Radius Health Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported that its transdermal BA058 microneedle patch, for osteoporosis, showed positive results in a Phase Ib clinical study...UCB Pharma SA, of Brussels, Belgium, began a trial (EXXELERATE) of Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) plus methotrexate compared with Humira (adalimumab) plus methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis

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...Cerulean also plans to advance its docetaxel nanopharmaceutical candidate into clinical trials and to pursue other platform expansion opportunities, including the delivery of RNA

It's a great fit with clinical need and best suited to deal with the three major factors associated with myelofibrosis...Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported clinical data from a number of programs...Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, and Ambit Biosciences Corp., of San Diego, shared updated results from an interim analysis of a Phase II trial of quizartinib (previously AC220) in acute myeloid leukemia, showing that quizartinib monotherapy had activity in refractory and relapsed

AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass., presented new clinical data for Feraheme (ferumoxytol), which is approved for iron deficiency anemia in chronic kidney disease...Clavis Pharma ASA, of Oslo, Norway, reported interim efficacy data from a Phase II trial showing that elacytarabine in combination with idarubicin produced a complete remission rate in about 46 percent (12 of 26) of patients with early stage acute myeloid leukemia who had failed cytarabine-containing first-course

Metabolex Inc., of Hayward, Calif., said an open-label clinical pharmacology study showed that the higher dose of arhalofenate plus Osaka, Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical Co...Tranzyme Pharma Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., and Norgine BV, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, completed patient enrollment in ULISES 007, the first of two pivotal Phase III studies of ulimorelin, an intravenous ghrelin agonist, for the acceleration of gastrointestinal recovery in patients undergoing partial bowel

But, if data for INX-189 continue to flow positive, the company could find itself in an enviable position for a lucrative big pharma partnership or even an acquisition, as biopharma races to create the first all-oral, interferon-free HCV regimen...Proceeds will be used to accelerate the firm's drug development pipeline, including generating clinical data from partnerships in Russia and India.

oral vernakalant, which partners Cardiome Pharma Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Merck & Co...What attracted us was the potential to do a targeted investment to validate an early clinical signal," Graham told BioWorld Today...acting as co-managers.

The compound demonstrated preliminary but encouraging single-agent clinical activity in both indications...Niiki Pharma Inc., of Hoboken, N.J., reported preclinical combination studies showing that its lead product, NKP-1339, demonstrated synergistic activity in both in vitro and in vivo models when given with a broad range of antitumor agents...In vitro studies tested the drug in combination with cisplatin, oxaliplatin, 5-FU, docetaxel, doxorubicin, gemcitabine, Tarceva (erlotinib, Astellas Pharma

The company said proceeds from the IPO would see the company through 2013 and allow it to advance the TVI-Brain-1 clinical program, though additional financing would be needed to complete clinical trials of the compound...Affiris is developing peptide vaccines, including a vaccine for Parkinson's disease set to start Phase I testing in early 2012.

Cardiome Pharma Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said partner Merck & Co...Galena Biopharma Inc., of Lake Oswego, Ore., reported that data from Phase II clinical trials of its NeuVax vaccine showed that it may provide a meaningful clinical benefit in patients with less aggressive forms of breast cancer, and potentially keep them free of their disease...Rexahn said the firm plans to evaluate the Serdaxin clinical programs and possible paths forward

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Greenwood Village, Colo., reported positive results from the Ampion-In-Knee (AIK) clinical trial, showing the drug was well tolerated and reduced pain over and above steroids...The decision follows reports of laboratory abnormalities and adverse events in a subset of clinical trial participants...Solasia Pharma K.K., of Tokyo, reported that enrollment of a Phase I trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of darinaparsin injection (SP-02L) for the treatment of

Clavis Pharma ASA, of Oslo, Norway, established the cutoff level for defining hENT1 low vs...Low hENT1 levels have been correlated to poor clinical outcome with gemcitabine, the standard treatment for many solid tumors...PharmaGap Inc., of Ottawa, said it has chosen ovarian cancer as its target for clinical development of GAP-107B8

Add in large target markets and a cost-efficient clinical development path, and you've got a salve for many of the issues currently ailing other sectors of the drug industry...He previously headed Peplin Inc., which garnered positive data in its first pivotal trial of actinic keratosis drug PEP005 and was promptly acquired by LEO Pharma A/S for $287.5 million. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 4, 2009.) So Wiggans teamed up with scientist Eugene Bauer, who'd had similar experiences...QLT eventually spun-out

Galderma Pharma SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, reported top-line results from a Phase IIb trial showing that CD07805/47, a topical gel in development for moderate to severe facial erythema of rosacea, was rapidly effective at reducing facial redness...Data, which resulted from a pooled analysis of five trials in postsurgical pain management, were presented at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy meeting in Pittsburgh

Following a handful of IPO pricings earlier in the year, activity dropped off over the summer, with only one company going public: specialty pharma firm Horizon Pharma Inc...Amarantus is developing products based on MANF, a protein that corrects protein misfolding.

Dynavax will manage early clinical development, with AstraZeneca providing approximately $20 million to cover the cost of clinical development activities through Phase IIa...Tranzyme Pharma, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., dosed its first patient in a Phase IIb, 12-week trial of TZP-102, its oral gastrointestinal (GI) motility drug candidate

The company has completed seven clinical trials of the minimally invasive procedure, known as adipolytic therapy, enrolling more than 350 patients...The funding will be used for preclinical and clinical development and commercial efforts...The company has candidates in clinical development to treat nephropathic cystinosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, Huntington's disease, aldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency and thrombotic disorder

Proceeds will be used to fund clinical trial activities relating to progressive supranuclear palsy drug davunetide, as well as for general administrative expenses, working capital and general corporate purposes...Proceeds are expected to help the specialty pharma firm expand its commercialization activities, prepare for the extension of its product line including Altrazeal Collagen and Altrazeal Silver and position it for negotiating with potential partners

Acceleron Pharma Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it started a Phase I study of ACE-536, a ligand trap designed to increase red blood cells and hemoglobin by inhibiting member of the TGF-beta superfamily involved in late stages of erythropoiesis...Under the firms' 2010 deal, Otsuka will contract with Acucela for early clinical development in exchange for an opt-in right to co-develop and co-promote the compound in the U.S...Ascendis Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said a Phase II study of ACP-001