By Marie Powers Staff Writer Although the official start of summer is still a few days away, the biotech world already is producing a bumper crop of initial public offerings (IPO). As a trio of companies – Bluebird Bio Inc., PTC Therapeutics Inc. and Regado Biosciences Inc. – prepared to price IPOs this week, a fourth, Onconova Therapeutics Inc., filed a registration statement with the SEC, seeking to raise up to $75 million. (See BioWorld Today, May 1, 2013, May 17, 2013, and May 20, 2013

By Randy Osborne Staff Writer CytomX Therapeutics Inc.'s oncology deal with Pfizer Inc. to develop Probody-drug conjugates (PDCs) gives the pharma giant rights to develop selected candidates in exchange for a potential $25 million up front, as well as $610 million if regulatory and sales milestones are met, and tiered royalties into the double digits on sales of resulting products. The $25 million "incorporates the up-front research funding and near-term milestone payments, as we move [PDCs

By Cormac Sheridan Staff Writer DUBLIN, Ireland – Royalty Pharma's bitter and protracted takeover battle for Elan Corp. plc will, one way or another, reach a climax next Monday when Elan shareholders vote on the company's recent M&A deals. Acceptance of those transactions, which requires a vote representing 50 percent of Elan's equity plus one share, would scupper Royalty's takeover bid. Rejection would signal the end of the road for Dublin, Ireland-based Elan, a company that has, over the years

By Sharon Kingman Staff Writer LONDON – A new study has given hope that it may one day be possible to develop a specific treatment for neuroblastoma, which is a rare type of childhood cancer. Researchers in Sweden have shown that blocking the function of a molecule that is overexpressed in neuroblastoma cells can shrink tumors and prolong survival in a mouse model of that disease. A similar strategy may also work for many other cancers, the scientists suggested, because the molecule that is

By Mari Serebrov Washington Editor The president is getting gruff with patent trolls, using his executive powers to waylay their frivolous lawsuits and urging Congress to pass legislation that would make trolling far less appetizing. Unlike patent intermediaries that foster the transfer of technology from inventors to businesses looking to develop products, the trolls – also known as patent assertion entities (PAEs) – stake their claim around patents for ideas that failed in the marketplace or

By Cormac Sheridan Staff Writer German biotech received a badly needed boost this week with the news that GlaxoSmithKline plc was in-licensing MOR103, an antibody in clinical development in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS) at veteran antibody developer Morphosys AG, in return for an up-front payment of €22.5 million (US$29 million), plus another potential €423 million in milestones linked to its progress through clinical development, regulatory approval and sales

By Peter Winter BioWorld Insight Editor While partnering strategies can provide access to essential products and technology, mergers and acquisitions can achieve the same goals and also provide greater leverage and control of the acquired assets. With a wide variety of biotech companies that have promising candidate products in late-stage clinical trials, and pharma companies still needing to tweak their product portfolios, the expectation is that the next big pharma acquisition of a biotech

By Nuala Moran Staff Writer LONDON – Following an 18-month hiatus, ImmuPharma plc can now proceed with Phase III development of its lupus treatment, Lupuzor, after agreeing to a £50 million (US$75.7 million) loan to finance the trial. The product has been stalled since October 2011 when ImmuPharma took back rights following the acquisition of its partner Cephalon Inc. by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. At that point, the London-based company expected it would rapidly find another partner and

By Mari Serebrov Washington Editor When it comes to the compounding of drugs, the one thing everyone agrees on is that something needs to be done to ensure the safety of the products. But how to do that is another matter. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee sent a bill, S. 959, to the Senate floor Wednesday that would create a new class of drugmaker, compounding manufacturers, that would be subject to FDA oversight without having to go through the drug approval process

By Mari Serebrov Washington Editor Revamping Medicare Part D, for some people, would be the health care equivalent of remaking Gone with the Wind. Some classics just shouldn't be messed with, they reason. When it comes to government programs, Part D, which covers prescription drug costs, is a classic. The long-running blockbuster hit boasts 90 percent participation and a 94 percent approval rating. And its costs continue to come in at 45 percent under budget. But despite its successful run of

By Cormac Sheridan Staff Writer DUBLIN, Ireland – Elan Corp. plc continues to execute its M&A strategy at a dizzying pace, while its would-be acquirer, Royalty Pharma, has tabled a revised offer for the company, worth $12.50 per share or $6.37 billion. On Monday, Elan unveiled an acquisition agreement with AOP Pharmaceuticals AG worth €263.5 million (US$339.3 million) in cash (€175.7 million) and shares (€87.8 million) initially – plus another potential €270 million in milestones – and a deal to

By Mari Serebrov Washington Editor The backlog of new applications is growing again at the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), thanks in part to sequestration. Using new fees included in the 2011 patent reform to hire and train more examiners, the office had been plowing through the backlog, reducing the pile of nearly 722,000 applications in December 2010 to about 593,000 in February. But since the sequester hit in March, the backlog has grown to more than 600,000. And patent experts expect it

By Anette Breindl Science Editor Major depression affects more than 15 percent of the population at some point in their lives, and about 7 percent in any given year. Currently approved antidepressants are effective only about half the time – and even then, with a lag time of several weeks after a patient starts taking them. The time lag of antidepressant's effectiveness is something of a mystery. The effects of the newest generation of antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

By Mari Serebrov Washington Editor When is a drug compounder a manufacturer vs. a pharmacy? That's the question the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee grappled with Thursday as it closed in on a bill it can send to the Senate floor that would better regulate compounding pharmacies without opening a loophole around the drug approval process. The committee's draft bill proposes a new category of drugmakers, "compounding manufacturers," which would be subject to FDA regulation

By Peter Winter BioWorld Insight Editor By any measurement the U.S. biotechnology industry is the envy of the world. Perspectives on the reasons for the nation's dominance in this sector are provided by the latest Scientific American Worldview Scorecard, which for the past five years has been ranking countries on their global competitiveness in biotechnology. The 2013 edition reflects increased global competition and a growing list of countries being added to the rankings. The first Scorecard

By Mari Serebrov Washington Editor A U.S. appellate court blocked Genentech Inc.'s end run around foreign arbitration that could give Sanofi SA a share of the royalties on blockbuster biologic Rituxan. In a precedent-setting decision Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a district court's decision to deny Genentech's request for an injunction on foreign arbitration over its terminated licensing contract for DNA enhancers allegedly used in the making of the biologic

Monday, April 28, 1997 By Lynn Yoffee Senior Managing Editor David Blech's real troubles have just begun. The infamous "White Knight" of biotechnology has been charged with securities fraud and was arraigned in a New York District Court. Reached at his office in New York on Friday, Blech told BioWorld Today that his attorney, Andrew Levander, advised him not to comment on the charges. Levander did not return calls for an interview. In addition to the charges filed last week in the U.S. District

By Peter Winter BioWorld Insight Editor Partnerships are a key component in the operating playbook of emerging and developing biotechnology companies. Although this year is shaping up as a very big one for deals, according to data from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and biopharma consulting firm Campbell Alliance Group, they are not as lucrative for generating cash in the early stages as they once were. Deal structures now emphasize a heavy dose of risk-sharing with downstream

By Staff Reports CHICAGO – The BIO International Convention is always full of memorable moments. This year was no different. Here, members of BioWorld Today's team share vignettes, quotes and afterthoughts captured through the week in the Windy City. BIO Women Move into the Spotlight Perhaps it was appropriate in a year when Rachel King, founder and CEO of GlycoMimetics Inc., was elected BIO's incoming chairwoman that Monday evening's Women in Bio (WIB) reception was quite the popular ticket at