The investigational drug formulation demonstrated a 54 per cent reduction in the rate of progression compared to placebo.

These results were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago this week.

“Patients with advanced medullary thyroid cancer currently have few or no options for treatment once they reach this late stage of their disease”, said Dr Peter Langmuir, executive director of medical science at AstraZeneca.

He went on to say that, given the results of the Zeta trial, the company will soon file regulatory submissions for approval of vandetanib with the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

According to Bupa, MTC is rare and affects around one in every 20 people diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Around one in four of those diagnosed with MTC have inherited the disease.

e instalación de equipamiento biotecnológico; próximo a formalizar la ejecución del COMPARTIMENTO I del proyecto BELISSIMA en colaboración con VITO para la EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY; lanza su campaña del primer semestre del 2010 ofreciendo soluciones de última generación, con los precios más competitivos del mercado, en el área de Pharmaceutical process, Engineering and Equipment Manufacturing.

Como siempre en su línea de productos da alta complejidad para sus clientes de la Industria Farmacéutica, integrando el downstream y el upstream en el mundo del bioproceso.

Para más información dirigirse via e-mail a: info@bioprocess.es

Bioprocess Technology, is a Spanish biotechnological equipment engineering, designing, manufacturing and installing company, next to formalize the implementation of COMPARTMENT I in BELISSIMA project, in collaboration with VITO for the European Space Agency (ESA), launched his campaign for the first half of 2010 offering next-generation solutions with the most competitive market prices for Engineering and Equipment Manufacturing in the Pharmaceutical process area.

As always in his line of high complexity products for its customers in the pharmaceutical industry, by integrating the upstream, downstream and the bioprocess itself.

For more information contact via e-mail to: info@bioprocess.es

www.bioprocess.es

]]> http://bioprocess.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/campana-fermentadores-2010/feed/ 0 bioprocess CAMPAÑA_FER_05 http://bioprocess.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/sanofi-aventis-y-curedm-firman-un-acuerdo/ http://bioprocess.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/sanofi-aventis-y-curedm-firman-un-acuerdo/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 07:47:23 +0000 bioprocess http://bioprocess.wordpress.com/?p=380 ]]> París (Francia) – 8 de abril de 2010 – Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN y NYSE: SNY) y CureDM Group Holdings, LLC,

anuncian la firma de un acuerdo de licencia mundial sobre un nuevo péptido humano, Pancreate™, que podría restablecer la capacidad de producir insulina y otras hormonas pancreáticas en pacientes diabéticos de tipo 1 y 2.
Pancreate™ es una secuencia peptidica bioactiva procedente de una proteína humana natural que, en una serie de ensayos preclínicos, ha demostrado su capacidad de estimular el crecimiento de nuevos islotes pancreáticos capaces de producir insulina. De esta forma, hace posible el restablecimiento de la función metabólica normal y el control de la glucosa sanguínea. El inicio de los ensayos de Fase I tendrá lugar a lo largo de este año.
En virtud del acuerdo, sanofi-aventis recibirá una licencia exclusiva mundial para desarrollar, fabricar y comercializar Pancreate™ y sus compuestos asociados. CureDM recibirá un pago inicial y una serie de pagos escalonados en concepto de desarrollo del producto, registro y comercialización. En total, estos pagos podrían ascender a 335 millones de dólares americanos. Además, CureDM tendrá derecho a una serie de royalties graduales, en función de las ventas mundiales del producto.
“Sanofi-aventis está especialmente contenta por el hecho de incluir en el portafolio de su División Diabetes esta importante innovación, que posee el potencial de estimular la formación de nuevos islotes pancreáticos totalmente funcionales, contribuyendo así al restablecimiento de la función pancreática normal”, comentó Marc Cluzel, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de I+D de sanofi-aventis. “Una vez desarrollado, Pancreate™ podría convertirse en el primer tratamiento de medicina regeneradora para la diabetes tipo 1 y tipo 2 y permitiría ofrecer una respuesta a los considerables retos que supone la epidemia de diabetes, tanto para los pacientes como para los sistemas sanitarios”.
Este nuevo acuerdo de colaboración es otro ejemplo del compromiso estratégico de sanofi-aventis destinado a desarrollar su liderazgo en el área de la diabetes, a través de las nuevas tecnologías. Asimismo, confirma su objetivo de convertirse en líder mundial en el área de la diabetes.

A propósito de Pancreate™
Pancreate™ (acetato de proisletide), primero de su clase farmacoterapéutica, es una secuencia peptidica humana (HIP-2B) de una proteína humana natural, que estimula la formación de nuevos islotes pancreáticos capaces de producir insulina funcional, a partir de células madre pancreáticas. La diabetes, tanto de tipo 1 como de tipo 2, se caracteriza por la insuficiencia funcional de los islotes encargados de fabricar la insulina necesaria para el organismo. Los islotes son complejas estructuras que contienen las células beta (productoras de insulina) y otros cuatro tipos de células, todas ellas importantes en el mantenimiento de los niveles de glucosa. Estos islotes garantizan el control metabólico de la liberación de insulina y hacen que el páncreas pueda mantener un nivel constante de glucosa en la sangre. El restablecimiento de islotes completos y funcionales es fundamental para corregir las fluctuaciones de glucosa sanguínea características de la diabetes. Pancreate™ es un enfoque totalmente innovador en el tratamiento de esta enfermedad.

The first-in-class human peptide therapeutic is a novel islet neogenesis agent indicated for the treatment of type one and type two diabetes.

Scientists from privately held biopharmaceutical company CureDM discovered Pancreate and the firm holds several key patents for the treatment.

Under the new agreement, Sanofi-Aventis holds the exclusive worldwide rights to manufacture, develop and market Pancreate for the treatment of diabetes in human and animal patients.

Dr Joseph Reiser, president and chief executive officer of CureDM, said the company was “extremely pleased” about the agreement with Sanofi-Aventis.

“We believe that Sanofi-Aventis is the ideal partner to bring our novel therapeutic approach to patients, given Sanofi’s leading and far-reaching strategic commitment in the field of diabetes,” he added.

Last month, a new blood glucose meter called Contour USB was launched by Bayer Diabetes Care in Ireland and the UK.

in France the project for investing and adapting its chemical and biotechnology manufacturing facilities in France over the next four years. The goal of the project includes the change of the sanofi-aventis chemical industrial activities in France towards biotechnology and vaccine production by 2014. The project also prepares the facilities for a decline in production that will follow patent expirations of several major drugs derived by synthetic chemistry.

“The change of our industrial network towards more biotechnologies corresponds to the evolution of innovation in the pharmaceutical world, more and more balanced between vaccines and compounds arising from biotechnologies, and active ingredients derived from synthetic chemistry”, declared Philippe Luscan, Senior Vice President, Industrial Affairs, sanofi-aventis. “This project is fully in line with the Group’s strategy and will allow sanofi-aventis to maintain its competitive advantage, to generate sustainable growth and to keep a steady number of industry jobs in France, over the next four years”.

Sanofi-aventis will invest €150 million in its industrial plants, including € 90 million for the creation of a new innovative biosynthetic process in the industrial plants in Saint-Aubin-Lés-Elbeuf, in Seine-Maritime, France, and Vertolaye, in Puy de Dôme, France, in order to improve our corticosteroid production competitiveness at a global level. The new activities will result in local job creation.

Some new activities from Sanofi Pasteur would be housed in the new facility in Neuville-sur-Saône, Rhône, France, where the new vaccine against the dengue fever is already planned to be produced. This plant will become the Group’s third largest European center fully dedicated to vaccines by 2014.

Sanofi-aventis’ new plan also include a gradual phase-out of the facilities in Romainville, in Seine-Saint Denis, France, by the end of 2013, accompanied by a job stimulus plan to be implemented in the area.

The project will also includes measures to assist employees’ geographic mobility, especially in the Paris and Lyon area labor basins, and to facilitate career mobility by means of biotechnology training programs for 700 employees, to be implemented in partnership with French Universities. No other change in the industrial network is planned within the same period.

Since 2008, sanofi-aventis has devoted a total of €700 million in investments to evolve its chemical production facilities in France to biotechnology capabilities – including the €350 million investment in Neuville-sur-Saône, and €200 million in Vitry-sur-Seine.

About sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).

Lund, Sweden and Rockville, Maryland – 11 March 2010 – BioInvent International AB (OMXS: BINV) and Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize therapeutic monoclonal antibodies which specifically target antigens discovered by HGS.
Under the terms of the agreement, BioInvent will apply its state-of-the art antibody discovery technology to generate and develop monoclonal antibody candidates. The collaboration will initially focus on the development of antibodies in the field of inflammation. BioInvent and HGS will each have the right to participate in development and global commercialization of each antibody candidate, and will share research, development, manufacturing and commercialization costs as well as future revenues. Specific terms were not disclosed.
Svein Mathisen, Chief Executive Officer of BioInvent, said “Access to commercially attractive targets to which we can apply our antibody discovery engine is an important part of BioInvent’s strategy. We believe this collaborative agreement is a strong and valuable way of building our pipeline of innovative drugs as BioInvent and HGS’s research strengths are both complementary and synergistic. We are looking forward to working closely with HGS in what we believe will be a long-term, productive collaboration.”
“We continue to make excellent progress in advancing our late-stage products toward commercialization, and at the same time we remain committed to building and advancing our research pipeline to ensure sustainable growth well into the future,” said H. Thomas Watkins, President and Chief Executive Officer, HGS. “We look forward to collaborating with BioInvent to apply their proprietary technology to the development of targeted new therapies based on HGS discoveries.”
– END –
Notes to Editors:
About the BioInvent Proprietary Antibody Discovery Platform
BioInvent’s proprietary antibody discovery platform, n-CoDeR®, contains over 20 billion (2 x1010) human antibody genes, a far greater number than those naturally available in the human immune system. This provides a greater likelihood of finding antibodies with both high affinity and specificity against a particular target. BioInvent has a broad and innovative portfolio of therapeutic antibodies, with four products currently in clinical development in the fields of thrombosis, atherosclerosis and cancer.
About the HGS New Targets Initiative
HGS has a rich heritage of scientific discovery that has produced a large intellectual property estate and a library of thousands of therapeutic and diagnostic targets. HGS has conducted a careful review and selected a number of targets for further research and potential development. HGS plans to develop the selected targets through its own internal research, as well as through research collaborations, including the agreement with BioInvent announced today.
About BioInvent
BioInvent International AB, listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm (BINV), is a research-based
pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing antibody drugs. The Company currently has four clinical development projects within the areas of thrombosis, cancer and atherosclerosis. The Company has signed
various strategic alliances around these product candidates and is developing them in collaboration with
partners including Genentech, Roche and ThromboGenics.
These projects are based around a competitive and in substance patented antibody development platform.
The scope and strength of this platform is also utilised by partners, such as ALK-Abelló, Bayer HealthCare, Daiichi Sankyo, ImmunoGen, Mitsubishi Tanabe, OrbusNeich, UCB and XOMA.
More information is available at www.bioinvent.com.
About Human Genome Sciences
The mission of HGS is to apply great science and great medicine to bring innovative drugs to patients with unmet medical needs. The HGS clinical development pipeline includes novel drugs to treat lupus, hepatitis C, inhalation anthrax and cancer.
The Company’s primary focus is rapid progress toward the commercialization of its two lead drugs, BENLYSTA™ (belimumab) for systemic lupus and ZALBIN™ (albinterferon alfa-2b) for hepatitis C. Phase 3 development has been completed successfully for both BENLYSTA and ZALBIN. The submission of marketing applications for BENLYSTA is planned in the U.S., Europe and other regions in the second quarter of 2010. A BLA has been submitted for ZALBIN to the FDA in the United States, and an MAA has been submitted under the brand name JOULFERON® to the EMEA in Europe.
In April 2009, HGS completed the delivery of 20,000 doses of raxibacumab to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile for use in the event of an emergency to treat inhalation anthrax. In July 2009, HGS secured a new purchase order for 45,000 doses, and the Company delivered the first 5,600 doses to the Stockpile under the new order in November 2009.
HGS also has several drugs in earlier stages of development for treatment of cancer, led by the TRAIL receptor antibody mapatumumab and a small-molecule antagonist of inhibitor-of-apoptosis proteins. In addition, HGS has substantial financial rights to certain products in the GSK clinical pipeline including darapladib, in Phase 3 development in patients with coronary heart disease, and Syncria® (albiglutide), in Phase 3 development in patients with type 2 diabetes.
For more information about HGS, please visit the Company’s web site at www.hgsi.com. Health professionals and patients interested in clinical trials of HGS products may inquire via e-mail to medinfo@hgsi.com or by calling HGS at (877) 822-8472.
HGS, Human Genome Sciences, BENLYSTA, and ZALBIN are trademarks of Human Genome Sciences, Inc. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

El glicerol es un subproducto de la fabricación de biodiésel.

Aunque parte del glicerol puede utilizarse como materia prima en algunas industrias, no todo puede aprovecharse. Cuando la fabricación de biodiésel sea una actividad habitual en muchos países, cabe esperar una «superproducción de glicerol» (o de glicerina).

En previsión de esta situación, se han puesto en marcha estrategias para encontrar otros usos del glicerol con valor añadido. Los investigadores de la Universidad de Manitoba (Canadá) han descubierto que la suplementación con glicerol mejora la digestión anaeróbica del estiércol porcino. La digestión anaeróbica es un proceso de tratamiento biológico por el que la materia orgánica es degradada por microorganismos (en ausencia de aire).

Este proceso produce otro tipo de biocombustible gaseoso denominado «biogás» (una mezcla de metano y dióxido de carbono con una ratio de volumen de 55/45 o 60/40, en buenas condiciones de funcionamiento). Oswald Wohlgemut, alumno graduado de la Universidad de Manitoba, observó que con una proporción óptima de glicerol (alrededor del 1%) se duplicaba la producción de biogás en los equipos de digestión anaeróbica del estiércol porcino. Sin embargo, la digestión fracasaba si la proporción de glicerol añadido superaba el 1%.

Actualmente se está desarrollando un proyecto piloto de gran escala en la granja de investigación que posee la Universidad de Manitoba en Glenlea «con el fin de evaluar la digestión anaeróbica del purín mezclado con otros residuos para potenciar la producción de gas».

Research conducted by the University of Manitoba has shown the addition of the right amount of glycerol to swine manure can double biogas production during anaerobic digestion.

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process under which bacteria break down organic wastes producing a range of compounds, including methane which can be used as an energy source.

Researchers with the University of Manitoba have completed a one-year study in which the biogas production of swine manure was compared to that of swine manure amended with glycerol.

Masters graduate Oswald Wohlgemut explains glycerol, a byproduct of several industrial processes including biodiesel production, has little value in its unrefined form but it’s easily broken down and can benefit the anaerobic process.

Clip-Oswald Wohlgemut-University of Manitoba :
Essentially we were testing the chemical characteristics of the digested manure with and without glycerol along with the gas production.

Samples were collected approximately three times a week and gas production was recorded daily for approximately a year while the experiments were being run.

We compared the swine manure that was digested and we compared it with swine that was digested with one per cent, two per cent and four per cent glycerol addition.

The addition of one per cent glycerol by volume to the swine manure essentially doubled the methane production and remained stable throughout the life of the experiment.

While we were adding the two per cent and the four per cent glycerol, it caused failure of the anaerobic digestion process.

Wohlgemut expects this information to be used by farmers throughout North America who utilize anaerobic digestion and where biodiesel production is high such as in the United States.

He notes a large-scale pilot project is now being developed at the University of Manitoba’s research farm  at Glenlea to assess the anaerobic digestion of manure co-mixed with various other waste materials to enhance gas production.

For UnniversityNews.Org, I’m Bruce Cochrane.

La Asociación Bioenergética Mundial (WBA, por sus siglas en inglés) ha publicado recientemente un dictamen sobre el potencial global de la energía biomásica. Este dictamen (basado en el informe publicado por el Departamento de Energía y Tecnología de la Universidad Agronómica de Suecia) señala que «el potencial de producción de biomasa para obtener energía de manera sostenible es suficiente para satisfacer la demanda global».

Este dictamen recoge, entre otras, las siguientes conclusiones:

(1) se estima que el potencial total de la producción bioenergética global será de de 1.548 exajulios en 2050 (de acuerdo con un escenario en el que se aplican las «mejores tecnologías disponibles» (un «julio» es una unidad de energía y 1 exajulio es igual a 10¹⁸ julios).

Por otra parte, el consumo global de energía primaria es menor (en un escenario de alto consumo), estimándose en 1.041 exajulios;

(2) no se aprecian problemas técnicos con respecto a la sustitución de los combustibles fósiles por la bioenergía, pero hay que trabajar para mejorar su eficiencia total;

(3) sólo el 0,19% de la superficie terrestre global se dedica a la producción de biocombustibles, mientras que el 0,5% son tierras agrícolas;

(4) el público conoce muy poco el potencial de la bioenergía, y sería útil poner en marcha una campaña de información y educación al respecto;

(5) «el desarrollo sostenible de biomasa y biocombustibles es un importante desafío» para incrementar la producción biomásica energética y se han puesto en marcha iniciativas internacionales para establecer «criterios de sostenibilidad» a fin de regular la producción y el comercio de bioenergía. Más información: Asociación Bioenergética Mundial, http://www.worldbioenergy.org/.