Production

Bioengineering production strains - Microbia develops new methods

The recently published issue of Nature Biotechnology outlines a new method developed by Microbia Ltd.'s scientists for rapidly identifying genes required for the production of industrial molecules produced in microbes. This is an advancement in the company's ability to improve the properties// of microbial cells for biomanufacturing pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. This new technology enables...

Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibody Production Is More Profitable Than Small Molecule Drugs

New study has suggested that therapeutics based on monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are fare more likely to be commercially successful than their small molecule predecessors. According to a study completed by // consultancy Propagate Pharma, about half the mAbs launched so fare appear to be profitable. That means mAbs are recouping more in revenues than their estimated $1 billion to $1.8 billion cost...

Digestive acid production dependent on newly found hormone

A newly discovered hormone has been found to play an important role in the digestion of fat, cholesterol, and fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, E, and D. The hormone is found to control the production of bile acid by sending signals to the liver//. The bile acids play a very important role in the emulsification of fats that enables absorption. The hormone is called fibroblast gr...

Tea Found To Boost Insulin Production And Prevent Cataract

Diabetes is a multifactorial disorder that can lead to a multitude of complications if left untreated. A new research conducted on animal models suggests the possibility of using tea as a form of treatment for the chronic disorder. More specifically, //it has been found to prevent the incidence of cataracts, a significant health problem faced by majority of the diabetics worldwide. Re...

Roche confirms Tamiflu production talks in US

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche confirmed that it is in talks with 15 companies in the U.S. about stepping up the production of Tamiflu, the bird-flu drug//. The partnership would dramatically increase the world's supply of Tamiflu as countries are stockpiling the drug in preparation for a possible bird flu pandemic. The Basel-based firm confirmed on Thursday that it was...

Conroy’s May Not Be Permitted To Resume Production Soo

Conroy's Smallgoods has been accused by John Hill, the South Australian Health Minister of indulging in media games after a deadly bacteria infected its factory. Hill called upon the company set right the problem at the // earliest. A strain of the listeria virus was found in the Bowden factory of the company by the Health Department, resulting in its corned beef unit being closed down for a week...

Massive Production Of Bird Flu Vaccine To Be Initiated In China

It has been proposed to initiate mass-production of a live bird flu vaccine for dual protection against bird flu and Newcastle disease before the start of next year // in China. This move is further anticipated to lead to the development of a vaccine for humans. More than 1-billion units of the vaccine are believed to be produced by the year-end. This would be a supplement to the al...

Chugai Pharmaceutical To Initiate Domestic Production Of Bird Flu Vaccine

A new project to manage the potential shortage of bird flu vaccine (Tamiflu) in Japan, the World’s biggest user of the anti-flu preparation, would soon be initiated by Chugai Pharmaceutical Company, a subsidiary of Roche Ltd. // Request by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan is said to have sparked the initiative. The domestic production of the bird flu vaccine is hoped...

Pigs have another utility: production of healthy oils!

A University of Pittsburgh-led team has used gene technology to breed animals that produce fats. The animals of interest were taken as pigs and they had a key gene inserted in them. // The result was creation of a breed of pigs that had the capability to produce compounds useful for the heart. According to researcher Dr Randy Prather said: "Pigs and humans have a similar physi...

Coca Cola To Enhance Production Of Diet Coke

Softdrinks major Coca Cola is planning to enhance the production of its 'Diet Coke', in view of the increased demand for the product, particularly in urban markets. // Though diet coke contributes just one per cent of the company's total softdrink production, Coca Cola is looking to come out with a new package, considering the demand from customers, Coca Cola India, Area Operations D...

Natco Pharma Commences Production At Dehradun Unit

Natco Pharma Ltd today said it has commenced commercial production at its Dehradun unit. // The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the finished dosage pharmacuetical formulations unit would achieve a capacity level of 300 million tablets per annum and the project is being implemented in stages. Plans of establishing a parenterals division at Dehradun are also u...

New Cell Lines Cuts Down the Cost and Time in the Production of Flu Vaccine

Paul Coussens, a professor of animal science and microbiology and molecular genetics, and his colleagues from Michigan State University found that a new cell// line has the ability and potential for growing flu virus. This is good news because it would result in the production of new human flu vaccines which is cheaper and produced in a shorter period of time. He identified t...

ABCB6 Is Key to Production of Heme in Hemoglobin

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that a protein called ABCB6 plays a central role in production of a molecule that is key to the ability// of red blood cells to carry oxygen, of liver cells to break down toxins, and of cells to extract energy from nutrients. The St. Jude investigators showed that ABCB6 is lodged within the outer membrane of the ce...

WHO takes initiative to fight corruption tainted medicine production-supply chain

The WHO in a shocking revelation pointed out that although very difficult to disseminate actual figures it has been estimated roughly // that about 10%- 25% of the funds allocated for the disbursement of medicines to the public by the governments globally gets misused or lost because of fraudulent practices, bribery and diversion of pharmaceuticals. In a rough estimate it has been assessed that g...

Drug Boosts Platelet Production, Reversing Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Attacking a platelet-depleting autoimmune disease in a whole new way, an experimental drug is helping patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) once again// produce healthy amounts of platelets -- with no major side effects. That's the conclusion of a new, multicenter study led by Dr. James B. Bussel, professor of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College, attending pediat...

High-Tech Microbes Bolsters Natural Sweetener Production

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Badal Saha and collaborators have found that the genetically engineered bacteria that eat hemicellulose in corn fiber// and other sources could set the stage for a new, biobased method of making xylitol, a mint-flavored sweetener used in chewing gum, toothpaste, mouthwash and other products. Xylitol is produced naturally by many fruits and v...

Role of Appetite Hormone MCH in Insulin Production Revealed

A new Joslin Diabetes Center-led study has shown conclusively that a neuropeptide, melanin concentrating hormone (MCH), found in the brain and known for its role in// increasing appetite in people, plays a role in the growth of insulin-producing beta cells and the secretion of insulin. This finding has the potential to spur the development of new treatments for diabetes that stimulate the product...

Scientists Boost Production of Cheap Malaria Drugs

Scientists have developed ways of increasing the artemisinin yield from the herb Artemisia annua by specifying optimal growing // conditions and improving the extraction process. The two developments could bring down the price of artemisinin-based drugs recommended by the World Heath Organization to treat malaria. Over 100 countries use it to fight malaria parasites that have become res...

Thailand Directs Pharma Companies to Declare Production Cost of Drugs

Pharmaceutical companies will be required to declare the production cost of new medicines, including antiretroviral drugs, they are planning to introduce// into the Thai market, Siriwat Thiptaradol, secretary-general of Thailand's Food and Drug Administration, said recently, the Bangkok Post reports. According to Siriwat, the requirement to disclose production costs of drugs is inclu...

The Production and Marketing of IBS Drug Halted by the Chinese Government

The Chinese Food and Drug administration has put a halt to the production and marketing of Novratis AGs Zelnorm Drug, for irritable bowel syndrome, as the risk associated with it outweighs the benefits. The patients are asked to stop taking the medication. The Chinese Drug watchdog posted a statement on its website warning risks of Zelnorm outweigh the possible benefits for some pa...

Bengal to Ban Low-grade Plastic Production

The West Bengal government will ban production of low-grade plastic from Wednesday, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said Tuesday in a pledge on the World Environment Day. Bhattacharya urged the state Pollution Control Board (PCB) to come forward with their assistance in formulating an environment-friendly policy. "We have decided to impose a ban on low-grade pla...

Tissue Engineered Scaffolding Allows Reproduction of Cartilage Tissue

A new study examines the use of tissue-engineered scaffolding made of cartilage cells, which have a limited ability to heal naturally, to replace defective cartilage tissue. Cartilage cells are extracted and seeded to the scaffold which is implanted into the body, where new cartilage tissue is grown along the structure. The study appears in the journal Artificial Organs....

Exercise Stimulates Production of New Brain Cells

A new study by a researcher at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has found that exercise stimulates the production of new brain cells . The finding also helps explain just how exercise keeps depression at bay. Previous research had shown that exercise has similar effect to antidepressants on depression, and now Astrid Bjornebekk has found that this process happens as exer...

Afghan Opium Production Soaring Out of Control

The annual UN report on illegal drugs has said that opium production in Afghanistan is soaring out of control . The World Drug Report says over 90 percent of illegal opium, which is used to make heroin, comes from Afghanistan. According to a BBC report, the cultivation of opium poppies increased dramatically in the country, despite the presence of more than 30,000 int...

New Transgenic Mushrooms Raise Hope for Mass Production of Human Drugs

Penn State and Agariger, Inc. have patented the technology of making new transgenic mushrooms, which have increased hope of using mushrooms for the mass production of commercially valuable proteins or useful human drugs. The technology was introduced by a team of researchers including Charles Peter Romaine and Xi Chen at Penn State. As part of the study, scientists de...

A New Study Throws Limelight in HIV Vaccine Production

The research collaborative involving scientists from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS , Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Microsoft Research and Los Alamos National Laboratory used highly computer-intensive, cutting-edge statistical research methods to investigate how the HIV virus mutates to escape the bodys immune system. A pioneering collaborative study h...