Jiutian Interesting Pattern

BB keeps buying from retailers.

BB accumulating.

Something is brewing.

Lian Beng New Support Zone

Smashed through 200 days EMA support.

New support zone 45 - 40 cents.

Biomarket Trends: Cell Culture Landscape Changes Rapidly

Growth in biopharmaceuticals is creating an unprecedented increase in demand for cell culture products. Cell culture techniques have been used in biological sciences for more than 50 years; however, cell culture applied to production systems has been around for only half that time. The cell culture industry, which began in the late 1980s from the utilization of recombinant DNA technology and cell hybridization, is, today, a major underpinning of the biopharmaceutical market.

Media, sera, and reagents are the fuel that powers these cell culture manufacturing engines, and suppliers are beginning to see sales ramping up accordingly. According to Kalorama’s Cell Culture: The World Market for Media, Sera, and Reagents, the market for these products is growing at an annual rate in excess of 12% and headed for more than $2.6 billion in 2011.

Changing Market Drivers

At the same time that demand for these products is increasing, the demand is also changing. Traditional sera products are stagnant, and, increasingly, researchers and process engineers are demanding products with more rigid controls over ingredients. The emergence of serum-free media and chemically defined media shows the increasing trend toward stringent component control, which has characterized the past few years of product development.

However, more change is on the horizon. Biomedical research at the basic levels will become a major driver of innovation for the cell culture market. Biomedical research and bioprocessing have a wide range of supply needs, including high-quality media and reagents for fermentation and cell culture. In cell biology research, cell screening technology has proved to be important in finding high-producing cell lines, and research is now focused on how to predict growth characteristics of cells at an earlier stage. Progress in the future will come from processes, such as metabolic engineering, that will aid in improving cell lines, which will continue to be a main focal point of research.

http://www.genengnews.com/articles/chitem.aspx?aid=2086

cDNA Synthesis Kits

New Products

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc

The new range of Verso™ cDNA synthesis kits and one-step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kits combine a new RT enzyme, improved priming options, and buffers to generate full-length cDNA. The kits were designed to minimize the steps involved in the RT-PCR protocol. The RT enzyme utilized in the kits has an improved dynamic range, which is designed to allows users to detect a wider range of starting template concentrations. The enzyme mix also includes an RNase inhibitor that is designed to reduce RNase contamination while simplifying pre-RT setup steps. The kits allows researchers to use anchored oligo dT or random hexamers in a reaction.

http://www.genengnews.com/newproducts/item.aspx?id=2280

Gene patents

Foundation of the Industry

Gene patents, more specifically patent claims to nucleotide sequences, such as genes, plasmids, and probes, are fundamental and critical to the biotech industry. They are the foundation of the industry. Such claims protect therapeutic proteins, like human insulin; Mabs, like Herceptin®; transgenic plants, like insect-resistant corn; and diagnostic probes for genetic diseases, which are the foundation for personalized medicine. Banning such patents risks shutting down a large part of the industry and creating a major roadblock to progress in patient care and food production.

Inventions do not move from the laboratory to the marketplace without a huge investment of money, time, and effort. A Tufts University study has found that it takes over $800 million to bring a new drug to market. The author is not aware of similar studies for transgenic plants or gene-based diagnostics, but the cost must be substantial, even if less than for drugs.

For diagnostics in particular, critics have argued that it is a relatively quick and straightforward process for a laboratory to develop a molecular diagnostic once a particular disease-associated gene has been identified in the scientific literature. However, an examination of financial disclosure documents of some molecular diagnostic companies indicate that this is not the case.

For example, the prospectus for Genomic Health’s IPO, dated September 8, 2005, states that the company would use $20 million of the proceeds to fund R&D. Third Wave’s 10-K for 2005, the latest available, states that it spent $8.4 million for R&D for that year. These amounts would cover several products, but clearly a substantial amount of money is involved. Quite simply, this investment will not happen if, after it is done, a competitor can get a free ride on the pioneer’s efforts and knock-off the product.

http://www.genengnews.com/articles/chitem.aspx?aid=2052