Earlier this month, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, Onconova presented interim data from its Phase II ONTARGET study testing oral rigosertib as a single agent in transfusion-dependent, lower risk MDS patients...The drug's mechanism of action may overcome the challenges in pancreatic and other intractable cancers that have thwarted other comers, such as gemcitabine, Tarceva (erlotinib, Astellas Pharma Inc. and Roche AG) and a host of failed candidates...Proceeds

Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Dublin, Calif., presented updated clinical results of its hypomethylating agent, SGI-110, in a poster session at the 18th Congress of the European Hematology Association in Stockholm, Sweden...The update focused on details of the biological and clinical activity as well as safety in the group of intermediate or high-risk relapsed or refractory myelodysplastic syndromes patients treated in the dose-escalation, Phase I part of the SGI-110-01 study...Of the 15 patients, six

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Diminutive drug discovery firm PRISM Pharma Co...of Japan (INCJ), together with existing PRISM Pharma investor DBJ Capital, a VC fund started by the government-owned Development Bank of Japan...And although full terms of the Series C funding round were not disclosed, they did include the hitting of milestones on the fibrosis clinical trial, according to PRISM Pharma CFO, Dai Takehara

Bioalliance Pharma SA, of Paris, started a Phase II trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Validive (clonidine Lauriad) in the U.S...The study, initiated in July 2012, enrolled a total of 77 patients in clinical sites in the U.S., Canada, Jamaica, Egypt and Lebanon

With data from the first clinical trial of anti-TNF polyclonal antibody AVX-470 in ulcerative colitis (UC) due toward the end of this year, Avaxia Biologics Inc...The big pharma will be able to exercise its option upon the conclusion of Phase IIb testing of ALV003, a two-enzyme combination candidate designed to degrade gluten. (See BioWorld Today, May 15, 2013.) According to Avaxia, IBD refers to related but different diseases: ulcerative colitis (UC), which affects the colon, and Crohn's disease

and its partner Astellas Pharma Inc...The financing is expected to fund the lead program to clinical proof of concept for at least one hearing disorder indication. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 23, 2011

The first-in-man trial will be undertaken by the National Institute of Health Research Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, based at the Northern Institute of Cancer Research at Newcastle University, as well as at least one other clinical center

Evoke, a specialty pharma developing a nasal spray formulation of gastrointestinal (GI) drug metoclopramide, is seeking a more modest $23 million and plans to list on Nasdaq as "EVOK...Modest Offering 'Evokes' Public Market Access San Diego-based Evoke Pharma has stayed out of the limelight, advancing a single asset with just two full-time employees...Since we're not going to have clinical data at the time we would expect the IPO – we're looking for funding to go into the clinic – the intent is that

Results of the PROLASTIN-C SPARK study, a multidose pharmacokinetic clinical trial, were presented at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Philadelphia

GW Pharma plc (NASDAQ:GWPH) commenced trading on May 1, pricing at $8.90, and closed at $8.88 Wednesday...And Lyon, France-based Erytech Pharma SA commenced trading in Paris at €11.60 per share, raising €16.7 million (US$21.4 million) for the company...The company's platform technology is designed to improve drug delivery into internal body cavities.

SONAR is a multinational, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study that is expected to enroll more than 4,000 patients with diabetic nephropathy...Destiny Pharma Ltd., of Brighton, UK, reported progress in the Phase I U.S...The trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is being conducted at the NIAID Phase I Clinical Trials Unit at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland

Despite losing a potentially lucrative FLT3 inhibitor partnership with Astellas Pharma Inc...for $1.3 billion in 2004, began its second life when the big pharma spun out the firm and lead asset ETC-1002 in 2008. (See BioWorld Today, May 2, 2008.) It raised $22.8 million in a Series A round and recently added $33 million in a preferred stock deal...Proceeds would be used to fund clinical trials, R&D for additional alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) indications, expanding distribution capabilities for

Proceeds will be used to fund ongoing and new clinical trials and development and commercialization efforts for pimavanserin, as well as activities for other product candidates and for general corporate purposes...Kite Pharma Inc., of Los Angeles, said it closed a $20 million private placement of shares of its Series A preferred stock...Receptos will use the proceeds to support clinical work in multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease and allergic/immune-mediate disorders. (See BioWorld Today

Eisai Inc., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., said antiepileptic drug Fycompa (perampanel) showed a clear therapeutic benefit in difficult-to-treat patients with partial epilepsy, according to two new analyses of early clinical experience

clinical development plan and financial terms relating to ISIS-TTRRx to reflect an accelerated development plan for that antisense drug...Isis has 28 candidates in preclinical and clinical development across a wide variety of indications, with nine scheduled to report data in the next 12 months

The study, dubbed Gammaglobulin Alzheimer's Partnership, was conducted in collaboration with the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, a clinical trial consortium supported by the National Institute on Aging

Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, and Drais Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J., will repeat for the third time a spinout maneuver that has been successful with two other programs in the past...In April 2012, Astellas transferred ownership of ASP3291, a melanocortin receptor agonist for ulcerative colitis, to Telsar Pharma Inc., with a $14 million investment by InterWest and Sutter Hill, to begin Phase IIa testing. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 1, 2013.) And in June 2012, Drais partnered with

shored up its balance sheet in a $36 million private offering to advance pipeline work, including planned clinical trials of ARC-520, an RNAi-based drug in chronic HBV infection...The firm also has programs in two big pharma partnerships...Shares of Supernus (NASDAQ:SUPN) lost 3 cents Monday to close at $5.12.

Critics of the firm, too, have pointed to the lack of a big pharma partner to expand Qsymia's reach. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 23, 2012.) Lief said Belviq already has picked up some momentum...The drug was included in a recent diabetes management report from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists