Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Dublin, Calif., presented updated clinical results of its hypomethylating agent, SGI-110, in a poster session at the 18th Congress of the European Hematology Association in Stockholm, Sweden. The update focused on details of the biological and clinical activity as well as safety in the group of intermediate or high-risk relapsed or refractory myelodysplastic syndromes patients treated in the dose-escalation, Phase I part of the SGI-110-01 study. The study enrolled
Company Drug Indication Algeta ASA Xofigo Castration-resistant prostate cancer Genentech Inc. Tarceva Metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer Genentech Inc. Actemra Polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. Procysbi Nephropathic cystinosis
The Supreme Court ruled last week that naturally occurring, isolated DNA is not patent eligible. However, the court's unanimous decision in The Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics Inc. upheld the patent eligibility of complementary DNA (cDNA), which is synthetically created. The FDA etched a distinct line between orphan drug designation and exclusivity in a final rule making it clear that getting the designation doesn't guarantee seven years of market exclusivity. The FDA
Financings Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed for an IPO to raise up to $86 million to fund its pipeline. Avaxia Biologics Inc. raised an additional $5 million to bring its total Series B funding to $11.4 million. Biotime Inc. closed its equity financing and received gross proceeds of about $9.1 million. Dermira Inc. generated $35 million in a Series B financing. Esperion Therapeutics Inc. filed terms for its IPO, planning to raise $63 million. Prism Pharma Co. Ltd. has closed a Series C round of
Two initiatives from different ends of the drug development spectrum are shining a bright light on nagging weaknesses in translational medicine and the urgent need to improve speed and efficiency in moving early stage discoveries into therapeutic candidates. Glaxosmithkline plc's (GSK) Discovery Fast Track competition is designed to serve as a funnel, enabling the London-based pharma to quickly sift a large number of academic discoveries and identify 10 candidates for its Discovery Partnerships
By Marie Powers | BioWorld Insight | Monday, June 17, 2013
It has been 10 years since the international human genome project (HGP) was officially declared completed two years ahead of schedule. This monumental undertaking has helped fuel the biopharmaceutical sector to its current lofty heights and one of the reasons that bioscience discoveries in overdrive can be traced back to the completion of the sequencing of the human genome. (See BioWorld Today, April 16, 2003.) This truly remarkable achievement has been the underpinning of a new wave of genomics
By Peter Winter | BioWorld Insight | Monday, June 17, 2013
"There are a lot of situations where people use only an animal model and take a shot at a clinical trial and are disappointed after spending resources that could have been spent elsewhere." – Gene Williams, executive chairman and CEO of DART Therapeutics Inc., discussing its use of Biovista Inc.'s clinical outcomes search space technology to identify potential drug candidates for in-licensing in Duchenne's muscular dystrophy "I think the biggest challenge today for selling into BRIC for global
In a decision that could erode the underpinnings of numerous diagnostic and biologic patent claims, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that naturally occurring, isolated DNA is not patent eligible. However, the court's unanimous decision in The Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics Inc. upheld the patent eligibility of complementary DNA (cDNA), which is synthetically created. In striking down Myriad's isolated DNA claims to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, the court said the Salt Lake
By Mari Serebrov | BioWorld Today | Friday, June 14, 2013
Astrazeneca plc, of London, the University of Manchester and Cancer Research Technology, the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, inked two agreements to seek new cancer drugs. In the first agreement, scientists at the Cancer Research UK Paterson Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Manchester will develop potential drugs targeting a key protein involved in DNA damage response, with Astrazeneca providing the preliminary compounds. Astrazeneca will have first rights to the
Takeda California Inc., of San Diego, a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., partnered with Sea Lane Biotechnologies, of Mountain View, Calif., giving Takeda access to Sea Lane's Concirt human antibody libraries for its drug discovery program in exchange for an up-front payment and milestone option fees for projects initiated under the collaboration. Sea Lane also is eligible for downstream milestone option payments. The two-year agreement has a pre-negotiation option to extend. "We
By Catherine Shaffer | BioWorld Today | Friday, June 14, 2013
Predicting protein folding has made strides in recent years, mainly through unconventional approaches. Computer games like foldit have been able to apply crowdsourcing to proteins, and solve structures that had evaded traditional computing power. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 13, 2010.) But George Rose, who is at Johns Hopkins University, said he thinks that the problem can, and perhaps should, be solved in a more fundamental way. Current methods for predicting a protein's shape when folded from
By Anette Breindl | BioWorld Today | Friday, June 14, 2013
Esperion Therapeutics Inc., of Plymouth, Mich., filed terms for its initial public offering, planning to raise $63 million by offering 4.5 million shares at a price range of $13 to $15. The company would list under the symbol "ESPR." Cytomedix Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., amended its previous financing with Lincoln Park Capital, and said in paperwork filed with the SEC that it has registered and may sell up to about 10.3 million shares to Lincoln.
Amarantus Bioscience Holdings Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., said it signed a laboratory services agreement with BD Biosciences, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.), of Franklin Lakes, N.J, under which BD's Custom Technology Team will perform sample analysis on Amarantus' LymPro Test for Alzheimer's disease. Financial terms were not disclosed. Amgen Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., said the FDA expanded the approved use of Xgeva (denosumab) to treat adults and some adolescents with giant
SAN DIEGO – At a Calbio session, Cambell Alliance, the business consulting segment of Inventiv Health Inc., presented its survey of business development professionals. In addition to the forward-looking examination of dealmaking expectations, a panel gave their experiences in the ever-changing business development. Most survey respondents – both primarily out-licensers and primarily in-licensers – expect the number of deals for early stage assets to increase. For Phase III assets, 59 percent
By Brian Orelli | BioWorld Today | Friday, June 14, 2013
For Celgene Corp., entering Japan proved a relatively brisk venture, said Jerome Zeldis, the company's chief medical officer, but China – where Celgene also has established itself, and is launching Revlimid (lenalidomide) this week – represents something more of a challenge for biotech and pharma firms. "I don't think any other company has ever walked into Japan, established a footprint and gotten to approval faster than we did," Zeldis said, noting that the Summit, N.J.-based firm gained
By Randy Osborne | BioWorld Today | Friday, June 14, 2013
Abbvie Inc., of Chicago, reported results from the CONCERTO trial testing different predefined doses of methotrexate in combination with anti-TNF-alpha drug Humira (adalimumab) in moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. CONCERTO showed that, at week 26, a statistically significant increasing trend was observed in the proportion of patients achieving low disease activity with an increasing dose of methotrexate when used with open-label Humira. Results were presented at the European League
Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Dublin, Calif., presented updated clinical results of its hypomethylating agent, SGI-110, in a poster session at the 18th Congress of the European Hematology Association in Stockholm, Sweden. The update focused on details of the biological and clinical activity as well as safety in the group of intermediate or high-risk relapsed or refractory myelodysplastic syndromes patients treated in the dose-escalation, Phase I part of the SGI-110-01 study. The study enrolled