Kite Pharma Inc., of Los Angeles, said it closed a $20 million private placement of shares of its Series A preferred stock...Shares of Vivus (NASDAQ:VVUS) closed Wednesday at $12.91, down 68 cents.

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

MEI Pharma Inc., of San Diego, priced a public offering of about 2 million shares of common stock at $7.50 apiece, a 9.5 percent discount to Thursday's closing price...Shares of MEI (NASDAQ:MEIP) closed Friday at $8.35, up 6 cents.

and London-based GW Pharma plc, which is seeking a Nasdaq listing and a capital raise. (See BioWorld Today, March 11, 2013, March 12, 2013, and March 20, 2013.) In other financings news...Trimel's pipeline includes CompleoTRT, a bioadhesive intranasal testosterone gel for male hypogonadism.

Proceeds will be used to support clinical studies, R&D activities and for general corporate purposes, including working capital and administrative expenses...Valeant also said it intends, subject to market and other conditions, to raise about $500 million of unsecured debt for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 5, 2012.)

Dublin, Ireland-based pharma firm Shire plc also joined the round as a strategic investor...Shares of Zogenix (NASDAQ:ZGNX) closed Tuesday at $2.14, up 2 cents.

But starting this year, the big pharma firm is shouldering three-fourths of the financial burden...Concurrent with the financing, TG became a majority-owned subsidiary of New York-based Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Inc., which will change its name to TG Therapeutics Inc.

Horizon Pharma Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., is bringing in $50.8 million in a private placement of about 14 million units – each comprising one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.25 shares – priced at $3.62125 apiece...Funds will be used to support ongoing drug development activities and for general corporate purposes and working capital. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 27, 2012.)

The London big pharma firm said earlier this month that it "has a Phase III decision to make, so data from two Phase II trials in second-line lung cancer and melanoma are critical," noted analysts from Edison Investment Research, who called 2012 a "pivotal year that could boost Array's relatively modest valuation...Proceeds will be used to complete the ongoing Phase II trial of the firm's first Pleodrug for the treatment of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Type 1A and to advance its Alzheimer's disease

Cerulean Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., closed a $15 million Series D financing with participation from new investor CVF LLC, an affiliate of Henry Crown and Co., of Chicago, and full participation from existing investors Polaris Venture Partners, Venrock, Lilly Ventures, Lux Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners...The investment results from a rights agreement between the companies executed in 2008. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 25, 2008.)

Proceeds will be used to accelerate the firm's drug development pipeline, including generating clinical data from partnerships in Russia and India.

True, there has been only one pricing since the spring – specialty pharma firm's Horizon Pharma Inc.'s $49.5 million offering in July – but the fact that a couple of other platform biotechs have jumped in the queue – Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc...NanoViricides said it is moving toward an investigational new drug application filing for influenza candidate NV-INF-1.

Amarantus is developing products based on MANF, a protein that corrects protein misfolding.

The specialty pharma and diagnostics company entered the deal with the Swiss firm in May. (See BioWorld Today, May 26, 2011.)

In COPD, the company will need some big pharma muscle...Shares of Lorus (TSX:LOR) fell C6 cents, or 17 percent, to close Monday at C30 cents.

cardiac clinical trial, a European indication-for-use for the Celution system in treating nonoption chromic myocardial ischemia patients, Celution regulatory approvals in additional countries and a strategic partnership...Shares of Cytori (NASDAQ:CYTX) gained 1 cent Tuesday to close at $5.22.

Assistant Managing Editor Proving that big pharma firms aren't the only ones interested in the orphan disease space, venture investors are getting behind 2010 start-up Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc...Shares of Aegerion (NASDAQ:AEGR) closed Monday at $17.43, down 29 cents.

Proceeds will allow the firm to advance product candidates in its portfolio toward clinical development...Proceeds are expected to help complete the ongoing 240-patient trial of DCVax-L for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme and advance other programs in the pipeline.