DuPont (NYSE:DD) has debuted a new line of Liveo-branded pharma bottle closures. The one-piece silicone stoppers and tubings are composed of biomedical-grade platinum-cured silicone elastomers. The pharma bottle closures are intended to seal threaded glass and plastic bottles and containers intended for critical fluid transfer, media and buffer pooling and storage, and sample collection in…
Festo to show off latest automated liquid and gas handling technology at Interphex
Esslingen, Germany–based Festo will display a range of new products at Interphex 2021, the biotech and pharma technology event scheduled for October 19 to 21 at the Javits Center in New York City. Included in the lineup will be its new VEAB pressure controller and the VEMD mass flow controller. In addition, other new products on display will include the VYKA high speed,…
STERIS and H+E Pharma partner on clean utility water systems
STERIS (Menton, Ohio) and H+E Pharma (Stuttgart, Germany) will collaborate on designing, installing and maintaining utility water systems for the pharma sector and other life science applications in Europe. The partnership will provide end-to-end, turnkey clean utility water systems. “We can now provide our broad portfolio of Finn-Aqua products, alongside H+E’s engineering expertise to offer…
Moderna to build mRNA plant in Africa
As the pendulum of vaccinating the world against COVID-19 begins to swing to developing countries, Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) will build an mRNA facility in Africa that could produce as many as 500 million 50-µg vaccine doses annually. Its currently authorized booster has a 100-µg dose of mRNA, but the company aims to use a 50-µg dose…
MannKind enrolls first patient in Afrezza study focusing on children
Rapid-acting insulin specialist MannKind Corp. (NSDQ:MNKD) has enrolled the first pediatric patient in its INHALE-1 study evaluating its Afrezza (Technosphere Insulin) with basal insulin versus multiple daily injections of insulin. The study will enroll participants aged four to 17 with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Afrezza first won FDA approval in 2014, and MannKind…
EU committee backs Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster doses
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE (NSDQ: BNTX) have received a positive opinion from the E.U.’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for the use of a Comirnaty booster dose in individuals at least 18 years of age at least six months after the second dose. The European Commission (EC) will likely make a formal decision on…
Why is the U.S. vaccination rate stalling?
In a recent press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki touched on the flatlining COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S. Despite a series of vaccine mandates, the daily rate of new COVID-19 vaccinations is the lowest it’s been since mid-January, according to CDC data. Daily U.S. vaccination rates have dipped below 500,000 doses per…
ProMation Engineering taps Tom Wayer as national sales manager
Electrical actuator and flow-control firm ProMation Engineering has hired Tom Wayer as a national sales manager. The company can provide custom flow-control products to meet customer-specific needs for various industries, including pharmaceutical manufacturers. Brooksville, Florida–based ProMation also serves the chemical processing industry. Wayer has experience selling equipment, systems and entire projects with actuators, valves, pumps,…
Honeywell acquires MES firm Performix
Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) will integrate manufacturing execution system (MES) software offerings from Performix Inc. into its portfolio of offerings for life science companies. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Houston, Texas–based Performix specializes in creating MES software for pharma and biotech companies. The company also has an office in Pune, India. Late last year, Honeywell…
Lilly cuts price of Lispro insulin by 40%
Starting January 1, 2021, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) will reduce the list price of Insulin Lispro Injection in the U.S. to match 2008 levels. The 40% price cut will also extend to the company’s non-branded insulins. Still, the company acknowledged that people with fixed insurance co-pays or beneficiaries of Lilly’s affordability programs might not…