Oxford Global are pleased to announce the return of the Pharma R&D Europe Series, the leading pharmaceutical discussion forum in Europe.

The series is made up of the following events:

• 15th Annual Drug Discovery Summit
• 6th Annual Drug Development Congress
• 2nd Annual Discovery Chemistry & Drug Design Congress

Over the next few years, the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht and Quirem Medical will be working closely together to maximize the benefits of using holmium microspheres to treat liver cancer patients worldwide.

To mark its 30th anniversary - Micronic has published a new product range catalogue and launched a new easy access website that offers a wide variety of useful information to organisations involved with safeguarding one of their most valuable assets - their samples.

The new Micronic 2014 catalogue contains all you need to know about sample storage, handling and management. Available in A4 hard copy, or as a pdf download, the catalogue provides photographs and detailed technical information relating to Micronic's comprehensive range of sample storage tubes, racks, accessories and instruments...

The new Zetasizer NanoSampler from Malvern Instruments is a versatile, compact, fully automated sample delivery system for the Zetasizer Nano, the most widely used system for nanoparticle and colloid characterization.

Delivering precise and reproducible automated sample loading, and accommodating up to 96 sample vials, the NanoSampler enables unattended operation of the Zetasizer Nano, to maximize analytical productivity. It is especially suitable for laboratories where reproducibility is critical and where multivariate studies are routine. The new NanoSampler will work with all of the sizing systems in the Zetasizer Nano instrument range. This range includes both exceptionally high performance and entry level systems that measure particle and molecular size using dynamic light scattering, covering a size range from less than one nanometer up to several microns....

Purite has launched a new swap out scheme that will save money and bring peace of mind to laboratories that run water purification units.

TAP Biosystems has announced that its new ambr250™ automated mini bioreactor system has already been chosen by a number of major pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO firms as a high-throughput, scale-down bioreactor model for their process development and optimisation programmes.

Dutch Software Company GENALICE announced that it has reached an agreement on a multi-million euro capital investment from Redbrae, a consortium of US- and UK-based private equity investors.

The dramatic improvement in outcome for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia is one of the major achievements in hematology in the last 40 years. However, while 90% of children with this disease can now be cured, the outlook has not been so good for the less common type of childhood leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Although only 1 in 7 children with leukemia have AML, half of these children will die from their disease. The challenge now is to harness the new developments in genomics to improve the outcome for these children. At the 19^th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA), we will learn about the state-of-the-art in management of childhood AML.  New concepts in the way AML develops and the way AML cells 'hijack' the main sites of normal blood production within the body will be presented....

EU support boosts development of therapeutic vaccines against Parkinson's and Multiple System Atrophy. AFFiRiS leads consortium.

An international consortium of top European research teams has received significant EU funding for the development of therapeutic vaccines against Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Led by the Austrian biotech company AFFiRiS AG, the consortium will use a novel tandem strategy to advance the development of two therapeutic vaccine candidates in parallel. They are both unique in the potential for disease modification, something which is sorely missing in PD as well as in MSA. Both candidates target a protein called alpha-synuclein, which plays a key role in the onset and progression of PD and MSA. Additionally, the group attempts to identify biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic value....

Dutch Software Company GENALICE today announced at the 14^th Bio-IT World Conference & Expo that it has started discussions with Intel® about a product development as well as a product delivery partnership.

On 12/12 last year, GENALICE launched its groundbreaking DNA processing software; GENALICE MAP. On a simple dual Intel® Xeon® E5 server the company was capable to map the short reads of 42 complete human and 42 full tomato genomes within 24 hours. The software is designed to optimally make use of the modern hardware architecture of these commodity Intel processors....

Sygnature Discovery Limited, the UK’s largest independent integrated drug discovery provider, today announced the appointment of Dr Gerry Thomas to the pivotal role of Director of Business Development.

Board Director, Dr Paul Clewlow, stated, “I am delighted to welcome Gerry Thomas to Sygnature Discovery.  Gerry is a very experienced industry professional having spent over 20 years in drug discovery and development at Boots Pharmaceuticals, BASF/Knoll, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Prosidion and Shire Pharmaceuticals.  Sygnature Discovery has ambitious plans to expand its customer base and Gerry will be instrumental in promoting Sygnature’s integrated drug discovery capabilities and expertise across Europe and North America....

Quotient Clinical, the Translational Pharmaceutics Company, has announced the extension of its Translational Pharmaceutics™ platform into patient-focused cancer drug development.

Quotient will employ its real-time, flexible manufacturing capabilities to supply specialist oncology centers with drug products to support first-in-patient and proof-of-concept programs. Translational Pharmaceutics integrates real-time drug product manufacturing and clinical testing, using processes that significantly reduce the timelines and cost of early stage drug development....

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) today expanded its family of CORTECS® Columns with the introduction of a new line of 2.7 micron silica-based, solid-core particle columns that set a new standard for HPLC column performance.

HORIBA UK Ltd, Medical Division, has introduced a new version of its Quality Slide Program (QSP) service specifically designed to readily meet new CPA guidelines for evaluating and reporting on staff competency and training for blood cell identification in line with ISO 15189. As a unique digital blood cell morphology QC and training program, HORIBA’s QSP also helps to standardise blood film review.

ISO 15189 Medical Laboratory Accreditation is a tool to demonstrate the quality and competence of medical laboratories and ensure delivery of timely and accurate results. Key to this is on-going assessment of laboratory staff technical skills. The new version of HORIBA’s QSP offers enhanced recording of staff competency and training in blood cell identification, where results may sometimes be subjective. Intuitive and easy-to-use, QSP can be fully customised to meet UK working practices...

The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) has published an updated version of H52-A2—Red Blood Cell Diagnostic Testing Using Flow Cytometry; Approved Guideline—Second Edition.

This standard addresses the diagnostic red blood cell (RBC) assays performed as fluorescence-based assays on a flow cytometry platform; including testing procedures for fetomaternal hemorrhage detection, paroxysmal nocturnal hematuria screening, membrane defect anemia testing for hereditary spherocytosis, and nucleated RBC counting. Points of validation and quality control, and caveats of interpretation are also discussed.

OHAUS, a leading worldwide manufacturer of scales and balances, has been extremely successful with the Explorer® Series. This line of ingenious balances offers advanced applications that simplify even the most complex laboratory measurements.

OHAUS Explorer® with its unmatched functionality and high-performance has received two prominent awards. One of them was granted by the American magazine Laboratory Equipment that gave Explorer® the 2013 “Readers' Choice” Award for best balance. The voters were focusing on products that lead the industry in technology... 

The US Federal Drug Administration Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory has increased the efficiency of preparing its agar plates for microbiological research using an INTEGRA MEDIAJET vario automated petri dish filling system.

Located in Dauphin Island (AL), the FDA’s Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory (GCSL) site is used by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) to conduct research programs related to seafood safety, especially seafood harvested from the Gulf of Mexico. The US FDA operates a mandatory safety program for all fish and fishery products under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, and related regulations. The FDA program includes research, inspection, compliance, enforcement, outreach and the development of regulations and industry guidance...

Analytik, leading suppliers of innovative analytical instrumentation, are pleased to announce the availability of the TerraSpec Halo mineral identifier from PANalytical Boulder (formerly ASD Inc). 

Analytik has announced the UK and Ireland release of the TerraSpec Halo, a lightweight, portable, full range near-infrared spectrometer designed to revolutionise the mineral exploration process. With a simple push of a button, the TerraSpec Halo delivers mineralogy results in a matter of seconds, a rapid method to identify minerals and decrease associated exploration costs... 

XEI Scientific Inc, maker of the popular EVACTRON^® De-Contaminator™ Plasma Cleaning System for electron microscopes and other vacuum chambers, has appointed remX GmbH, as distribution partners for their decontamination products in Germany. 

XEI Scientific has appointed new distributors for Germany. remX GmbH is a company specializing in hardware and software solutions for Scanning Electron Microscopes for industry and universities. Their specialty is in microscopy-based techniques such as electron microscopy and detectors such as EDX and SDD. They will also cover other European countries, particularly those speaking German. These include Austria, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Switzerland (German speaking regions only) and the Netherlands... 

Planning has been granted by Cambridge City Council for The Forum, an innovative £120 million mixed-use medical and education facility on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The Forum, designed by architects NBBJ, is the product of a pioneering joint venture between John Laing and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHT). Consisting of a post-graduate medical education centre, 900 delegate conference centre, 90-bed private hospital, and four-star hotel, The Forum will bring together local, national and international medical professionals, researchers and academics from around the world all focused on the development of life-changing treatments....

This month laboratory autoclave manufacturer Priorclave announces the availability of a very much extended range of autoclave consumables.  

Over 70 scientists from 16 countries are due in Nottingham this week for the biennial Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference at the East Midlands Conference Centre on the University of Nottingham campus.

This is the largest gathering of leading academic and commercial scientific experts in the city for several years, for what has become an occasion of real scientific value for leading manufacturers and for visiting international delegates. The three-day event is organised by Nottingham-based Scientific Laboratory Supplies Ltd, in association with the Royal Society of Chemistry and is further recognition of the city’s growing influence in the UK’s life sciences business sector....