This is the fifth in a series of articles on rapid microbiological methods that will appear in European Pharmaceutical Review during 2010. In my previous four articles, I have provided an overview of the benefits of rapid microbiological methods (RMMs) as compared with conventional methods, validation strategies and regulatory perspectives…
1 November 2010 | By Mario Hellings, Tom Van den Kerkhof, Jeroen Geens and Steve Mehrman, Johnson & Johnson
As cited by the FDA, “Process Analytical Technology (PAT) is a system for designing, analysing, and controlling manufacturing through timely measurements (i.e., during processing) of critical quality and performance attributes of raw and in-process materials and processes with the goal of ensuring final product quality.”1 The main goal of PAT…
1 November 2010 | By Attila A. Seyhan.Translational Immunology, Inflammation and Immunology, Pfizer
Robust and validated biomarkers are needed to improve diagnosis, monitor drug activity and therapeutic response and guide the development of safer and targeted therapies for various chronic diseases. While different types of biomarkers have been impactful in the field of drug discovery and development, the process of identifying and validating…
1 November 2010 | By Andreas Vogt, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology and the University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute, University of Pittsburgh
Cell motility plays an important role in many human diseases and normal cellular processes. Cell migration is critical for wound healing as cells of the inflammatory system and fibroblasts populate the wound and initiate re-epithelialisation1. On the other hand, unregulated cell migration contributes to cancer cell invasion and metastasis2. Agents…
29 October 2010 | By Roderick Beijersbergen, Group Leader Molecular Carcinogenesis, the Netherlands Cancer Institute
Improved understanding of the molecular alterations in cancer cells has fuelled the development of more specific and directed cancer therapies. However, it has become clear that response rates can be low due to confounding genetic alterations that render these highly specific therapies ineffective. As a result, the costs of cancer…
29 October 2010 | By Jason Borawski and L. Alex Gaither, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research
In the past decade, the pharmaceutical industry has exploited the naturally occurring cellular RNAi pathway to enhance drug discovery research. The RNAi pathway, triggered by dsRNA, selectively, although not always specifically, degrades mRNA leading to substantial decreases in post-transcriptional gene expression1. Researchers have capitalised on this intrinsic pathway by synthesising…
29 October 2010 | By Klara Valko, Analytical Chemistry, GlaxoSmithKline Medicines Research Centre
A major concern for the pharmaceutical industry is the high attrition rate (>90 per cent) of potential drug molecules failing during late stages of the drug discovery process. This may be due to lack of efficacy in the clinic, unexpected side effects or unfavourable pharmacokinetics. There is a need for…