Recently formed early stage cancer drug company Peloton Therapeutics Inc. raised $18 million in a Series A financing that reunited Tularik Inc. co-founders Steven L. McKnight and David Goeddel. Read More
Gilead Sciences Inc. beat the street with second quarter earnings of $2.14 billion, led by HIV drug Atripla revenues of $822 million. Gilead's antiretrovirals bounced back from a weak first quarter, with renewed growth in AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) purchasing and increased demand in the EU from seasonal government purchasing. Gilead is looking forward to results from its two Phase III QUAD trials in the third quarter, which are expected to add value to the HIV franchise. Read More
WASHINGTON – Noting the shifting winds of federal stem cell policy, a district court has dismissed a case challenging the National Institute of Health's (NIH) funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. Read More
Contract research organizations (CRO) have been ramping up their roles in drug development, usually by partnering with or taking equity stakes in biotech firms. But PPD Inc. took the trend a step further last year when it spun out drug development company Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Read More
Trius Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, will collaborate with Bayer Pharma AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, to develop and commercialize Trius' lead Phase III antibiotic, torezolid phosphate, in Africa, Asia (excluding North and South Korea), Latin America and the Middle East. Read More
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, and Aeterna Zentaris Inc., of Quebec City, completed enrollment in the pivotal Phase III trial of PI3K/Akt inhibitor perifosine (KRX-0401) plus Xeloda (capecitabine, Roche AG) for colorectal cancer. Read More
Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., of Calgary, Alberta, received U.S. Patent No. 7,964,563, titled "Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cell Proliferation Regulated By Prolactin," which covers the firm's use of Prolactin for multiple sclerosis. Read More
