A $165 million underwriting agreement may be the prescription Exelixis Inc. needs to get its cancer candidate, cabozantinib, through clinical development. Read More
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. took an inventive tack to raise $30 million this week by monetizing payments from licensee Shionogi & Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, for peramivir (Rapiacta), a neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of influenza. Read More
Genentech reported that data from the first of two pivotal Phase III studies of Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) in diabetic macular edema (DME) showed "rapid and sustained improvement in vision" compared to a placebo injection. Read More
Now that there's a new approved systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) therapy for the first time in 56 years, patients and rheumatologists will only have to bide their time for about two more weeks before they can get Benlysta. Read More
Epizyme Inc. views its potential $206 million new partnership agreement with Eisai Co. Ltd. as an endorsement of its research and development efforts in EZH2, and as a complement to its recent deal with GlaxoSmithKline plc within its overall business strategy. Read More
MediGene AG, of Martinsreid, Germany, signed an exclusive license and supply agreement with Will-Pharma for commercialization and marketing of Veregen ointment for genital warts in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. It has existing agreements covering the U.S., other parts of Europe, Latin America and Asia. It will continue to pursue a global licensing strategy for the drug. Read More
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported results from a Phase II study of VX-765, a caspase-1 inhibitor, in 60 patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy, with data showing a similar safety profile for VX-765 as compared to placebo, the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoint data showed that 13 percent of patients in the treatment arm showed a 50 percent or greater reduction in seizure frequency vs. 0 percent in the placebo arm, and 19 percent of patients on VX-765 were seizure-free in the last two weeks of treatment vs. 9 percent on placebo. Read More
