Some of its rivals already have chalked up big pharma deals around in vivo antibody platforms, most notably Ablexis LLC, of San Francisco, which received backing from a consortium of five companies to develop its AlivaMab Mouse platform, including founding investor Pfizer Inc., of New York, all of which gained nonexclusive access to its technology

Kyprolis (carfilzomib), a drug targeting multiple myeloma from Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, was the most promising new orphan drug in 2012, and its U.S

Addex Therapeutics SA, of Geneva, reported preclinical data showing that its mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator oral small molecule, dipraglurant, dose-dependently prevented the abnormal excitatory effect observed on brain slices of transgenic primary generalized torsion dystonia 1 (DYT1) mice overexpressing the human mutant TOR1A gene by decreasing the paradoxical neuronal activity induced by the dopamine D2 receptor agonist quinpirole. DYT1 is a common and severe genetic form of dystonia

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, of South San Francisco, and partner Sanofi Pasteur, of Lyon, France, said the FDA granted fast-track designation for the monoclonal antibody KB001A for protecting against bacterial pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in mechanically-ventilated patients

Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, said it extended its drug discovery alliance with Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, a member of the Roche Group, for three additional years...Theravance Inc., of South San Francisco, and GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, submitted a regulatory application in Japan for once-daily LAMA/LABA combination medicine, UMEC/VI, for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Some of its rivals already have chalked up big pharma deals around in vivo antibody platforms, most notably Ablexis LLC, of San Francisco, which received backing from a consortium of five companies to develop its AlivaMab Mouse platform, including founding investor Pfizer Inc., of New York, all of which gained nonexclusive access to its technology

South San Francisco's cluster of biotechs has high-tech neighbors in Silicon Valley, which are more advanced in open innovation efforts

Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea) ND Agreement to establish a venture in South Korea under which Teva will contribute its global resources, with responsibilities for manufacturing and supplying a wide range of medicines, while Handok will handle sales and marketing, distribution and regulatory affairs Teva will have a controlling stake in the new venture, with a profit split of 51%/49% 12/18/12 Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. (South San Francisco) Braeburn Pharmaceuticals Sprl $230.75 Deal granting Braeburn

Lilly gains rights to discovery and optimization of multiple bispecific antibodies Adimab will receive up-front payments and is eligible for preclinical and clinical development milestone payments and royalties on product sales 1/9/13 arGEN-X BV (Breda, the Netherlands) Shire plc (Dublin, Ireland) ND Expanded agreement for an additional discovery program arGEN-X receives research funding and success-based payments, and is eligible for milestones and royalties 1/8/13 FEBRUARY Jennerex Inc. (San

San Francisco) Catalent Inc. (Somerset, N.J.) ND Agreement for Catalent to supply Cometriq (cabozantinib) in the U.S. The thyroid cancer therapy was approved in late November 12/10/12 Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (Hyderabad, India) Debiopharm Group (Lausanne, Switzerland) ND Exclusive marketing and sales rights agreement to Pamorelin LA (triptorelin) Depot in India for locally advanced or metastatic, hormone-dependent prostate cancer Dr. Reddy's launched the product on Dec. 3, which is marketed

Inc. (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) ND Exclusive licensing deal for worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize MBX-700 and MBX-701 The deal calls for Merck to receive milestone payments and royalties 1/4/13 NGM Biopharma-ceuticals Inc. (South San Francisco) Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, N.J.) ND Worldwide deal to discover and develop therapeutics to treat Type II diabetes and other metabolic diseases Janssen will receive an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and

Veracyte Inc., of South San Francisco, appointed Shelly D. Guyer chief financial officer

Any trouble at the agency with Breo, Liang pointed out, might have implications for GSK and South San Francisco-based Theravance's other candidates in their partnership for COPD, such as Anoro (umeclidinium bromide/VI), a combination of a long-acting muscarinic beta2 agonist and the LABA product

Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the District Court's judgment in favor of partner GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, in a patent infringement case involving Arzerra (ofatumumab) brought against GSK by South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. (now part of Roche AG) and Weston, Mass.-based Biogen Idec Inc

Nektar Therapeutics Inc., of San Francisco, said partner Bayer AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, initiated patient enrollment in a Phase III program to test adjunctive aerosolized BAY41-6551 vs

South San Francisco-based Portola, which filed as an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, plans to list on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "PTLA

South San Francisco-based Portola, which filed as an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, plans to list on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "PTLA

Relief from Wall Street was obvious, with shares of South San Francisco-based Theravance (NASDAQ:THRX) jumping 21 percent, or $4.88, to close Monday at $28.63

San Francisco) and Dako (Glostrup, Denmark) Kadcyla Ado-trastuzumab emtansine HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer FDA approved its addition to the labeling of two Dako companion diagnostic assays 3/6/13 Navidea Biopharma-ceuticals Inc. (Dublin, Ohio) Lymphoseek Technetium Tc 99 m tilmanocept injection...San Francisco) Probuphine An implantable device delivering a steady dose of buprenorphine Opioid dependence FDA committee voted in favor of approval 10-4, with one abstention 3/22/13 INFECTION