Harbinder Virdi

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before. Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built. Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build the

The Japanese have a great liking for fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So, to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring back the fish. The longer it took them to bring back the fish, the staler they grew. The fish were not fresh and the Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen fish. And they did not like the taste of frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So, fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little hashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.         Unfortunately,

In a futuristic project that might one day allow physicians to respond much more quickly to asymptomatic MIs, researchers at MIT have developed a tiny, subcutaneous sensor that can detect elevations of myoglobin, cardiac troponin I, and creatine kinase. Not only can these minute implanted sensors pick up on an MI as muscle damage begins, they can also capture the extent of damage after the fact, even after blood-level markers themselves have vanished. Dr Yibo Ling   (MIT, Boston, MA) and colleagues published a study of their sensors, used in mice, in a research letter published online February 13, 2011 in   Nature Biotechnology.   The sensors themselves employ a novel biomaterial called "magnetic relaxation switches" (MRSw)—essentially a nanoparticle-based magnetic resonance contrast agent coated with antibodies for specific biomarkers. In the study, two sensors for each marker, for a total of six, were implanted in each mouse. Upon interrogation, the sensors accurately d

Panacea Biotec Limited, India’s 3rd largest biotech company has signed a non-exclusive marketing agreement with Laboratorios Clausen S.A, Uruguay. The agreement will give an access to Laboratorios Clausen S.A to market Panacea Biotec Limited’s “Tacrolimus” (Pangraf) in few markets in Europe. The agreement was signed on March 3 in the presence of Danilo Astori, vice president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, who was in India on an official visit to sign economic pact. In a separate agreement of technology exchange, Panacea Biotec Limited agreed to explore the possibility of technology transfer of its product to Laboratorios Clausen S A manufacturing facility and for subsequent marketing in Latin American markets. In return Laboratorios Clausen S.A agreed to provide technology of Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) to Panacea Biotec; where in Panacea Biotec will manufacture and market the products in few key international markets. Both the companies agreed to explore the possibilities

Strides Arcolab has entered into an understanding with Aspen to acquire the facility in Campos, Brazil with related products and IPs for a total consideration of US$75 million. The Campos facility is engaged in producing penems and penicillins. It was originally divested to Aspen in 2007 at the time when company exited from LATAM operations.   The facility is likely to generate income of US$ 40 million on an annualized basis. penems is a key domain for Strides. The acquisition of Campos facility is part of a well integrated strategy for Strides with licensing and supply agreements with global partners already in place. According to Arun Kumar, vice chairman and Group CEO, “Penems and Penicillins form an important part of Strides specialty injectable business and licensing agreements for penems have been concluded with various customers on a worldwide basis making the acquisition an important part of growing our specialty injectable business.” Strides Arcolab, develops and manuf