This week’s biotechnology news headlines include, House votes to increase medical research funding, malaria vaccine, FDA approves AstraZeneca’s lung cancer drug, GSK and UC San Diego form pact on cancer stem cells, right to try bill, Ani Pharma buys 22 generic drugs from Teva, and Regeneron raises $105 million.

Cell Culture Events

Webinars:

Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Times:

7:00 a.m. PDT Pacific Daylight Time
10:00 a.m. EDT Eastern DaylightTime
3:00 p.m. BST British Summer Time
4:00 p.m. CEST Central European Summer Time

Resolute® AutoPak: Changing Chromatography Column Packing from an Art into a Science

Typically column packing is the responsibility of a few specialist operators and has been regarded almost as an art by some observers. When the artistry fails, the results can be unplanned plant downtime, loss of product or sorbent as well as inefficient use of resources. Couple this with difficulties in transferring methodologies to other geographies and coping with loss of skill through high staff turnover then it’s not difficult to see why column operations are regarded with apprehension. To mitigate these risks the biopharmaceutical industry is moving toward an increasingly science based approach. The role of automation in this move is pivotal. This webinar discusses the move to automation and how it delivers solutions to the challenges associated with chromatography column operations.

Participants will learn:

• The relevance of automation to improving the efficiency of column operations.
• How automation has been implemented in the AutoPak system.
• The findings of an early adopter of the AutoPak system.

Workshops:

High Performance Tour 2015

Discover how to improve efficiency and productivity for your bioprocessing workflows during our exclusive High Performance Tour.

Learn how the choice of chromatography media (resins), hardware, and services can dramatically affect your process performance.

Register now to reserve your seat at this special event where you can gain insights in improved process efficiency and productivity.

Coming to these Cities:

• San Diego, CA – September 15, 2015
• San Francisco, CA – September 17, 2015

To Register – https://promo.gelifesciences.com/na/K15104/landing.html

Conferences:

August

• The Bioprocessing Summit – August 3-7, 2015 – Westin Copley Place – Boston, MA http://www.bioprocessingsummit.com/

September

• Stem Cells Regenerative Medicine Conference – September 2-3, 2015 – Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C. – http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/stem-cells-and-regenerative-medicine-congress/#stem-cells-and-regenerative-medicine-congress Join 300+ attendees from stem cell, regenerative medicine, cell & Gene Therapy biotechs to discuss the hottest industry topics and make new connections. At this year’s event the regenerative medicine industry is taking it to the next level and discussing how genomics is changing the field – and highlighting the commercialization and manufacturing stories that have helped spur the recent success.Discover the future of the regenerative medicine industry with exclusive content.Co-located with:
• Cord Blood World – September 2-3, 2015 – Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C. http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/stem-cells-and-regenerative-medicine-congress/C52334.stm

• Cell Therapy Bioprocessing – September 30 – October 2, 2015 – The Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, VA http://www.ibclifesciences.com/CellTherapy/overview.xml

October

• Bioproduction – October 14-15, 2015 – Dublin, Ireland – http://www.informa-ls.com/event/bio-production14Benchmark technological developments and explore best practices in biomanufacturingThe biopharmaceutical industry is making a capital investment of approximately $8 billion in new facilities in Ireland, most of which has come in the last 10 years, representing close to the biggest wave of investment in new biotech facilities anywhere in the world.Join us at BioProduction 2015 in Dublin this October to see why so much is being invested in this area and to network with leading players within this growing industry!BioProduction 2015: Europe’s leading and largest event for a comprehensive update on all aspects of large scale biological manufacturing. Providing insights on the latest technologies, upstream/downstream processing, process analytics, the implementation of continuous manufacturing, facility design, flexibility facilities and single use systems to reduce inefficiencies during the biomanufacturing process.4 Conferences – 1 Exhibition – 1 Congress
  • Conference 1: Continuous Manufacturing
  • Conference 2: Upstream Processing – Production, Development & Analytics
  • Conference 3: Manufacturing Strategy & Technology
  • Conference 4: Downstream Processing

  For more information on the 2015 event please visit the event website at http://www.informa-ls.com/CQ3531BioproductionCellEL

• Bioprocessing International – October 26-29, 2015 Hynes Convention Center Boston, MAhttp://www.ibclifesciences.com/BPI/overview.xml

Headlines

“House Votes to Boost Funding for Medical Research,” The Wall Street Journal

“The House of Representatives voted 344-77 for a bill that would boost federal funding for medical research, and would speed up Food and Drug Administration approvals for many new drugs and medical devices.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “3D Bioprinting – Research Successes, Challenges, and Future Possibilities”

“Caveats, costs and complexities shadow first malaria vaccine,” Reuters

“It’s a showpiece drug that has the potential to end a disease that kills half a million African children a year. Yet even before it wins a license, the world’s first malaria vaccine has lost some of its sheen.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Is Now the Time to Move Your Research to 3D Cell Culture? Key Considerations and New Tools to Ensure Success”

“AstraZeneca lung cancer drug approved as first-line treatment,” Reuters

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AstraZeneca Plc’s drug, Iressa, as a first-line treatment for a common form of lung cancer.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “2014 FDA New Drug Approvals – 11 Biologics Receive Approval”

“GSK and UC San Diego form cancer stem cells pact,” PharmaTimes

“GlaxoSmithKline is bringing on board the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Centre to work on a programme aimed at eradicating cancer stem cells to treat leukaemia and other diseases.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “3D Printing and 3D Bioprinting – Changing the Healthcare Landscape”

“Congressional Lawmakers Introduce a Right to Try Bill for Desperate Patients,” The Wall Street Journal Pharmalot

“Yet another legislative effort is under way to expand the ability of terminally ill patients to gain access to experimental medicines. A trio of congressional lawmakers has introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government, including the FDA, from taking any action to prevent access.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Cell Culture Media Optimization: Making the perfect magical potion”

“ANI Pharma Buys Another 22 Generic Drugs from Teva (TEVA), in Addition to 31 in a 2013 Deal,” BioSpace

“Baudette, Minn.-based ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it bought 22 generic drug products from Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA). The drugs had been previously marketed and the deal was for $25 million in cash and a percentage of future product sales.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Continuous Bioprocessing – The Biomanufacturing Model of the Future?”

“Cell Therapy gets a boost as ReNeuron raises $105 million,” Reuters

“The drug research field of Cell Therapy received a boost on Friday when British biotech company ReNeuron raised 68.4 million pounds ($106 million) to help fund its work into stroke, blindness and cancer.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “A High Throughput, Scalable Solution to Upstream Process Development”