The full list of nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards will be announced in Los Angeles.

In December 2009, Avatar had won the award for the best film drama at the Golden Globes.

Avatar recently surpassed Titanic, James Cameron’s own film that won multiple Oscars. Cameron also beat his own record, which he achieved with the Titanic, when Avatar became the move that grossed the highest box-office collection ever.

The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and made for a fraction of the money spent on Avatar, is a tense movie that tells the story of an elite bomb-disposal squad.  It has won widespread critical commendation and also the Directors Guild of America award.

James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow were short-listed for best director in the Golden Globes, with Cameron winning the prize.

Other films that have a strong chance of being nominated for the Oscar for the best film and also have received critical acclaim include Up In The Air, Precious (a film on child abuse), Invictus (biopic on Nelson Mandela), Inglourious Basterds (war movie), An Education, District 9, and The Blind Side.

Britain is pinning its Oscar hopes on newcomer Carey Mulligan for her role in An Education, a film based on the memoirs of journalist Lynn Barber, and Dame Helen Mirren for her role as Leo Tolstoy’s wife in the movie The Last Station.

For the first time since 1944, there are 10 contenders for the best picture Oscars, instead of the usual 5.

In the best actor category, the main contenders are Colin Firth (who plays the leading role in A Single Man, which is about the story of a gay academic mourning the death of his partner), George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, Jeff Bridges, and Jeremy Renner.

Those nominated in the best actress category include Sandra Bullock for her role in for The Blind Side, Gabourey Sidibe for her role in Precious, and Mulligan for her film An Education, Academy Award winner Dame Helen Mirren, and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).

In the best supporting actress category, there are nominations for Penelope Cruz, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Mo’Nique, and Anna Kendrick.

Those nominate for the Oscar for the best supporting actor are Woody Harrelson, Matt Damon, Christopher Plummer, Christoph Waltz, and Stanley Tucci.

The Oscar ceremony will take place on March 7, 2010, to be hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

A preview clip from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, will be released as two films.

The Part I of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is set for release on November 19, 2010, and the Part II of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows on July 15, 2011.

Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows official logo

The last Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, had 25 minutes of 3D footage at the beginning, viewable at Imax cinema. Looking for the book? Read an interesting article about plotholes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book here.

Since the cost of conversion to the 3D format has now come down, it is more affordable to release the entire film in the 3D format.

The news of making the final two movies in the Harry Potter series in 3D comes in the same week that James Cameron’s 3D film Avatar became the highest-grossing movie ever, beating the previous record held by Titanic. Related: Avatar movie’s deleted sex scene in 3D

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Brothers will soon make an announcement that both the Greek fantasy movie Clash Of The Titans and the two Harry Potter films will be released in 3D.

Reports say that each movie now costs $5 million to change into 3D. In addition, Warner Brothers will spend another $5million per movie to pay for the 3D glasses.

It is not yet clear whether J K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series of books, has had to approve of the movies being made in 3D.,

Industry observers are of the opinion that, the plan to make the Harry Potter movies in 3D could prompt other high-profile moves – even the James Bond films made by MGM – switching to the 3D format.

US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) granted approval for amlodipine/benazepril pills in trengths of 2.5mg/10mg, 5mg/10mg, 5mg/20mg and 10mg/20mg.

Commercial shipments of amlodipine/benazepril pills have already commenced, Lupin announced in a press release.

Lupin’s amlodipine/benazepril (Lorrel) capsules indicated for the treatment of hypertension.

Amlodipine/benazepril combo pills had annual sales of approximately US$ 1.1 billion for the twelve months ended September 2009, based on IMS Health sales data.

“The approval reflects the confidence and acceptance of our facility by the US FDA,” stated
Nilesh Gupta, group president and executive director of Lupin Limited.

In Jauary, US FDA revoked the ban imposed on Lupin’s manufacturing facility at Mandideep in Madhya Pradesh.

The US FDA had conducted an inspection at Lupin’s manufacturing facility at Mandideep,  in October – November 2008.

The US FDA inspection found several deficiencies in the Good Manufacturing Standards  (GMP) standards set by the agency and issued Inspectional Observations also known as Form 483 listing all the deviations.

Lupin’s Mandideep facility makes both sterile and non-sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing and sterile active pharmaceutical manufacturing factories.

US FDA has cited Lupin’s failure to maintain production, control, or distribution records and failure to follow appropriate written procedures designed to prevent microbiological contamination of drug products to be sterile.

Lupin’s Mandideep facility also found to be lacking in controls to prevent contamination in defined areas regarding operations related to aseptic processing of products. The plant managers also failed to routinely calibrate, inspect, or check according to a written programme designed to assure proper performance of automatic, mechanical, or electronic systems.

Mandideep facility was re-inspected by the US FDA officials in November 2009. Following the inspection, Lupin has received official communication from the US FDA on the satisfactory resolution of the Warning Letter issued earlier to its Mandideep site.

US FDA inspected two new sites of Lupin at Aurangabad (Liquids) & Indore (Oral Solids and Oral Contraceptives) in the last quarter.

Aurangabad liquid manufacturing facility was found acceptable with no 483’s and Indore was found acceptable with one 483 observation which was satisfactorily addressed before the close of the inspection.

These recent US FDA inspections bring Lupin a step closer to launching liquids and Oral contraceptives in US market.

Earlier, the UK MHRA and the Australian TGA had also conducted a joint inspection of the Mandideep facility and had found it acceptable.

Recently, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc, the U.S subsidiary of Lupin Ltd has received the tentative approval for the company’s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for its memantine hydrochloride tablets, 5mg and 10mg from US FDA.

Lupin’s memantine HCl tablets are AB-rated to Namenda (Forest Labs) tablets indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer’s type.

Namenda had annual sales of approximately $1.1 billion for the twelve months ended September 2009, based on IMS Health sales data.

In December, Lupin Ltd settled all ongoing Hatch-Waxman litigation relating to memantine tablets with Forest Laboratories, Inc.

As per the terms of the settlement, Lupin Ltd. will be licensed under the relevant patents and would be free to commercially launch its generic product in January, 2015, or earlier in certain circumstances.

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Lupin Limited produces a wide range of quality, affordable generic and branded formulations and APIs for the developed and developing markets of the world.

Lupin has significant market share in key markets in the cardiovasculars (prils and statins), diabetology, asthma, pediatrics, CNS, GI, anti-infectives and NSAIDs therapy segments, not to mention global leadership positions in the anti-TB and cephalosporins.

Lupin is considered to be one among the fastest growing top 10 generics players in the two largest pharmaceutical markets of the world – The U.S (ranked 9th by prescriptions & growing at 92 %) and Japan (ranked 7th and growing at 23%).

Lupin is also the fastest growing, top 5 pharmaceutical players in India (ORG IMS – March 2009) and the fastest growing Generic player in South Africa (ranked 6th and growing at over 30 % YoY – IMS)

For the financial year ended March 2009, Lupin’s Consolidated Revenues and Profit after Tax were Rs.39,145 million (US$ 851 million) and Rs.5015 million (US$ 109 million) respectively.

ADX71943 is an orally available positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the GABA(B) receptor that has potential for treatment of osteoarthritis pain and chronic nociceptive pain as well as other indications.

ADX71943 reversed complete Freund adjuvant (CFA)–induced reductions in withdrawal thresholds in a dose-related manner, with a minimum statistically significant effective oral dose of 10 mg/kg, in the first model.

In a second model (Formalin test), ADX71943 showed anti-nociceptive effect after oral administration of 3 to 10 mg/kg.

In a third model, an increased visceral pain threshold was seen using ADX71943 with a minimum statistically significant effective dose between 3 and 10 mg/kg.

ADX71943 is expected to enter clinical testing in the fourth quarter 2010.

“…minimum effective doses observed in the preclinical models and the pharmacokinetic properties of the compound support prediction of treatment regimens in humans compatible with the target patient population and disease” stated Sonia Poli, head of non-clinical development at Addex, in a news release.

GABA(B) activation is a clinically validated mechanism. Baclofen, a GABA(B) agonist, is widely used for its muscle relaxant properties in the control of spasticity caused by multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or certain injuries to the spine.

Baclofen is a powerful analgesic agent, especially when delivered intrathecally. However, rapid induction of tolerance and dose limiting CNS-mediated side effects (e.g. sedation, hypothermia, memory impairment) prevent baclofen from being widely prescribed for pain relief despite its analgesic properties.

ADX71943, being an allosteric modulator with a differentiated profile, could avoid the tolerance and dose limiting side effects commonly associated with baclofen.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a widespread condition affecting the elderly population in particular. One of the most debilitating symptoms is chronic pain associated with OA.

Patients suffering from chronic pain will require treatment over the long-term. There is a clear need for drugs with better side effect profiles than current marketed drugs (e.g. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids).

Addex Pharmaceuticals utilizes it proprietary platform technologies to discover and develop allosteric modulators for human health.

Allosteric modulators are a different kind of orally available small molecule therapeutic agent, which the company believe will offer a competitive advantage over classical drugs.

With 15 programs in development, the Addex pipeline demonstrates the productivity and broad potential of our unparalleled platform technologies.

The most advanced product, ADX48621, an mGluR5 negative allosteric modulator (NAM), has completed Phase I testing and is scheduled to start Phase II testing for Parkinson’s disease levodopa associated dyskinesia (PD-LID) later in 2010.

Addex is developing ADX71149, an mGluR2 positive allosteric modulator (PAM),under an agreement with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company.

The drug is undergoing Phase I clinical testing and has potential for treatment of schizophrenia and anxiety.

Under two separate agreements with Merck & Co., Inc., we are developing PAMs of mGluR4 and mGluR5 as drugs to treat Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia, respectively.

In addition, SR-One, the corporate venture arm of GlaxoSmithKline, and Roche Venture Fund have made equity investments in Addex.

The technology for the genetically modified version of brinjal is owned by the United States-based firm Monsanto.

The representatives of the 10 states, ruled by different political parties, held a conference held in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, called by the Kerala government, and described their united stand as “the second war of Indian independence.”

The conference was convened by the Department of Agriculture and the Biodiversity Board of the government of Kerala.

The states, the representatives of which participated in the conference against Bt brinjal, included Mizoram in the far-east, Tamil Nadu, the next-door neighbour of Kerala, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Apart from the representatives of the of the CPM-led coalition government in Kerala, the conference was attended by the Agriculture Minister of the Congress-led government of Andhra Pradesh; ministers from the BJP-led governments of Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh; ministers from the BJP-Akali coalition government of Punjab, the JD(U) government in Bihar, the BJD government in Orissa, as well as ministers from Chhattisgarh and Gujarat.

The participants declared that they “will not rest” until Bt brinjal and all genetically food stuff ‘Quit India.’

All these states, except Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, have officially banned genetically modified food material.

According to V S Vijayan, chairman of the Biodiversity Board of Kerala, the motive of the conference was to send to the Central Government a message of opposition to Bt brinjal.

According to her, smooth transportation of sportspersons to various sporting venues or stadia will be the most important aspect of the traffic plan for the Commonwealth Games, to be held in Delhi in October 2010.

The Chief Minister told reporters on the sidelines of a symposium on public transport, held in New Delhi, that a traffic plan for the Commonwealth Games is being worked out by the Delhi police. Since Delhi has the advantage of being round, there are a number of alternative routes available, she said.

According to R K Verma, Transport Commissioner of Delhi, the transport system is being bettered gradually. Before the Commonwealth Games, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will run 10,000 buses. There will be more Metro lines, R K Verma said, adding that the government hopes that more people will shift from using cars to using public transport. The focus of the traffic improvement will be on the effective use of the existing space and its potential.

In another important development regarding improving the traffic system for the Commonwealth Games 2010, Delhi police are likely to introduce soon the “e-payment’ of traffic challans. This means that a traffic violator can punch his credit card or debit card number on the website www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in

The system – named ‘e-challaning’ – is said to be based on the method adopted by the traffic police of Bangalore. In Bangalore, a traffic violator can pay online to a notice, by just typing in the notice number, the registration number of the vehicle and give his email address, along with the details of his credit card or debit card.

Ajay Chadha, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Delhi, said that, in the e-challaning method, notices will be linked to the central system.

Besides, it has been proposed to provide police officers on beat duty on Delhi roads with Blackberry mobile phones, which will help them keep a tab on habitual traffic offenders.

The Delhi traffic police have already begun the process of selecting the company best suited for implementing the e-challaning system.

Ajay Chadha said that, in order to familiarise the public with the traffic circulation system for the Commonwealth Games, the traffic police will barricade and restrict movement of traffic on certain roads. The trial runs, which are likely to start in the middle of February 2010, will continue till the Commonwealth Games starts.

The first trial is expected to be held on the route that the athletes will take from the Indira Gandhi International Airport to reach the Games Village, located in East Delhi.

According to sources, the Delhi traffic police could conduct the trials during the hockey World Cup – to be held from February 28, 2010, to March 13, 2010 – on the route that the hockey teams will take to reach Dhyan Chand Stadium, near India Gate, from Le Meridian Hotel. This plan be will be later implemented in the stretch between the Games Village and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which is the venue for the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, as well as other sporting venues.