Eppendorf, a leading life science company, has announced a series of complimentary seminars and luncheons on the west coast and the east coast featuring topics such as stem cells, perfusion and scalability.Scale-up and suspension adaptation of Mesenchymal and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (MSCs and iPSCs) are currently the focus of intense study. Although successful expansion of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) in vitro has been well established, the large-scale production of MSCs remains a bottleneck. Join Eppendorf as they demonstrate a successful large scale bioprocess application of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AdMSCs) in an industrial single-use bioreactor vessel at 3.75 L scale (working volume).Biosimilars are a fast-growing segment of the biopharmaceutical market. Using a CHO cell line expressing a human MAb, we will compare three methods of MAb production using the new BioFlo 320 bioprocess control station. The common batch and fed-batch protocols are discussed, as well as an alternating tangential flow filtration perfusion.The ultimate goal for process development is the realization of large-scale commercial production. Currently, the scale-up of fermentation processes, which is critical to the success of industrial fermentation for bioproduction, are receiving a lot of attention. The fermentation scale-up from benchtop (1 L to 10 L scale) to pilot/production scale (> 100 L) is the important step for effective production of biologicals, including small proteins in the biopharmaceutical market. Join us as we investigate the scale-up capabilities of Eppendorf fermentation systems from small to large scale.Please see below for the locations and topics to be presented at each location.San Francisco Area, CA - Tuesday, September 22, 2015Topics: Achieving Scalability of hMSC in Single-Use Vessels and Scale-up in Fermentation SystemsClick here for online registration for the San Francisco SeminarSan Diego Area, CA - Thursday, September 24, 2015Topics: MAb Production Comparing Batch, Fed-Batch and Perfusion Protocols, and Scale-up in Fermentation SystemsClick here for online registration for the San Diego SeminarResearch Triangle Park (RTP) Area, NC - Tuesday, October 6, 2015Topics: MAb Production Comparing Batch, Fed-Batch and Perfusion Protocols, and Scale-up in Fermentation SystemsClick here for online registration for the RTP SeminarGaithersburg Area, MD - Thursday, October 8, 2015Topics: MAb Production Comparing Batch, Fed-Batch and Perfusion Protocols, and Scale-up in Fermentation SystemsClick here for online registration for the MD SeminarWhile attendance is free for these informative seminars, space is limited. As such, please register today to participate in these events.If you are interested in attending a similar seminar in your area please email Carol Stanton at stanton.c@eppendorf.com and you will be notified when a seminar is scheduled in your region.About Eppendorf AG:Eppendorf is a leading life science company that develops and sells instruments, consumables, and services for liquid handling, sample handling, and cell handling in laboratories worldwide. Its product range includes pipettes and automated pipetting systems, dispensers, centrifuges, mixers, spectrometers, and DNA amplification equipment as well as ultra-low temperature freezers, fermentors, bioreactors, CO2 incubators, shakers, and cell manipulation systems. Consumables such as pipette tips, test tubes, microliter plates, and disposable bioreactors complement the range of highest-quality premium products.Eppendorf products are most broadly used in academic and commercial research laboratories, e.g., in companies from the pharmaceutical and biotechnological as well as the chemical and food industries. They are also aimed at clinical and environmental analysis laboratories, forensics, and at industrial laboratories performing process analysis, production, and quality assurance.Eppendorf was founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1945 and has about 2,850 employees worldwide. The company has subsidiaries in 25 countries and is represented in all other markets by distributors.
Read More>>Early detectionof lung disease in China is expected to greatly improve in a few years with theapplication of new technology, contributing to better prevention and treatment.After five yearsof research, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics atthe Chinese Academy of Sciences obtained several clear images of human lungsdisplaying gas exchange functions - a vital indication of lung health - thefirst such images obtained in China."Comparedwith traditionally used lung-detection technologies such as computedtomography, the new technology can produce images with noninvasive andnonradioactive methods that visualize defects in the gas exchange function oflungs," said a statement released by the institute in Hubei province.Currently,several methods have been adopted to detect lung disease, such as X-rayscanning, computed tomography and positron emission tomography, but thosemethods can only detect the structure of lungs and cannot obtain information ongas exchange in the lungs."When anabnormality is found with a lung's structure, its function has already beendamaged," said Zhou Xin, a researcher at the Wuhan institute who led theproject."The newtechnology can find damage or abnormality in functions, which might be hints oflung disease in the very early stage," he said.The images areobtained through having patients breathe in the xenon-129 isotope, a kind ofinert gas.The gas istreated so it can be easily detected by magnetic resonance imaging scanners.Areas in the lungs that are filled with the gas will show in the image, whilethe areas where the gas fails to enter will be dark."A fewother institutes and universities in some other countries such as the UnitedStates are also doing similar research, but the gas they use is mostly helium,which is more scarce," Zhou said.Helium and xenonare the two most popular and reliable inert gases suitable for such operationsdue to their special physical natures, he said.The project wasstarted in 2010 with more than 60 scientists and doctors from the WuhanInstitute of Physics and Mathematics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences andZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, and received more than 30 million yuan($4.8 million) in funding from the central government, Zhou said.Wu Guangyao, adoctor at Zhongnan Hospital who also participated in the program, said theimages obtained by this technology are much clearer than those obtained by CT."If thetechnology is used clinically, it would benefit many patients with lungdisease, since it could improve detection," he said.
Read More>>TransparencyMarket Research (TMR) has recently published a market study on the globalmolecular diagnostics market, estimating the market to develop at a CAGR of11.1% over the period from 2013 to 2019 and attain an overall value of US$8.7billion by the end of 2019.“Molecular Diagnostics Market(PCR, Next Generation Sequencing, Microarray, Infectious diseases, Geneticdisease, Oncology testing, Blood donor screening) - Global Industry Analysis,Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 – 2019.”The researchreport is titled, “Molecular Diagnostics Market (PCR, Next GenerationSequencing, Microarray, Infectious diseases, Genetic disease, Oncology testing,Blood donor screening) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trendsand Forecast, 2013 – 2019.”According to thestudy, the rising prevalence of cancer, coupled with increasing incidence ofchronic diseases triggered by the growth in the global geriatric populationbase, is the key reason behind the swelling market for molecular diagnostics.The reportanalyzes the global molecular diagnostics market on the basis of the technologyand application. A detailed study of the regional markets for MolecularDiagnostics Market is also presented in this report.Based ontechnology, the PCR market dominated the global molecular diagnostics market industryin 2012. However, the market for next generation sequencing is currentlyreporting the fastest growth and is likely to capture the market from theformer.GetSample Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1783By application,the market for infectious diseases leads the molecular diagnostics market inthe global arena with a market share of 60%. In the infectious diseasessegment, the market for HAI testing is exhibiting a significant growth and isexpected to expand at a CAGR of 15.1% over the forecast period, whereas the HPVtesting market is estimated to rise at a CAGR of 14.8% during the same period.BrowseReport: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/molecular-diagnostics-industry.html
Read More>>Bruker (NASDAQ: BRKR) today introduced four important new preclinical imaging systems at the World Molecular Imaging Congress 2015 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The novel products launched at WMIC each deliver improved performance and convenience for routine imaging, and open new horizons for advanced translational research, while Bruker’s platform philosophy facilitates multimodal imaging projects. Researchers will gain a more complete picture and deeper insights into the causes, progression, potential diagnosis and treatment of disease, accelerating the translation of preclinical results to clinical progress.Next-Generation Albira? Si PET/SPECT/CT SystemA revolutionary and proprietary gridless PET detector architecture, which is also available for Bruker’s new PET/MRI systems, makes the Albira Si the most advanced and highest performance preclinical PET system on the market. It delivers, for the first time, sub-millimeter spatial resolution across the full radial field of view (FOV), increasing the high-resolution FOV by an order of magnitude compared to traditional PET systems. This breakthrough capability, combined with exceptional count rate performance and outstanding PET sensitivity, makes Albira Si the preferred system for dynamic and gated PET in vivo studies.The Albira Sioffers all benefits of integration with SPECT and CT. The micro-CT provides anatomical reference images and attenuation corrections for PET and SPECT imaging. In addition, the Albira Si is compatible with Bruker’s Multimodal Animal Beds for cross-platform MRI and optical molecular imaging.Professor Jose Benlloch, Director of the Institute for Instrumentation in Molecular Imaging (I3M) at the Polytechnical University of Valencia in Spain, explained: “The new Silicon PM detector technology has major advantages in providing better PET position, energy and timing resolution, and it is compatible with MRI. An additional significant benefit of our unique, continuous crystals technology pioneered at I3M, is the greatly enhanced DOI detection for highest resolution across the entire field of view, which is very beneficial for virtually all preclinical PET applications.”
Read More>>Company's latest smartphone offering plans to take on competition with innovative featuresHuawei Technologies Co Ltd has inched close to Apple Inc in the high-end smartphone market - at least in terms of pricing.Huawei's latest $780 flagship smartphone, Mate S, is the most expensive handset the Chinese tech giant has yet produced and is set to compete with the next-generation iPhone that Apple plans to reveal next week.The company's previous flagships were priced in the $500-$650 price range. The lowest retail price for the iPhone 6 Plus, also a pamphlet, is about $750.Richard Yu, head of Huawei's consumer businesses, said the Mate S deserves its price tag and will put pressure on Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd."Samsung is facing great downward pressure and Apple seems to have hit a ceiling in innovation. It is the right time for Huawei to be on the offensive," Yu said at a product launch event in Berlin on Thursday.Huawei is increasingly becoming a threat to Apple and Samsung after it notched up the highest sales growth rate of 46.3 percent in the second quarter, thanks to strong overseas sales and 4G smartphone sales in China.By June, Huawei was the largest local handset vendor in China, the world's biggest smartphone market, according to research firm Gartner Inc.
Read More>>Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Company Ltd, a leading winery based in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is planning to take a 75 percent stake in the Spanish wine maker Dicot Partners SL, which officials said will help the Chinese firm globalize its brand portfolio.The company is set to spend a total 26.25 million euros ($29.5 million) on the acquisition.The stake is being bought from Spanish firms ComercialGatar and Gestion Ganuza, both of which will be left with equal shares of the remaining 25 percent of the business.Dicot Partners is considered among the top five Spanish wine producers. It has annual capacity of 16,000 metric tons, spread across seven wine brands. Over half of its revenue is from exports, just 1 percent of which is sold in China.Sun Jian, Changyu's deputy general manager, said the takeover - based in Rioja, the heart of one of Spain's leading grape growing regions - is part of the company's efforts to grow its international sales.Dicot Partners becomes Changyu's second international acquisition, after it bought French cognac and brandy producer Roullet-Fransac in 2013.Sun said Spain is China's third-largest source of imported wines, after France and Australia, "but in terms of value, Spain has become the most competitive".He said Changyu is already looking at other international acquisition targets in major grape-growing markets.Changyu had a strong first half year, despite the government's anti-austerity campaign which has hurt other alcoholic drinks companies.Its revenues rose 22.75 percent to 2.8 billion yuan ($438.4 million), which delivered a net profit of 740 million yuan, a 17 percent rise.According to Qilu Securities, Chinese wine imports increased 13.4 percent in the first six months of this year by volume, but prices fell on average by 11.1 percent.Sun said Changyu imported 100 million yuan of wine last year, which represented 2 percent of its business, but it is aiming to increase that to 30 percent of total revenue.Li Xinxin, chief executive officer of Chateaux Haut-vallee, a wine trading company based in Beijing, said the acquisition would "upgrade Changyu's technology knowhow, lift its production capacity and diversify its brand portfolio".Li also expects more Chinese wine makers to look abroad to acquire international brands.
Read More>>Hitachi Chemical Diagnostics, Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of the ExoComplete? 96-Well Plate Kit and ExoComplete? Tube Kit, an integrated, fast and easy system for exosome collection to mRNA purification. Both products are intended for research use only of molecular biology applications and are neither intended for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a disease, nor has either been validated for such use either alone or in combination with other products.The ExoComplete? system isolates exosomal mRNA from biological samples such as plasma in a 96-well filter plate format1, or large-volume samples such as urine in a single collection tube format2. Exosomes and microvesicles (EMVs) in body fluids are captured with Hitachi Chemical’s Exosome Isolation Plate or Exosome Collection Tube with a proprietary filter material. The highly porous material allows fast filtration of biological samples without clogging, and reproducible isolation of EMVs without the use of conventional ultracentrifugation. After lysing the captured EMVs, mRNA can be isolated through hybridization with single strand oligo (dT) immobilized in the wells of the 96-well mRNA Capture Plate. A wide variety of downstream applications become available following isolation of mRNA, including mRNA quantification, single and double-stranded cDNA synthesis, RT-PCR, real time quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR), and next-generation RNA sequencing.
Read More>>Improving air quality has resulted in a sharp drop in air purifier sales in the first half of the year.According to a report from China Market Monitor Co Ltd, the market researcher and information provider, the sales declined 18 percent in the period, which it attributed to the quality of air in cities getting better.The study also estimated the air purifier market will drop 13.1 percent in value this year, indictating a virtual end to what has been a boom time for producers.Statistics from All View Cloud, a Beijing-based data analysis company, showed total turnover of air purifier companies reached 5.81 billion yuan ($907 million) in the first half of the year, a 20.5 percent year-on-year fall, with sales volumes down by 10 percent."Based on air quality statistics from many parts of the country, air pollution has eased somewhat, along with the urgency to buy air purifiers," Liu Buchen, a home appliance market expert, was quoted by the National Business Daily as saying. He said high inventories by purifier manufacturers also caused the drop in the industry's growth rate.According to China Market Monitor, 5.1 million air purifiers were sold across the country last year.Zuo Yanque, its brand director, said: "Competition in the market also surged after a rise in the number of brands and products. The market shares of the top five brands have fallen year-on-year as have offline sales, which dropped from 90 percent of the total in 2010 to 70 percent in 2015."The quality of air-purifying products available has fallen too, according to Chen Jianbo, an analyst with All View Cloud.A new national standard on air purifiers is expected to be issued by the authorities in the second half of this year to bring order to the market."A shift in the air purifier market has begun. Although around 280 new air purifier brands entered the market, around 230 have actually fallen by the wayside."Dino Asvaintra, vice-president and general manager of Honeywell Connected Home Global High Growth Regions, a technology manufacturer which also produces purifiers, is optimistic, insisting the Chinese market still has huge potential and can expect steady long-term growth."The penetration rate for air purifiers in China is still very low. The drop in sales is because the first set of consumers have just made the purchases."I believe more and more consumers will buy air purifiers in the near future," he said.He is looking forward to the upcoming new national standards which he said would make the market more trustworthy.Sam Li, managing director in China of Blueair AB, a Swedish air purifier manufacturer, said that sales of its products this year were lower than anticipated, but its actual target is unchanged.He blamed the decline more on the overall economic downturn and some producers exaggerating the performance of their products and misleading consumers.He did not agree, as some have suggested, the industry has entered a "cold winter", insisting as the awareness of air pollution rises, so will sales again."Although air quality of many cities in China has improved this year, pollution control is a long-term policy and the current air quality standard in China is much lower than the standards applied in the United States and Europe."
Read More>>MT. PROSPECT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unitel Technologies, Inc.announced that the company has provided the technology and engineering/designfor two commercial H2S plants – a unitlocated in Europe making 48 MPTD of H2S and another onein Southeast Asia that includes two trains, each producing 60 MPTD of H2S. Both facilitiesare fully operational and meet the capacity and quality specifications requiredby the customers.“The project was led by Dr. Brian Davis who proposed theconcept of ‘make it where you need it.’ To his credit, the XBI team was able tosuccessfully move from pencil and paper to commercialization without the needfor a pilot plant.”“Unitel’s H2S productiontechnology was developed in the late 80’s in collaboration with Bechtel when I was Chairmanof XBI in Houston,” says Serge Randhava, CEO of Unitel. “Our process was firstdemonstrated in a commercial unit that was located near Rotterdam in TheNetherlands,” he adds. “The project was led by Dr. Brian Davis who proposed theconcept of ‘make it where you need it.’ To his credit, the XBI team was able tosuccessfully move from pencil and paper to commercialization without the needfor a pilot plant.”Currently, the threemost significant but disparate applications of H2S are:· Methyl mercaptan (CH3SH) -- one of themost important intermediates made from H2S. In turn, it isused to produce methionine, the only sulfur containing amino acid nowextensively used as a food supplement in the poultry industry. Methionine iscurrently a $5 billion per year market that is projected to enjoy an annualgrowth rate of 5%.· Ethyl mercaptan and t-butyl mercaptan, widely used asgas odorizers in the natural gas industry. The shale gas boom in North Americais expected to spur the demand for these chemicals.· Hydro-metallurgical extraction of nickel and cobaltcompounds from limonite laterite ores.Special features ofUnitel’s H2S technology:· Unitel’s process offers an exceptionally broadturndown ratio ranging from 100% down to 30% and can rapidly respond to changesin operating conditions.· The process is designed to deal with a variety ofsulfur feedstocks. Ash build-up in the reactor is handled by periodicallyblowing down sulfur to maintain the ash level below a prescribed minimum.· The process can deal with up to 50 ppm of the 8S form of sulfurthat may be present in the feedstock.
Read More>>Although biologics currently represent 7.6% of WuXi's total revenue, growthin its biologics manufacturing business isexpected to grow"exponentially" in the third and fourth quarters of 2015, Ge Li,chairman and CEO of WuXi PharmaTech said onAug. 14, 2015 in a second-quarterearnings call.WuXi is experiencing strong demand for its biologics manufacturingcapabilities, which is one of the reasons the company isexpanding its capacityin China via construction of a GMP manufacturing suite. Construction on theplant will begin in early2016 and the facility is scheduled to be online thesame year, said Li. Executives said the commercial facility has to beonline by2016 to address a $70-million backlog of biologics projects the company has inthe pipeline. In total, WuXi hasplanned or is planning 15 GMP manufacturingcampaigns during 2014 and 2015.A growing biologics businessLi said the company has 50 biologics customers; six of these customers areamong the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies inthe world. Revenue in WuXi’sbiologics division was up 120% in the second quarter and “is expected to doublefor the fullyear of 2014.” According to executives, WuXi’sChina Lab Services division grew 14.2%, “driven by rapid growth inbiologics, development services, and growth in lab testingservices.”Cell therapies are gaining steamThe company’s US Lab Services division “delivered solid 9.6% year-over-yeargrowth, driven by strong growth in cell therapyand material characterizationservices,” said Edward Hu, CFO and CIO of the company. The company has 15 celltherapycustomers, including NewLink Genetics, with whom it is working on celltherapy candidates for the treatment of pancreaticcancer.Strong demand for cell therapies led the company to begin construction on anew cell therapy manufacturing facility inPhiladelphia, which will be finishedin mid-2015. The Philadelphia facility will add cGMP manufacture capabilitiesforallogeneic and autologous cell-based therapeutics and will feature modulardesign, single-use equipment, and microcarriercell-culture technologies.In 2008, WuXi discontinued its US biologics manufacturing operations fora time and dedicated its already-existingPhiladelphia, PA, facility to thecompany’s biologics testing, cell banking, and cell therapy services.UPDATE: In a statement on Aug. 14, 2015, a day after the company's earningscall, WuXi PharmaTech announced it would goprivate and sell itself to a newlyformed parent company called New WuXi Life Science Limited.
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