Linking Bioprocess to Business in Biopharma Manufacturing More demand for biopharmaceuticals leads to larger production volumes. In recent years many sector companies heavily invested in biomanufacturing. New plants, instruments, media, all have their share in optimising bioprocesses, but Cost of Goods (CoG) never have been that high. Bringing them down is more than ever a concern, especially in downstream processing. Efforts to better tackle these challenges gain transatlantic momentum and result in fresh thinking among bioprocess professionals. Wolf G. Kroner more The Great Rip-Off? A few years ago the general consensus was that patents and trademarks in Asian countries (with the possible exception of Taiwan) were a waste of money. This is changing. Companies have more means to effectively protect their IP. Robert Harrison more Dealing with fragmented IP The case of patent pooling in vaccine and diagnostic development James Simon, Olaf de Jager more DSM's Life Science Pipeline With solid revenues DSM picks up speed. During a presentation of its research, management offered an in-depth into its current development pipeline and financial expectations up to 2010. more A Concerted Effort Feike Sijbesma, CEO of DSM offers insights into the company’s strategy and interim results of selecting plant sites, optimising manufacturing, bringing GMO products to the market, and operating in a sometimes harsh business environment. more Bioelectronics Today Given the electronic character of many biological processes the integration of electronics with biology is quite "natural". The possibilities for bioelectronic devices seem to be unlimited. The article discusses current approaches to developing devices and their effects on medical and biological applications. Bernhard Wolff more Testing Diagnosic Tests - Electronics meets Point-of-Care Applications The article considers the current state-of-the-art in PoC genetic testing instruments, the applications for which these instruments may be used in medicine and some requirements of these instruments. Mark G. Dobson, Paul Galvin, David E. Barton more Current Limitations and Future Prospects for Applying Systems Biology in Drug Discovery and the Clinic Systems Biology is the buzzword of the moment. Like all buzzwords it is highly fashionable, promises a great deal and nobody is really sure what it means. Drug discovery is no exception. The authors from EMBL describe a number of technical and organisational hurdles that will probably need to be managed before promises of Systems Biology can come to fruition. Gordana Apic, Robert B. Russell more A New Dimension in Vaccine Development - Adjuvant Systems With the emergence of new diseases and new breakthroughs in immunology there is now a need for more tailored adjuvants/antigens formulation. The author describes new vaccine adjuvant combinations and provides an account of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' experience. Nathalie Garçon more A Dazzling Horizon for the Vaccines Industry The authors from CapGemini provide a summary of opportunities and risks in the sector. Marc Reinhardt, Jean-François Gouzer more The VPM way - Shorter time to market with an attractive portfolio for licencing Starting from market needs Vakzine Projekt Management is scouting and managing promising product developments across a broad range of institutions in Germany. Albrecht Läufer more GMP-compliant manufacturing of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines Triggered by the request of Vakzine Projekt Management GmbH for the GMP-compliant production of a novel tuberculosis vaccine, Vibalogics has meanwhile moved to being an established contract manufacturer. Stefan Beyer more GENEART - Vaccine Development by DNA Engineering In recent years DNA-based immunization has proven its potential to be an effective alternative to conventional vaccination. However limited access to efficient DNA vaccines against a lot of worthwhile pathogens and diseases is still an issue. Ralf Wagner more Innogenetics Research and Contract Manufacturing Services The Belgian biopharmaceutical company based at Gent carries out contract manufacturing services requiring very special expertise. Annie van Broekhoven more An Avian Designer Cell Line for Vaccine Manufacture Embryonated chicken eggs and chicken embryonic fibroblasts still are important substrates used in the production of human and animal vaccines. Today, primary chicken cells not only serve as substrate for Pasteur-type vaccines, but are also considered an essential tool for generation and production of modern approaches in vaccine and vector technology. Ingo Jordan, Adriaan Vos, Andreas Neubert, Volker Sandig more Building Form to Function Biopharmaceutical drugs will be just like small molecules, says Steven Projan, Head of Biological Technologies Wyeth Discovery Research. Developing and manufacturing drugs on three different technology platforms: biopharmaceuticals, small molecule drugs, and vaccines. more Depleting Success - Managing the Supply Chain Roche's oseltamivir is a good example of a successful drug. In the wake of the avian flu sales of Tamiflu unexpectedly tripled. Demand was in excess of supply. How did management cope with this situation? Wolf G. Kroner more Do's and Don't's in Licencing Manufacturing An interview with Jan van Koeveringe, Head of Roche Global Technical Pharma Operations more The Asian Biofuels Industry Despite a biofuels hype in 2006, Asian countries have experienced a failure to take-off. Why? Will this continue? What role could and should Asia play and what can it do make this industry flourish and be a success? What will Asia's impact on the regional and global biofuels industry be, and how will it contribute? Chris De Lavigne more Lab Work in Flux - An enquiry into today's activity clusters and changes in lab work How is lab work changing and what is the role of infrastructure and layout? A report on "Lab Work" - a European survey among researchers in life science laboratories. Jörg Castor more Regenerative Medicine Today Regenerative medicine is and will be competing in the coming decades in regards to therapeutic innovations in many cases with completely artificial alternatives. What is required to fulfill the great expectations and move methods and technologies forward? How can pharma benefit? Frank Emmerich more Stem cells - A practical guide There is no consensus on what is a stem cell and how one distinguishs one stem cell from another or from other dividing populations including progenitors and blast cells. The lack of a common definition, the absence of a common forum for discussion, and the range in the ability to manipulate one's system of stem cells has led to a multiplicity of stem cells that may or may not be distinct and has further fragmented the field by generating unnecessary controversy. Mahendra Rao more Stem cell bioprocessing: Manufacturing cells for clinical applications The development of bioprocess technologies for the successful transfer of the current laboratory-based practice of stem cell & tissue culture to the clinic as therapeutics necessitates the application of engineering principles and practices to achieve control, reproducibility, automation, validation, and safety of the process and the product. The timely development, integration, and execution of various components will be critical - failures of the past should not be repeated. Mayasari Lim, Hua Ye, Mark Placzek, Athanasios Mantalaris more Human oligodendrocytes from embryonic stem cells Manufacturing of human oligodendrocytes entails prospects for repair of myelin in vivo, but also for studying in vitro. The authors from Israel's Weizmann Institute and Rambam Medical Center describe what currently can be done with what results to be expected. Michel Revel, Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor, Michal Izrael, Peilin Zhang, Michal Amit, Judith Chebath more Does regenerative medicine enable index investments? How can regenerative medicine companies compare with oil sand explorers and junior mining companies, which offer attractive returns on investment. What could move investors in the latter sectors to channel their funds to the life sciences? An index covers the entire market of regenerative medicine (tissue engineering and stem cells included) not just stock-quoted firms. The author from Deutsche Börse describes what by now is a new index. Heiko Geiger more Stem Cell Markets - an Analyst's View Whilst the development of therapeutics may offer investors the opportunity to see a return in the longer-term, in the short-term, there are significant new market opening up to generate revenues from stem cells. Navid Malik more Stem cell patents - current issues in Europe In, Europe, more than 560 stem cell-related patent applications have been published in the last 24 months alone. Significant litigation of stem cell patents has yet to be reported also in the US. Especially in connection with embryonic stem cell-related inventions decisions by European Patent Organisation (EPO) bodies will significantly influence the scope of protection available in Europe. George W. Schlich, Andrew R. N. Clements more Translating stem cell research Austin Smith, Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, shares his experience and opinions. more Unique challenges relating to autologous cellular therapy products How should the supply chain be managed for tissue engineering products? The authors, both working with Genzyme Biosurgery, describe technical operations from raw materials, manufacturing and product testing through to packaging and shipping. Barbara Seymour, Alex Ernesti more Challenges and keys to success in the stem cell field Much has been said about adverse public opinion that delays development of the field. But this appears more as a regional than global concern. The pharmaceutical industry's caution about investing in this area has been well known, but is evolving at the present time. How can the emerging market be further expanded? Hugh Ilyine, Guest Editor more Scale-up of stem cells Automated cell culture offers major process and economic benefits. Tim Ward, Phil Offin more Stem cell products ready to be taken up Glial progenitor cells can do what no drug can - replacing the insulating myelin on demyelinated axons, and thus can restore function of these neurons. These cells are applicable to a wide range of demyelinating diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory or traumatic spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, white matter stroke and enzyme deficiency. Currently, preparations for a clinical study are underway. Deborah Eppstein more Quality for Industrial Uses of Stem Cells The use of stem cells and their differentiated progeny is highly desirable throughout the drug screening cascade, from target identification through to both high throughput and high content screening. These cells provide a genuine alternative to the more traditional approaches that use recombinant cell lines or primary cells and sometimes, in the case of human cells, provide a resource that is very limited or unavailable. Julie Kerby more "We'll be there in ten years" Stem cell research is about to revolutionize established drug treatment paradigms - at least in the field of cancer. A report about current work of Canadian scientists John Dick and Michael Rudnicki and their management approaches to expand stem cell research beyond their labs. Where is cancer biology moving, and why does the pharmaceutical industry flood these stem cell researchers with requests. Wolf G. Kroner more Tissue Engineering for Orthopaedics and Dental Care Markets A benchmarkt example of a profitable Center for Regenerative Medicine in Austria with advanced research in (nano-) biomaterials, new therapeutic approaches in orthopaedics and dental medicine, developing in smart ways distribution channels for its emerging products and services - beyond traditional partnerships with Nobel Biocare, Geistlich, Straumann, Degussa, or others. How does this relate to George Washington? See a reproduction of the great statesman's mandibular denture . more Biosimilars: Proxy Debates and more Stumbling Blocks on the Way to the European Market Read what representatives from EU Commission, EMEA, CRO, Hospital Pharmacists, Amgen and Sandoz told in pharma industry and regulators from Europe and the US during a controversial discussion. more New Technologies for Fermentation and Product Recovery In comparison with petrochemical sources and chemical synthesis, most fermentation processes suffer from the drawbacks of low reactor productivities and the presentation of a dilute aequeous solution for product recovery. With a longstanding expertise in process technology and butanol the New Zealand authors describe present technical approaches and issues to solve in the future. Ian S. Maddox, Noemí Gutiérrez more The ABC of ABE The biological production of n-butanol, acetone, and iso-propanol widens considerably the spectrum of biomass derived fuels and chemicals. It will also be a welcomed C4 compound for a future bio-based chemical industry. Includes an updated table with critical parameters for engineers, petrochemists and biotechnological developers allowing science-based comparisons of different types of fuels. Wolfgang H. Schwarz, Mahon Slattery, J. Richard Gapes more Biofuel from butanol - Advances in genetic and physiological manipulation of clostridia Various governments and laboratories around the world have been searching for economical and sustainable production of biofuels from agricultural crops and biomass. This technical article from the US reviews recent strategies for bio-butanol production, the challenges associated with fermentation, as well as development of fermenting microorganisms. Thaddeus Chukwuemeka Ezeji, Hans Peter Blaschek more Fossil-, Ethanol-, Butanol-Fuels You have to think out of the box if dealing with different fuels, argues the author who shapes in Ireland and within the EU expert panels current policymaking in the biofuels sector. Read a debate-spuring opinion. Austin Darragh more Meeting Unmet Needs - Distributing Diagnostic Tests A technology has to reach the market in order to be profitable. Distributing companion diagnostics is a particular challenge, especially for a small biotech manufacturer. How can a supply chain be managed? Karsten Hipler more Starting from product, not technology... Thomas Haas, Degussa's Head of Biotechnology explains his approach to industrial biotechnology, how Degussa will implement value-creating plans in its new Science-to-Business Centre Bio, what partners Degussa is looking for and how they are selected. more The European Organisation as a Pro-Drug for AAIPharma's Global Business You might have thought that AAIPharma had gone out of business filing for Chapter 11 in the US. In an interview John Hall, President of European Operations, provides insights why this did not happen, on low-cost Eastern European and Asian CROs and his strategies to beat competition in Europe. more Biotech in the UK: East Midlands, Cambridge and Beyond ERBI cluster shares with its lasting Oxford and Scottish competitors an outstanding blend of scientists, entrepreneurs and facilitators. What is different? How does the evolving cluster relate to the European continent? Michael Lindenmaier more Optimizing First Generation Biofuels While much debates center on developing 2nd generation biofuels, profitable businesses are set up (eg in Lower Austria)for traditional bioenergies. There is still much room for enhancing crop yields and process technologies for refining biodiesels or ethanol. In some areas the 2nd generation might even not beat the 1st one. more Functional Foods and Biotechnology A report on new technologies that allow the food industry to produce improved foods with targeted health benefits. Current trends in food biotechnology (incl. prebiotics and probiotics). more Meeting Business and Cellular Needs During Bioprocess Scale-Up In scale-up it is important considering the sum of all stress factors and not each single factor alone in both the cellular short term and long term reaction. The article describes how this is done without neglecting crucial factors and provides insights into the interdependencies of bioprocess and cellular properties. Christian H. Leist more Reliable Genetic Tests and Testings Diagnostic biomarkers, reference materials, and beyond David E. Barton, Lisa Kalman more Plantibodies for Human Therapeutic Use A first report that large-scale production of biopharmaceutical proteins from transgenic plants has become reality. Last year the worldwide first biopharmaceutical from transgenic plants was approved in Cuba. Innovation is moving forwards in emerging markets. Jörg Knäblein, Merardo Pujol, Carlos Borroto more Perspectives in Antibody Engineering The focus in antibody engineering has changed in the last years to pharmacokinetics and effector functions and will probably extend to additional routes of administration of antibodies Gottfried Himmler more Formulation for Protein Drugs The investment in a good proof-of-concept, enabling formulation is minimal compared with the risk that companies are taking in performing human studies with non-optimized formulations. Formulation activities should be introduced as early as possible in biotech projects, preferably starting from the research phase of selection of a new drug candidate. Tudor Arvinte more Clinical Development of Therapeutic Antibodies The technology to manufacture monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has been available for 30 years and several products such as Remicade, Avastin and Mabthera attain over $ 1 billion in annual revenues. Currently, there is no other product class with a protein as active substance to match the potential of mAbs in terms of full development pipeline and business success. However, successful clinical development of an antibody requires profound understanding and serious respect of these magic bullets. Gabriele Schäffner, Markku Toivonen more Biotech firms must effectively leverage all their assets Read how this insight can be turned to operations. By the author of "Resolving the Innovation Paradox - Enhancing Growth in Technology Companies". Georges Haour more Financing Young Biotech Companies Should management chase investors and milestones or sales and sustainability? The CEO of CXR Biosciences shares his experience with IPO, VCs and business angels, as well as building a profitable business from sales. A timely contribution from the biotech sector to the current discussion on the virtues of remaining out of the stock exchange and the profitability of private companies. Tom Shepherd more Managing Biotech Assets - The investor's perspective Rediscovery of the biotech sector is ahead. Learn from BB Biotech's management how biotech companies benefit, if they understand and heed the perspective of those investing into a fund. Christian Lach, Martin Münchbach more Return on Capital Investment Observations and comments on the long view in Life Science VC industry. An account of conditions insurance companies or pension funds entrust a biotech VC with their monies. Seppo Mäkinen more An Approach Different to a VC Dietmar Hopp is co-founder and member of software giant SAP. He decided to invest some €250m in biotech with an eye to profitable neighbouring fields. His funds are managed by life science veterans Friedrich Bohlen and Christof Hettich. Read about the investment philosophy, novel strategies to boost return on investment, and the companies invested. more GENOPOLE Évry sets the pace for pilot manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals A French benchmark initiative providing more elbow-room for small cell culture developers to increase the value of their assets. Additional data is provided on cGMP approved biomanufacturing plants in other parts of France. Wolf G. Kroner more Stem Cell Issues - Voices from the European Research Community Professors Ian Wilmut (UK), Michel Revel (IL) and Anders Björklund (SE) describe challenges in technology, advances in clinical trials, prevention of fraud, and opportunities for industry. more Building a strong UK bioprocessing sector bioProcess UK is almost two years into its remit. An account on how it is progressing. Tony Bradshaw more Industrial Biotech - more adequate for investments by VCs or rather large companies? Stakeholder Opinions from a European meeting by VCs, biotech entrepreneurs and industry association representatives in Lisboa, Portugal more Industrial Biotechnology Facing Markets Technology development alone does not suffice satisfying market needs. A closer look reveals that R&D can be better targeted to demand. With an eye to commercialization an overview is provided on technical challenges of industrial biotechnology. Dieter Sell more The Innovation Need for Biofuels and Biorefineries While much can be learned from the petrochemical industry, biorefineries require different and novel solutions writes the Group Vice President of Corporate Research with Süd-Chemie AG. Andre Koltermann more Décrypthon - eResearch and Marketing on Demand How is grid-computing put to work in life science projects and companies? The author relates the experience by IBM. Thomas Rueter more Bioanalytics in Pharmaceutical Development and Diagnostics An increasing number of pharma companies are relying on bioanalytic measurements. What are the roles of novel techniques such as LC or MS in drug development, and how are biomarkers used? Michael Lindenmaier compiled an extensive list of biomarkers across various therapeutic areas. In addition, he takes a closer look on bioanalytic offerings by providers in Eastern Europe and Asia. Michael Lindenmaier more Amgen has profitably learnt Chem Pharma lessons What makes a 21st century big pharma? Amgen and Genentech already are among the Top 10 US pharma companies with profitability exceeding Pfizer's or J&J's. Read the financial indicators compiled by BioWorld Europe, an overview Wolf G. Kroner more Therapeutic Antibodies - Regulatory Standards Approval success rates highlight the superiority of therapeutic antibodies in clinical trials over conventional drug candidates. The TGN1412-HV clinical trial re-ignited discussion on critical translation factors for therapeutic antibody candidates. Thomas Hanke, former TeGenero more Meeting the Challenges of Phase II Clinical Trials for Biopharmaceuticals Products Phase II clinical trials play a pivotal role in determining whether a drug candidate moves forward to Phase II or licensing. Make informed decisions and avoid costly missteps. Cecil Nick, Karl-Ludwig Rost, Parexel more BioPharma Challenges in Phase III In the vaccine industry, it used to be that the more complex and intensive studies occurred earlier in clinical development. Today, Phase 3 trials are facing more challenges than ever before. Philip Bedford, Acambis more Pharmacovigilance in Biopharmaceuticals Despite increased sophistication in processes to reduce the incidence of safety issues, the number of serious adverse events stubbornly refuses to fall - biopharmaceuticals are no exemption to this. An in-depth discussion with a best practice example for spontaneous drug reaction management. Andrew Craven, Oliver Manzke, Surendra Gokhale, L. Hoffmann-La Roche more Beyond Electronic Data Capture: Best Practices from the Industry Follow up most recent FDA exchanges with industry and get informed about benchmarks for uses of IT and electronic devices in clinical studies. Paul Bleicher is among other member of CDISC, a consortium promoting standards for e-clinical trials. Paul Bleicher, Phase Forward more "Drug Development Dilemma" of Small Biotech Companies Do's and don't's in Biotech deals with big pharma. Kurt Hellstern, Jeanne Pichard, Gertrud Thormann-Huber, Roland Toder, Hands-on / AXICOS more Clinical Studies in Developing and Emerging Countries What will happen, if Western biotech companies try to save R&D monies performing clinical studies in developing and emerging countries? Frank Rosenkaimer shares his experience and provides recomendations and caveats. Frank Rosenkaimer, Consultant more "What is" instead of "What if" Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto, on global opportunities for agrobiotech, crops for biofuels, the role of the EU and European states. more SERONO SPECIAL Serono's path to success, its global R&D, new pipeline, technologies, partnering strategies, collaboration experiences and key people moving projects forward. With contributions by Paratek, Caliper Life Sciences, MDS Sciex, Micromet, and Evotec more Changing Entrepreneurial Culture of Italian Biotech Italian biotech typically is a small enterprise business lacking visibility beyond borders. A fine-grained re-analysis of data from an economic study on Italy's growing biotechnology industry provides productivity figures, discusses market strategies and management culture. How resistant are Italian biotech entrepreneurs to change? Wolf G. Kroner more "We're exploiting the HuCal technology" says MorphoSys' Simon Moroney in an interview with Wolf Kroner, and explains his strategy in Asia, his experiences with royalty provisions in pharma deals, litigation over IP, and prospects of integrating Serotec. more Going Beyond ERP in Laboratories Developing laboratory software for major pharmaceutical companies, William Geslot had willy nilly to deal with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) already installed but rather extraneous to the workings of labs. At the time of writing the article he did not develop an ERP system of his own, but took the opportunity for an ironic, but visionary critique. William Geslot, QUALIMS more Electronic Laboratory Notebooks and Legal Issues in IP Protection Relying on IT is not enough. Colin Sandercock, counsellor of many biotech companies chaired the Electronic Records Subcommittee in the American Intellectual Property Law Association AIPLA and served among other as a legal counsel to CENSA, the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association. athe Electronic Rcords records It is better to runTurn the 4 W's into operation, you know the 4 W's in IP protection Colin Sandercock, Proskauer Rose LLP more Electronic Laboratory Notebooks Don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Spend more time cooking and less time sticking. In a lively article Robert Scoffin offers practical lessons learned from pharma and biotech companies. Robert Scoffin, CambridgeSoft more Disposables in Biomanufacturing Avoiding cross-contaminations, speed up processes - disposables promise to fulfill these expections. How far, will they substitute to stainless steel? What about validation and cost savings? In a independently reviewed article data and a calculation example are provided. Noushin Delmdahl, Sartorius more The Next Wave in Biomanufacturing BioGen Idec's Chief Technical Officer on opportunities and constraints in translating advanced bio-drug research into production. Wolfgang Berthold, Biogen Idec more Managing Biomanufacturing How technology and requirements of plant design were brought in line with shareholder value. Paul Coleman, Biogen Idec's European Manufacturing Site Manager candidly recounts up's and down's of launching a biodrug, re-locating a plant, operative consequences of a merger, and recovering from the sudden withdrawal of Tysabri. Wolf G. Kroner more Bioseparation: The Integration Imperative "Think big" or buying new instruments are not enough in order to reduce cost of goods, increasing efficacy, safety, and quality of biomanufacturing. Klaus Kaiser discusses why mammalian cell culture manufacturing is not yet fully exploited and what could be done. Klaus Kaiser, Bayer HealthCare AG more New fluorescence dyes for the detection of proteins on electrophoresis gels Modern proteomics applications are mainly based on the combination of biochemical separation techniques with mass spectrometric analysis methods. P. Nording, A. Rück, B. Schönenberger more Lower Austria – the home of high tech Innovative Strategies for Biotechnology Technopols are combined technological and business centers specifically established around recognized educational and research institutes. The Technopol Program of Lower Austria is a trendsetter in implementing the linkage of education/training, research and business. Lower Austria’s three Technopols are already setting international standards: Technopol Krems in the fields of biotech and regenerative medicine, Technopol Tulln in agro- and environmental biotechnology, Technopol Wiener Neustadt in surface technologies, microsystems engeneering and medical engineering. Wolfgang Kroner more Changing Laboratory Worlds Laboratory environments in the past have largely been designed with a focus on mechanical, functional and safety issues. Notwithstanding the importance of the aforementioned factors recent trends and developments show that there are significant changes in lab-work going on which ask for a broader approach towards the design and functionality of laboratories and their surroundings. Jörg Castor more Novel enzymes for bioethanol production Bioethanol for fuel made from corn or other grain is a fast-growing, global industry. This has catalyzed innovations in the biotechnology industry – from novel starch degrading enzymes, to enzymes for viscosity reduction, to new cellulases and hemicellulases for biomass conversion. Continued growth of the industry will bring even more process and enzyme innovation and increase the competitiveness of bio-based materials with petroleum. Kevin S. Wenger, Greg Lefebvre, Claudio Visigalli, Lionel Picart more Butanol – rediscovering a renewable fuel The fermentation of biomass such as sugar and starch to ethanol can be regarded as the oldest biotechnology e.g. for beer and wine production. Ethanol production is today again becoming major bio-industry in Europe with new production capacity of millions of tons per year currently in planning or under construction. Wolfgang H. Schwarz, J. Richard Gapes more Biofuels – Views from Automotive Industry and Research Introductory Statement Due to the strong and increasing demand in crude oil, rising crude oil prices and stricter emission standards the demand for alternative fuels is rising. The problematic of the depleting oil reserves has been recognised as well as the fact that using renewable resources leads to a higher security of supply, a better environment, higher national added value and an increase in income in rural regions. Most of the major car manufacturers have developed clear strategies to use the potential of biofuels. The statements in this issue of BioWorld indicate that the philosophies of the different car manufacturers depend on their individual strengths and that there is room for different biofuels. Although the development of BTL fuel is still at its beginnings, it already promises long-term high potential and is a suitable alternative for biodiesel and bioethanol. In all biofuel categories, production costs play a major role in the future effective mass-market deployment and here significant improvement is required. Competitive production costs compared to conventional fuels are imperative to gain market share as the current tax advantages are only temporary. In general, the prospects in this area are bright and biofuels are the right solution as an alternative to petro-fuel to bridge the gap until fuel cell or electrically driven vehicles are marketed on a large scale. This could be a major aspect of the switch from a petro-based to a bio-based economy. Gunter Festel more Biofuels – Situation and Outlook in Europe Although crude oil, natural gas and coal will remain the most important sources of energy until at least 2030, alternative solutions are developed. What are the markets, the drivers and where could your projects fit in? Gunter Festel more Biodiesel from vegetable oils in France The French Context The chemical synthesis of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) or biodiesel (marketed in France under the trade name Diester) from vegetable oils and methanol, is known for a very long time. Dr. Daniel Ballerini more Biofuels – Views from Automotive Industry and Research Who is shaping the demand for biofuels? Without powertrains and motor peripheries adapted biofuels will remain more political wishes than become reality. However, current biofuels are not efficient. Engineers have to find a compromise between consumer demand, current quality of renewable energies and logistics infratsructures. Read what engineers think and the automotive industry forecasts. more Space for Research and Innovation – The ISS Commercial Agent Network Companies are constantly looking for new possibilities to optimize their products and processes in order to stay competitive. This goal can be achieved only by doing research. The ISS Commercial Agent Network of the European Space Agency ESA offers companies the opportunity to access and use the unique research environment on board the International Space Station. Candan Bayram-Neumann, Michael Massow more Design Challenge in Eastern Europe: A Product- and Process-flexible Biotech Plant The challenge staked out by the biotech Chemgineering’s client was certainly intriguing: Carsten Hempel, Walter Küng, Wolfgang Schilling more An innovative gateway to potential investors Channel Bf is an international service for red, green and white biotech companies who wish to significantly increase their exposure and cement financial, scientific, commercial and industrial deals. Serge Perriard more «We want to have the best quality system» BioWorld Europe interviewed Alain Pompidou, President of the European Patent Office, about the tasks of the EPO and on where it stands in the process of improving patenting in Europe. Much has already been achieved. Wolf G. Kroner more O ntario ... O Canada Ontario's biotech sector is one of the strongest in Canada. Read about opportunities for Europe.