Vascular Pharma will receive an up-front payment and milestone payments in exchange for the acquisition rights...Vascular Pharma expects its funding to last through completion of Phase II, getting the company to the point where Janssen may exercise its option...Pharma giants Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany, and Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, have thrown their hats into the ring, as well

Sanofi Pasteur, of Lyon, France, the vaccines division of Sanofi SA, said clinical results published in The Lancet showed the ability of its vaccine candidate to protect against dengue fever caused by three dengue virus types

Meritage Pharma Inc., of San Diego, began a Phase II trial of oral budesonide suspension for eosinophilic esophagitis...The trial will be carried out at clinical centers in the U.S

Agenus Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said clinical data from a Phase I trial of a Prophage Series vaccine (HSPPC-96, vitespen) to treat patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) were published online by Clinical Cancer Research...Clavis Pharma ASA, of Oslo, Norway, said its partner Clovis Oncology Inc., of Boulder, Colo., initiated a Phase I study of CP-4126 (CO-101) in combination with cisplatin in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC

The FDA did not cite clinical safety or efficacy issues and did not request additional pre-approval studies, but the agency did raise questions relating to chemistry, manufacturing and controls, as well as issues related to a facility inspection at a third-party manufacturer. (See BioWorld Today, March 28, 2012.) The company completed an end-of-review meeting with the FDA in June to seek clarity from the agency in developing its response...Horizon Pharma Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., filed an S3 shelf

BHR Pharma LLC, of Phoenix, said it reached its SyNAPSe clinical trial enrollment midpoint of 590 patients...ICT-121 is the second dendritic-cell-based vaccine to enter clinical trials

A.P. Pharma Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., said it is raising about $53.6 million through a private placement with certain new and existing institutional investors for 102 million shares priced at 5.25 cents per share...A.P. Pharma is developing APF530, a 5-HT3 antagonist formulated with its Biochronomer drug delivery system, for the prevention of both acute- and delayed-onset chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting...Shares of A.P. Pharma (OTCBB:APPA) fell 7 cents, or 10.6 percent, to close

Dublin, Ireland-based pharma firm Shire plc also joined the round as a strategic investor...Proceeds from the financing also will support manufacturing, clinical and commercial infrastructure...Proceeds will support clinical trials of Nexagon, CoDa's lead candidate based on gap junction modulation for treating chronic wounds, including venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers

Berg Pharma LLC, of Boston, began a Phase I trial of compound 31543 for chemotherapy-induced alopecia...Cerulean Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it dosed the first patient in a Phase II study testing CRLX101 in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer...Results were published online in the Clinical Journal of Pain, ahead of the print edition

The company is partnered with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp., of Osaka, Japan, and recently expanded the collaboration to develop a second protein therapeutic for an undisclosed orphan disease using Synageva's development capabilities and protein expression platform...The company plans to use the proceeds to complete clinical development of lead candidate dalbavancin, currently in a second pivotal Phase III trial in skin infections, and to fund commercialization activities in the U.S...LLC and CRT

Cerulean Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., completed enrollment in a Phase II trial of CRLX101, in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and dosed its first patient in a Phase Ib/IIa trial of the same product in combination with Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche AG) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC...Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc., of Carmiel, Israel, reported clinical data for taliglucerase alfa showing that at 36 months, patients with Gaucher disease had significant improvement in bone marrow fat

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Inc., of Coral Gables, Fla., said Phase IIa ocular safety results published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology showed that CPP-109 (vigabatrin), a GABA aminotransferase inactivator in clinical trials to treat cocaine addiction, did not cause a decrease in visual acuity or significant peripheral visual field changes with short-term use...Isotechnika Pharma Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, said 3SBio Inc., of Shenyang, China, received approval in China to begin a

The company plans to use the proceeds to fund clinical trials, R&D activities and other corporate programs...Gemmus Pharma Inc., of San Francisco, closed a Series A round to advance its host-targeted treatment for influenza...The company plans to use the proceeds to cover the costs of clinical trials for its product pipeline, including CompleoTRT A bioadhesive intranasal testosterone gel, which is in a Phase III study in hypogonadism, to acquire manufacturing equipment and for other corporate purposes

The pivotal clinical study results were presented during the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in April 2012. (See BioWorld Today, April 30, 2012

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of New York, formed a strategic partnership with Emory University in Atlanta to conduct clinical trials involving the pharma's investigational compounds

e-Therapeutics, of Oxford, UK, said that it has started a first clinical trial evaluating its ETS2101 compound as a treatment for cancer...Noxxon Pharma AG, of Berlin, has treated the first patient in a Phase IIa trial of its anti-CCL2/MCP-1 Spiegelmer NOX-E36 in patients with diabetic nephropathy...The subject was treated at the clinical site and has fully recovered, the company said

The request echoes that of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists, which called last week for Congress to put some teeth into the drug shortage reporting requirement. (See BioWorld Today, June 5, 2012.) The conference committee is still hopeful that the House and Senate bills can be reconciled and passed by July 4...We feel it is essential that it be understood that this case could potentially adversely impact ours and other industries whose activities are far removed from the clinical

Igenica plans a modest expansion of its work force, currently 29 employees, to enhance its research, preclinical and initial clinical capabilities...Concit Pharma ApS, of Jyderup, Denmark, raised €1.3 million (US$1.63 million) through an investment by SEED Capital and Novo Seeds...AeroVanc is in development for pulmonary methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in cystic fibrosis patients.

Janssen Research & Development LLC, a unit of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, reported data from the Phase III PHOENIX study showing that maintenance treatment with Stelara (ustekinumab) for up to five years resulted in consistent, significant clinical response in adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis