Drug manufacturing

Every stage of the UK government’s response to Ebola epidemic was delayed, MPs report

Every stage of the UK’s response to the Ebola epidemic was undermined by systemic delays, according to a report written by MPs, following an inquiry into the country’s ability to deal with disease emergencies.…

Effectiveness of the seasonal flu vaccine and new production methods

Despite a mismatch between the 2014–2015 seasonal flu vaccine and circulating strains, the flu jab is still the best way to protect people in at-risk groups.…

Synthetic biology: microbes made to manufacture drugs

From flu vaccines to a mission to Mars, scientists are engineering biological systems to meet the medical needs of the 21st century.…

How I help manage the medicines supply chain as an MHRA inspector

Ensuring the quality of medicines manufacturers takes inspector David Churchward across the world.…

Questionable marketing tactics are a major problem with pharma

Inappropriate marketing strategies used by the pharmaceutical industry to boost drug sales must stop.…

Manufacturing medicines in the aseptics unit

Ensuring that medicines are manufactured to the highest quality is a major part of a pharmacy production manager’s role.…

Enzyme discovery completes morphine biosynthesis pathway

The enzyme that is responsible for converting (S)-reticuline into (R)-reticuline — the final stage in the morphine biosynthesis pathway – has been discovered.…

Debate over naming of biosimilars intensifies ahead of WHO meeting

Drug regulators have noticed a proliferating problem. Around the world various regional regulators are applying different naming conventions for biosimilars.…

3D printing: the future of manufacturing medicine?

As the pharmaceutical industry shifts from mass manufacture towards personalised medicine, 3D printing could become part of the drug production line.…

Modified yeasts could be used to produce alkaloid drugs

Yeast has been genetically modified to make (S)-reticuline, a precursor to a wide range of therapeutic alkaloids. The work marks an important step towards producing such pharmaceuticals by fermentation.…