At LabAutomation2010, Artel will launch new features of the ARTEL MVS Multichannel Verification System, an objective performance assessment and optimization tool for automated liquid handlers. New developments enhance measurement data comparability, increase the speed of volume verification, and allow users to reduce the overall variability of their laboratory processes. The MVS will be demonstrated with automated…
Single-Channel Pipette
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced the Finnpipette F2 with an upgraded soft-touch tip ejector for increased ergonomics. With a patented gearing mechanism, the tip ejection force is decreased by up to 50 percent, effectively reducing the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI). The combination of soft-touch tip ejector, softly contoured handle and wide, supportive finger rest…
PPD to Acquire BioDuro
PPD, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire BioDuro LLC, a drug discovery outsourcing company that provides a broad range of integrated services to biopharmaceutical companies. The acquisition will expand PPD’s drug development capabilities in China. Founded in 2005, BioDuro operates a state-of-the-art, 110,000-square-foot laboratory in Beijing. Most of its approximately 660 employees are based in…
Macro Confocal Imaging
The TCS LSI macro confocal from Leica Microsystems is the first super zoom confocal that offers high resolution plus a large 16mm field of view for in vivo imaging. True spectral confocal technology provides crystal clear images of the highest resolution to reveal the finest details of a model organism. The new Large Scale Imaging…
Multiphoton Confocal Microscope
Nikon’s A1R MP is an advanced multiphoton excitation and confocal fluorescence imaging system that features a high resolution galvanometer scanner and a high speed resonance scanner capable of frame rates from 30 fps at 512 x 512 pixels to as fast as 420 fps in band scan mode. New 4 channel non-descanned detectors with higher…
Microfluidic Perfusion System
CellASIC introduces the ONIX Microfluidic Perfusion System, delivering a new method to culture live cells on your microscope stage for time-lapse experiments. The instrument’s easy-to-use 96 well format and performance allow any user to run live cell imaging experiments with confidence. Cutting-edge microfluidics enable precise perfusion changeover between media solutions, up to 16 parallel experiments…
GSK Advises Against Use of Certain Swine Flu Vax
LONDON (AP) – Pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it has advised medical staff in Canada to not use one batch of swine flu vaccines in case they trigger life-threatening allergies. Company spokeswoman Gwenan White said that they issued the advice after reports that one batch of the swine flu vaccine might have caused more allergic…
X-Ray Imaging
Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, introduced the IVIS Lumina XR in vivo imaging system, the latest addition to the IVIS product family. The Lumina XR system combines highly sensitive bioluminescence and fluorescence molecular optical imaging with the anatomical precision of digital X-ray.…
High Speed Imager
Michelson Diagnostics (MDL) has announced new high speed imaging capability for its EX1301 OCT Microscope. OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) images can be captured at up to 40 frames per second, enabling imaging of dynamic processes such as the heartbeat of a fruit-fly. “We believe that this capability will prove very useful for biologists, for example…
Optical Molecular Imaging System
ART Advanced Research Technologies Inc., a Canadian medical device company and a leader in optical molecular imaging products for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, unveiled a new generation of its optical molecular imaging system, called Optix MX3, at the Industry Workshop opening event of the World Molecular Imaging Congress. The Optix MX3 addresses a need for…
FDA Panel Backs Spiriva Handihaler
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal health experts brushed off lingering safety questions about a popular inhaler drug and suggested it carry bolder benefit claims. The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of lung specialists voted 11-1 in favor of new labeling about the benefits of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Spiriva Handihaler, which is approved to treat lung disease. The…
Advisory Panel Recommends Merck Fertility Drug
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (AP) – Drug developer Merck & Co. said a European advisory committee recommended approval for the company’s fertility drug Elonva. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of The European Medicines Agency made the recommendation. The European Commission will consider it when determining whether to approve the treatment. If approved, the…
Immunovaccine Licenses Technology to Pfizer
NEW YORK (AP) – Immunovaccine Inc. said that Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, is licensing its technology for use in vaccines for cattle. Terms of the deal between Pfizer Animal Health and Immunovaccine were not disclosed. Immunovaccine, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, said it will get an upfront payment and milestone and royalty payments…
GSK Withdrawing Cancer Drug Application
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC says it’s withdrawing its application for U.S. approval of a drug to prevent prostate cancer. The drug is already sold under the name Avodart, for treating symptoms of an enlarged prostate. The company was seeking approval for a new use, reducing risk of prostate cancer, after research…
Four NC Patients Positive for Drug Resistant Swine Flu
ATLANTA (AP) – Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said. The cases reported at Duke University Medical Center over six weeks make up the biggest cluster seen so far in the U.S. Tamiflu – made by Switzerland’s Roche…
Genentech and Biogen Receive FDA Letter Over Rituxan
NEW YORK (AP) – Genentech Inc. and partner Biogen Idec Inc. said the Food and Drug Administration is withholding a decision to expand approval of Rituxan as a leukemia treatment, pending further discussion. Neither company disclosed the specific nature of the FDA’s “complete response letter,” which is typically a request for some type of information…
GSK And Nabi Developing Smoking Vaccine
NEW YORK (AP) – GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals said Monday they will work together to develop vaccines to help smokers give up the habit, in a deal that could be worth more than $500 million. Nabi is developing a vaccine called NicVAX, which is intended to train the immune system to make antibodies that…
Picoplatin No Help to Lung Cancer Patients
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its cancer drug candidate picoplatin did not help lung cancer patients live longer, sending its shares plunging in early trading. Poniard was running a late-stage trial of picoplatin as a secondary treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, meaning the drug was given to patients who had…
FDA Requests More Info On HGS Anthrax Drug
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) – Human Genome Sciences Inc. said the Food and Drug Administration will not approve the company’s anthrax treatment until it receives additional information on the potential drug. The drug candidate, called raxibacumab or ABthrax, is aimed at treated inhaled anthrax. It is being developed under a 2006 contract with the U.S. government.…
Half-Dose of Novartis Flu Vaccine Gives Immunity
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) – Pharmaceutical maker Novartis AG said a U.S. clinical study suggests that half a dose of its swine flu vaccine may be sufficient to protect people from the virus and could allow many more to be immunized with current supplies. Clinical trials of around 4,000 individuals have shown that half the current…
Popular Heartburn Meds Interfere With Plavix
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal health officials said a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke. The Food and Drug Administration said the stomach-soothing drugs Prilosec and Nexium cut in half the blood-thinning effect of Plavix,…
Life Technologies Signs Deal to Buy BioTrove
Life Technologies Corporation, a provider of life science solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BioTrove, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. BioTrove’s primary technology is the OpenArray platform, a high throughput gene expression and genotyping analysis system based on a flexible array format that enables researchers to perform more than 3,000 PCR genotyping or qPCR…
Integrated Fluidic Circuit
A technical poster from Fluidigm Europe that demonstrates a new approach, which when used in combination with Fluidigm’s BioMark real-time PCR system, provides a simple, inexpensive and reproducible solution to single cell gene expression. The authors of the poster demonstrate the use of the Fluidigm 48.48 Dynamic Array integrated fluidic circuit (IFC), as well as a…
Orion Genomics Signs Licensing Agreement With Novartis
Orion Genomics has entered into a multi-year collaboration and license agreement with the molecular diagnostics unit of Novartis Pharma AG. Under the collaboration, the parties seek to discover novel epigenetic biomarkers, and both parties have rights to independently develop and commercialize diagnostic products in their respective fields. Under the terms of the agreement, Orion Genomics…
Remote Control Bioreactor
DASGIP AG, a leading provider of parallel bioreactor systems at benchtop scale, is giving users of its technology the freedom and flexibility to access their bioprocesses online. The company premiered its Remote Control Suite at the Biotechnica. Visitors can use an iPhone, iPod touch or notebook computer to remotely observe and access running processes. “Users…