In addition to RA and Crohn's, the pharma may develop GLPG0634 in psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome and lupus, mirroring the path by which the label on its blockbuster Humira (adalimumab) was expanded beyond RA. (See BioWorld Today, March 1, 2012, and Jan. 3, 2013...SciClone agreed to make additional payments of $10 million if Zensun receives approval of Neucardin by subcutaneous infusion, and further indications and improved product forms could result in additional payments...Prior to the

Scientists at Bayer HealthCare's U.S. Innovation Center in San Francisco will work collaboratively with counterparts at QB3 and Mission Bay Capital in the structured public-private partnership, with QB3 bringing up to 60 companies a year from its network for Bayer to evaluate for potential partnerships...The company plans to use proceeds to repurchase common stock and for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of outstanding commercial paper borrowings and upcoming debt maturities

Even after the news broke Monday – and the Theravance share price (NASDAQ:THRX) gained more than 14 percent to hit $40 – the entire company was still only valued at $3.94 billion...Editor's note: To obtain a CD of the webinar, "Royalty Financing for Biotech and Medical Device Companies: How to Determine Eligibility and Take Advantage of this Unique Financing Opportunity" or for a deeper dive, BioWorld's Biopharmaceutical Royalty Rates Analysis: Essential Benchmarks for Dealmaking, call 800-477-6307

Even after the news broke Monday – and the Theravance share price (NASDAQ:THRX) gained more than 14 percent to hit $40 – the entire company was still only valued at $3.94 billion...Editor's note: To obtain a CD of the webinar, "Royalty Financing for Biotech and Medical Device Companies: How to Determine Eligibility and Take Advantage of this Unique Financing Opportunity" or for a deeper dive, BioWorld's Biopharmaceutical Royalty Rates Analysis: Essential Benchmarks for Dealmaking, call 800-477-6307

formed a joint venture to commercialize Vectibix (panitumumab) in China...The split is intended to increase the per-share trading price of the common stock to satisfy the $1 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market

rights to market Pertzye (pancrelipase) for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency due to cystic fibrosis...The board is recommending that shareholders approve the arrangement resolution, which is intended, among other goals, to improve Mirati's ability to attract funding in the larger U.S

GW Pharmaceuticals plc, of Porton Down, UK, received commercial approval for lead cannabinoid product Sativex in Italy for moderate to severe spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients who have not responded adequately to other anti-spasticity medications...VistaGen Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, said its human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes were used by collaboration partner Duke University to grow three-dimensional (3D) human heart muscle

StemCells issued SVB a warrant to purchase 293,531 shares of common stock at $1.7034 per share 4/10/13 Unigene Laboratories Inc. (Boonton, N.J.) Amended financing agreement N/A $0.75 Unigene entered a second amendment to a financing agreement with affiliates of Victory Park Capital Advisors LLC, whereby VPC agreed to purchase an additional $750,000 senior secured note convertible into shares of Unigene common stock 4/9/13 VistaGen Therapeutics Inc. (South San Francisco) Investment 72S $36

In separate news, Hyperion said it exercised its option to acquire Buphenyl (sodium phenylbutyrate) tablets and powder, an FDA-approved therapy for the chronic management of the most prevalent UCDs, and Ammonul (sodium phenylacetate and sodium benzoate) injection, a hospital-based product used to treat UCD patients in hyperammonemic crisis, from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., of Montreal...According to a March 2012 agreement between Hyperion and Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (later

to formulate CytoDyn's PRO 140 bulk drug substance through a fill-and-finish process for clinical-ready vials to advance two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Phase IIb studies...The goal is to validate emerging epigenetic targets for oncology indications and to demonstrate the eligibility of selected target families for drug formalations

Celgene Corp., of Summit, N.J., said the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted a positive opinion for Revlimid (lenalidomide) for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent anemia due to low or intermediate-1 risk myelodsyplastic syndromes associated with an isolated deletion 5q cytogenetic abnormality when other therapeutic options are insufficient or inadequate...Theravance Inc., of South San Francisco, said its board approved plans to separate its businesses

Achaogen Inc., of South San Francisco, was awarded a $60 million contract option from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) supporting a global Phase III superiority study that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of plazomicin in treating patients with serious Gram-negative bacterial infections due to Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae...Addex Therapeutics, of Geneva, said regulatory authorities in the Netherlands gave approval to start in the first half of this

In separate news, another Galapagos unit, Argenta, inked a deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, to apply its respiratory drug discovery services to an undisclosed target within Boehringer's respiratory disease portfolio...In other news, BioInvent said the first patient has been treated in a Phase II study of BI-505 for smoldering multiple myeloma, or asymptomatic myeloma

for the Brisbane, Australia-based company's Diversity Scanning Array (DSA) and Versatile Assembly on Stable Templates (VAST) technologies in a deal worth up to $240 million in milestones, plus other payments...to conduct a review of merger and acquisition opportunities. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 1, 2013...It expects to launch the product in Canada, and a number of Central American, South American and Asian countries in 2014 and 2015

Net proceeds will be used to complete a Phase II Squalamine eye drop clinical trial for the wet form of age-related macular degeneration, to further the clinical development of the eye drops for the treatment of other neovascular ophthalmic disorders, to fund development of other pipeline molecules, and for general corporate purposes

The funding will be used to formulate antigens using Immunovaccine's DepoVax adjuvant technology...The company is expected to roll out the drug to pharmacies within 90 days. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 23, 2012, and March 27, 2013

GSK is working to resolve the issues with its contract manufacturer, and it is expected that new inventory of Horizant will be available in pharmacies in June...PRCN-829 is designed to deliver multiple genes, including Factor H, to neural stem cells

Cytokinetics Inc., of South San Francisco, received an award from Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy to support preclinical research on muscle function in a mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy conducted with the firm's fast skeletal muscle troponin activator, tirasemtiv...The refund was received to support research and clinical development of PBT2 for Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases, as well as for other Prana research activities into Parkinson's disease and other neurological indications

In separate news, Astellas signed a deal to access the TSUBAME2.0 supercomputer at the Tokyo Institute of Technology to discover candidates for NTDs caused by dengue virus...In other news, The Nasdaq OMX Stockholm's listing committee approved the listing of NeuroVive's shares