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

Array expects to use approximately $92.6 million of the net proceeds to repay its outstanding secured debt, with remaining proceeds used for general corporate purposes...BioTime said net proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include expanded investment into the research and development programs at LifeMap Sciences

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...The net proceeds likely will be enough to generate top-line data from the trial, the company said in its S-1 filing

Net proceeds will be about $19 million, and will be used to support its pivotal Phase III (SEAMLESS) trial of sapacitabine...Net proceeds will support the launch of Linzess (linaclotide) in the U.S., and fund development to strengthen the clinical profile of Linzess and expand the product label

Net proceeds from the IPO are expected to total $57.6 million – or $66.7 million if underwriters exercise their full overallotment option of 1 .2 million shares...The immunotherapy firm expects to use net proceeds to fund R&D activities, including a request for orphan drug designation for ADSX-HPV in human papillomavirus-associated diseases, and for working capital and 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...Gross proceeds totaled about $35 million, with net proceeds of $32.8 million to fund SFP clinical trials and for other general corporate purposes...The remainder of the net proceeds will be used for continued commercialization of its products, development of its product candidates and for general corporate purposes

The firm also has programs in two big pharma partnerships...Net proceeds of about $86.4 million will be used in part – $19.6 million – to repay in full the company's borrowings under and terminate its credit facility

12, for net proceeds of approximately $9.9 million...Coronado plans to use the proceeds to fund R&D, clinical trials and manufacture of supply as well as other corporate purposes

Net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes...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

Net proceeds totaled $12 million and will be used to fund R&D and clinical trials, acquisition of intellectual property and other purposes...The funds will be used to advance Theraclone's clinical programs and support its I-STAR technology platform.

Net proceeds are expected to support clinical trial costs and acquisition of manufacturing equipment, leasehold improvements and general corporate purposes

Oculus plans to use net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including repaying a portion of certain long-term debt...at the same unit price.

Dezima Pharma BV, of Naarden, the Netherlands, said it raised €14.2 million (US$18.6 million) for the clinical development of its cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, DEZ-001 (previously TA-8995), and to develop additional earlier-stage dyslipidemia assets...Net proceeds are expected to be about $79.2 million

Tivozanib – an oral, once-daily, VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, partnered by AVEO with Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo – turned up pleasing results in the Phase III trial that compared progression-free survival rates with Nexavar (sorafenib, Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc.) in kidney cancer, but overall survival (OS) rates caused some eyebrows to rise...Clinical Cancer Research included a paper that suggested the compound, ENMD-2076, acts potently against breast cancer cell lines that lack

MEI Pharma Inc., of San Diego, completed a private placement of common stock and warrants in a financing led by new investors Vivo Ventures and New Leaf Venture Partners...The company intends to use the net proceeds primarily to advance the clinical development of its lead drug candidate, pracinostat, an oral histone deacetylase inhibitor...NeRRe Therapeutics Ltd., of London, raised £11.5 million (US$18.4 million) to develop a portfolio of clinical and preclinical neurokinin receptor antagonists

Net proceeds are expected to total about $44.7 million – or $51.5 million if underwriters exercise in full their overallotment option for 900,000 additional shares – and will be used for commercial launch activities and continued clinical development of the firm's pipeline of extended-release drugs

The net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, including the continued conduct of the Abili-T clinical study, Opexa's recently initiated Phase IIb trial of personalized T-cell therapy Tcelna in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

About a year earlier, Dutch firm AM-Pharma BV banked €29.2 million (then US$39.8 million) in a Series D round, apparently the largest venture capital financing in Dutch biotechnology thus far...The company planned to switch from a bovine to a recombinant form of its AKI treatment, alkaline phosphatase. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 14, 2011.) Bunnik, the Netherlands-based AM-Pharma had then gained only preliminary data from two small-scale clinical trials suggesting that bovine alkaline phosphatase

Noting a trend for pharma companies to engage in more collaborations and acquisitions in order to supplement their pipelines with new technology, Lammers said he could envision such an outcome for Mirna...Given the interest of big pharma in microRNA companies, including Mirna, I'm convinced if we have strong human proof-of-concept data in the clinic, most likely pharma will be interested in stepping up to the plate," Lammers said