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

AG014 comprises oral delivery of an anti-TNF antibody with proven clinical efficacy in IBD, resulting in local efficacy and an improved safety profile over systemic drugs...That's the sweet spot for a number of pharma companies...ERYtech Pharma SA, of Lyon, France, has had its prospectus accepted for a proposed initial public offering on the NYSE Euronext exchange in Paris

Coronado plans to use the proceeds to fund R&D, clinical trials and manufacture of supply as well as other corporate purposes...Eyevensys, of Paris, received an equity investment from the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, the venture arm of Ingelheim, Germany-based Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, and said the big pharma's head of nonclinical R&D, Michel Pairet, was appointed to its board

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...MEI Pharma Inc., of San Diego, presented data showing the ability of its mitochondrial inhibitor drug candidate, ME-344, to decrease tumor burden and delay recurrence in a preclinical in vivo model of recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer

Last month, it inked a deal with AbbVie, of Chicago, giving the big pharma firm an option to RPC4046 following the Phase II proof-of-concept trial in EoE...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...Funds will be used to progress the clinical development program for lead candidate, Pracinostat, its oral histone deacetylase inhibitor for advanced hematologic malignancies, and for

Erytech Pharma SA, of Lyon, France, said it received clearance of its investigational new drug application for a Phase I trial of Eryasp (L-asparagainase-loaded erythrocytes) in patients 40 years and older with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia...Novavax Inc., of Rockville, Md., said top-line data from its Phase II dose-ranging study testing its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate in women of childbearing age hit its protocol-specified objectives, supporting progression

The financing included both new and existing institutional investors, including Essex Woodlands, NovaQuest Pharma Opportunities Fund, Delphi Ventures, Vivo Ventures, Technology Partners, Shepherd Ventures, Bio*One Capital, Pac-Link Ventures and Palo Alto Fund...The latest round is expected to support ongoing clinical development of lead candidate, LiRIS (lidocaine releasing intravesical system), in development for patients with interstitial cystitis.

A big pharma partner could ease some of the pressure on Vivus...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...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...Net proceeds are expected to support clinical trial costs and acquisition of manufacturing equipment, leasehold improvements and general corporate

Acasti Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, a subsidiary of Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc., reported preliminary data from a randomized, open-label, dose-ranging, multicenter trial assessing the safety and efficacy of NKPL66, or CaPre, in mild-to-high hypertriglyceridemia...The NX03-0040 prostate cancer clinical study of 150 men is testing low (2.5 mg) and high (15 mg) single doses of NX-1207 for the effect to eradicate or shrink low-grade localized prostate cancer tumors

The study design calls for the collection of 5,250 clinical endpoints, and Merck remains blinded to the actual results of the analysis and to other safety and efficacy data

Janssen and partner Bayer AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, will enroll patients into five global clinical trials, which will involve a total of 28,850 patients

Zealand Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, disclosed in a pipeline update that it plans to advance danegaptide into a single site clinical efficacy study to further profile the peptide drug in cardio protection

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...Hyperion gained rights to Ravicti from Ucyclyd Pharma Inc., a subsidiary of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp...at the same unit price.

Targeted Medical Pharma Inc., of Los Angeles, said results from an open-label study of oral amino acid-based erythrocyte stimulating system (ESS) for the treatment of chronic anemia showed that hemoglobin increased an average of 11.39 percent from baseline measurement to 45 days...Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said VX-787 in a Phase II influenza challenge study resulted in statistically significant improvements in viral and clinical measurements of infection...Also, 93 percent of

The volasertib clinical development program is the company's most advanced in cell cycle inhibition

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...It will use the proceeds to advance its opthalmic programs through clinical proof of concept

Antisense Pharma GmbH, of Regensburg, Germany, revised its business objectives related to the advancement of its next-generation TGF-beta inhibitor oligonucleotide program...In conjunction with the changes in its clinical program, the company said it reduced its work force by 50 percent and outsourced noncritical research and development functions...Kiadis Pharma BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, said it received a No Objection Letter from Canadian regulators to proceed with a Phase II study testing

Competitors in atopic dermatitis include Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Oculus Innovtive Sciences and LEO Pharma A/S...Atopic dermatitis was also part of a recent set of collaborations between LEO Pharma A/S and institutions in Australia, France, Germany and the U.S., including the International Institute of Dermatology and Allergy with Charité University of Medicine in Berlin...The company is planning to begin clinical studies in the first half of 2014