These data led to Eleven's Phase Ib clinical study of EBI-005 in subjects with dry eye disease, with top-line data from the Phase Ib study expected in the second half of 2013...Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, Calif., reported safety and efficacy data from a Phase II proof-of-concept study of PRT4445 of Eliquis (apixaban) in healthy volunteers

spun out in 2011, and Flexion Therapeutics Inc., of Woburn, Mass., founded by veterans of Eli Lilly and Co.'s Chorus division to advance abandoned early clinical programs through proof of concept. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 1, 2010, and July 28, 2011.) The $15 million investment in Tacurion will support a Phase II proof-of-concept trial for the drug that should take 18 months to two years to complete...Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, set the price range for its proposed initial

Coronado plans to use the proceeds to fund R&D, clinical trials and manufacture of supply as well as other corporate purposes...OxiGene Inc., of South San Francisco, entered agreements with institutional investors for a private placement of $5 million of zero coupon convertible preferred stock, convertible into approximately 1.38 million shares of common stock at a price of $3.63 apiece, and two series of warrants that may be exercised for up to approximately 2.76 million additional shares of

Exelixis Inc., of South San Francisco, presented additional information about the mechanism of action of cabozantinib with respect to activity against prostate cancer tumors metastasized to bone...The study was carried out to explore previous clinical findings with cabozantinib in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients with bone metastases showing a 67 percent rate of bone scan response and other clinical signs of effect

The company's "exceptional team" and its potential to obtain rapid clinical efficacy data were two attractive attributes, Rafaèle Tordjman, managing partner at Sofinnova Partners, told BioWorld Today...Cleave Biosciences Inc., of San Francisco, raised $10 million in an extension of its Series A financing from new investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA), bringing its Series A total to $54 million

Cytokinetics Inc., of South San Francisco, initiated a Phase I trial of CK-2127107 in healthy male volunteers...Tengion Inc., of Winston-Salem, N.C., said the firm's clinical trial application was accepted in Sweden to start a Phase I trial testing its Neo-Kidney Augment in up to five patients with advanced chronic kidney disease

Medgenics Inc., of San Francisco, said underwriters exercised an option to purchase stock in its recent public offering...The funds will be used to advance Theraclone's clinical programs and support its I-STAR technology platform.

Another $406 million could come in the form of clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, and Enanta would be eligible for tiered, double-digit royalties and a U.S...newly commercial orphan drug developer Hyperion Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco...Net proceeds are expected to support clinical trial costs and acquisition of manufacturing equipment, leasehold improvements and general corporate purposes

Positive Phase II data were unveiled in September 2012 at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco...The first tranche of the Series B closed in June 2012 for $8.6 million.

Cerus anticipates using the net proceeds for clinical development and other R&D activities related to the Intercept Blood System, preparatory activities for the potential commercialization of the system in the U.S...Hyperion Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, completed its follow-on offering of about 2.8 million shares of common stock

The study also will assess secondary measures of clinical benefit, including progression-free survival, objective response rate and overall survival at six months and 12 months...Presidio Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Francisco, said it entered a nonexclusive collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, for a Phase IIa trial testing an interferon-free, all-oral, direct-acting antiviral combination treatment for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection

Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., said researchers from the Clinical Trial Service Unit at Oxford University presented results from the HPS2-THRIVE (Heart Protection Study 2-Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events) study of Tredaptive (extended-release niacin/laropiprant) during the late-breaking clinical trial session at the American College of Cardiology 62nd Annual Scientific Session in San Francisco...Findings were presented during the late-breaking clinical trial session

Through a spokeswoman, company officials declined to comment on the offering, but it seemed clear that – like other recent financings in the biotech space – the South San Francisco biotech capitalized on its surging stock price...The company plans to use proceeds from the offering to complete clinical development of Ravicti in hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and to fund post-approval studies in UCD...at the same unit price.

Hyperion Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, said it is offering up to $50 million of shares of common stock, though the number of shares and share price have not yet been disclosed...Proceeds will be used to support continuing clinical development of Ravicti (glycerol phenylbutyrate) in HE, a brain disorder caused by chronic liver failure

Adynxx Inc., of San Francisco, said the first patient was dosed in a Phase II study of AYX1 , its lead candidate to prevent post-surgical pain...Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, a member of the Roche Group, and Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, said results from a Phase III trial, ASTERIA II, demonstrated that omalizumab met its primary endpoint in patients with moderate to severe chronic idiopathic urticaria, who remained symptomatic despite treatment with approved H1 antihistamine doses

Advanced Cell Technology Inc. (ACT), of Marlborough, Mass., said its clinical partner, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), received FDA approval for its investigational new drug application...Jennerex Inc., of San Francisco, said research was published in Cancer Research, demonstrating the ability of its lead product candidate, Pexa-Vec (JX-594), to disrupt the blood supply to a tumor

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, completed its initial public offering of 8.75 million shares of common stock at $8 per share...The net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, including the continuation of the Abili-T clinical study, Opexa's ongoing Phase IIb trial of Tcelna in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis patients

Nektar Therapeutics Inc., of San Francisco, said it started a Phase II study of etirinotecan pegol in patients with metastatic and recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer...Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, inked a clinical collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a unit of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, and Bayer AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, to evaluate the safety of PRT4445, an antidote for Factor Xa inhibitors, in healthy volunteers to have been administered

30, will support clinical trials of KaloBios' Humaneered antibody pipeline, as well as general corporate purposes...Foresite Capital Management LLC, a San Francisco-based growth equity firm, closed a $100 million fund, Foresite Capital Fund I, with the aim of investing in companies with disruptive, late-stage products in services across a range of health care opportunities, including biotechnology, genomics and diagnostics, health care services and medical devices