Pharmacy in jobs, news, schools

With more drugmakers outsourcing more trials to contract research organizations, few should be surprised that the CRO sector is generating investor interest. The attention-grabbing deal announced this week in which two private equity firms – Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman – agreed to pay $3.9 billion in cash to buy Pharmaceutical Product Development is no random bet.

Might there more be more such acquisitions? Clearly, CROs are on the radar screen. Why? For one thing, prices are rising. A survey by RW Baird analyst Eric Coldwell found 42 percent of drugmakers say prices rose in this year’s second quarter, up from one-third in the first quarter. The backdrop is a projected 3.6 percent to 8 percent growth in R&D budgets, on average, among drugmakers and biotechs. Read more…

Thousands of Texas doctors, researchers and medical experts — including more than 100 who are employed by the state and are paid with taxpayer dollars — routinely supplement their salaries with income from pharmaceutical companies.

Drug companies pay medical professionals for a wide range of activities, from speaking engagements to consulting. While legal, the practice raises questions about potential conflicts, and whether the interests of patients may be compromised. Read more…

ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2010) — The role of pharmacists hasn’t received much attention in the debate on the cost of health care. But national and regional studies show that when pharmacists directly participate in patient care, they significantly reduce treatment costs and improve outcomes.

A study on diabetic patients by the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences identified cost savings with improvements in a key indicator of glucose control in diabetes patients, the hemoglobin A1C measurement. The A1C provides a three-month average of the amount of excess glucose in the blood. Higher A1Cs indicate that a patient is at higher risk for developing long-term complications associated with diabetes, such as kidney disease or vision problems.

School of Pharmacy, Buffalo School of Pharmacy, University, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical, pharmacists, Pharmacy, School, health care, health, care, Pharmacy Schools and University

Identification of Foreign Medicines

• Kuwait Pharmacy Information Center, Kuwait

• LactMed, US NLM Drugs and Lactation Database
• Lexi-comp, New Drug Monographs
• Links for Chemists – Companies – Pharmaceuticals, University of Liverpool (UK)

• M-PILL, 47, av. de la LibertЕЅ L- 1931 Lxembourgu
• Martin’s Pharmacy Page, Belleville General Hospital, Belleville , ON, Canada
• Martindale’s The Reference Desk
• Medical pharmacology, Prairie Village,KS, USA
• MedicationAdvisor, Timothy McNamara, MD MedicationAdvisor.com 5312 Pawnee Lane Fairway KS 66205
• Medicial Matrix
• MedicineNet Home Page
• MedicinesComplete
• MedicusLinks, Medical Link Directory for Global and Japanese Medical Sites
• Medline Plus, US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health
• Medline via Infotrieve
• MedNews *Americas
• MedNews *Europe
• MedScape, Online Resources for Patient Care, Medline
• Medsite
• Mental Health Net, 570 Metro Place North, Dublin OH 43017
• Microbes.info
• Microbiology Network
• MIMS Australia, Medical Information on the Internet
• Multimedia Medical Reference Library

CLIFTON, N.J.(BUSINESS WIRE) To provide contract pharmaceutical packaging services for certain high-potency pharmaceutical products, Compass Pharma Services, LLC today announced that it has completed a capital investment project to upgrade its production capabilities to include ISO Class 8? (ISO 14644) specifications.

These capital improvements now allow us to provide cGMP contract packaging services for select potent pharmaceutical compounds such as enzymes, antibiotics, antifolates, antimetabolites and some hormones,? said Tony Fenno, Chief Operating Officer. Compass Pharma investments continue to position the company as a responsive contract pharmaceutical packaging partner for sophisticated, high-demand contract packaging services for the pharmaceutical industry.?

In February 2009, Compass Pharma added Micro and Nanofill packaging capabilities to its growing list of cGMP contract packaging capabilities. Micro and Nanofill technologies allow filling small volumes (less than one gram) of powders into blister packaging, vials or pouches.

The capital improvements for ISO-Class 8 certification comprise a fully integrated production suite where the primary packaging area has negative differential air pressure relative to surrounding gowning and secondary packaging areas. High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are deployed in the primary packaging area.

Manufacturing Automation Corporation of Princeton, NJ assisted Compass Pharma with the engineering/design and validation of the ISO Class 8 area. Whitehouse Analytical Laboratories, Inc. (Whitehouse, NJ) has been retained to provide Compass Pharma with ongoing analytical services.

About Compass Pharma Services

Compass Pharma Services, LLC is an independently owned and operated contract packaging company located in Clifton, NJ. Originally founded as General Packaging Services in 1949, Compass today operates a fully-equipped cGMP-certified contract packaging facility on a two-shift-per-day schedule for packaging solid dose preparations, liquids and powders into virtually all packaging forms including blister packaging, pouches, bottles and cans. Customers include pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, virtual pharma and manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) products.

SPS Group, Inc.
David S. Brooks, 973-255-1105

Source: Compass Pharma Services, LLC