SIRO Clinpharm, a clinical research organization with presence in Asia, Europe and the US, highlighted its successful collaboration with Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and viral infections.
SIRO has been associated with Peregrine for the past several years and has completed a phase II trial in India involving recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients treated with Cotara, an investigational radiopharmaceutical product. SIRO was assigned to identify and manage the Indian arm of the trial comprising multiple sites across the country, and was instrumental in enrolling the majority of patients.
Mr Joseph S Shan, vice-president of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, said, “We are pleased to be associated with SIRO Clinpharm, as SIRO brings expertise in the field of clinical research and has connected us with investigators experienced in conducting GBM trials. SIRO has the capability to execute complex clinical studies and they have provided us with experienced investigators, state-of-the-art research facilities, and quality monitoring.�
PPD gets acquired for $3.9 billion
Pharmaceutical Product Development has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which it will be acquired by affiliates of The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.9 billion, after which PPD will be a private company. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman will acquire the outstanding common shares of PPD for $33.25 per share in cash. This represents a premium of 29.6 percent over PPD's closing price on September 30, 2011. PPD's board of directors unanimously approved the merger agreement and recommended that PPD shareholders adopt the agreement.
Max Neeman gets ISO certificate
Max Neeman has received the ISO 14155:2011 certificate for medical devices trials. It is the only Indian CRO and one of the few global CROs to be certified for design, conduct, recording and reporting of clinical investigations carried out on human subjects.
Norgine, Jubilant announce tie-up
Norgine, a leading European speciality pharmaceutical company, and Jubilant Biosys, a Bangalore-based subsidiary of Jubilant Life Sciences, entered into a discovery partnership. The collaboration, spanning an initial period of three years, will provide a platform for Norgine to develop multiple targets utilizing Jubilant Biosys integrated drug discovery platform targeting gastrointestinal diseases.
Norgine will own all rights to further develop and commercialize the preclinical candidates delivered by Jubilant.
7th Nutra India Summit to be held in March
India's flagship event for the Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, Dietary Supplements, Ingredients and Health Foods Industry, Nutra India Summit 2012, will be held from March 15 to 17, 2012, in Bangalore. The announcement and the event document was released by Dr V Prakash, scientist and chairman of Nutra India Summit 2012, at the curtain raiser in the presence of Dr G K Vasantha Kumar, additional secretary, Agriculture Department, Mr B M Vijay Shankar, additional managing director, KBITS, and Mr G N Sreekantaiah, director, Dept of AYUSH, and Mr Jagdish Patankar, managing director – MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications.
Dr Prakash, in his key note address, highlighted the fact that Bangalore and the surrounding region has the best eco-system for the Nutra sector to flourish and thanked the Dept of IT, BT and S&T and the Government of Karnataka for their support. He said Nutra India Summit will position Karnataka as the leading state in the sector similar to its leadership in IT, BT and nanotechnology.
Mr Vijay Shankar shared with the audience various initiatives of Dept of IT, BT and S&T and highlighted the opportunities for the Nutra sector and formally announced that as the host state, Karnataka will give wholehearted support to the event. The summit is organized by the CSIR, CFTRI & the IUFoST & MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications and supported by leading industry associations.