BioWorld Today Assistant Managing Editor With negotiations seemingly at a stand-still six months after Genentech Inc. rejected as too low a $44 billion buyout offer from majority holder Roche Holdings AG, the Swiss drugmaker clearly hopes to set the deal back in motion, but analysts say it's doubtful the biotech's minority shareholders will be amenable to a reduced bid. Basel, Switzerland-based Roche said Friday it planned to proceed under a hostile takeover, taking its revised offer to

BioWorld Today Washington Editor WASHINGTON – As the nation marked the 50th anniversary of the death of rock-and-roll pioneer Buddy Holly, Tuesday also was the day the music died for Tom Daschle's pursuit to reform the U.S. health care system as a member of the Obama cabinet. Under pressure for failing to pay $128,000 in taxes over the past three years, Daschle called it quits Tuesday morning reportedly after reading a New York Times editorial calling for him to withdraw his nomination to lead

BioWorld Today Science Editor Despite the fact that they have racked up an impressive string of clinical failures to date, cancer vaccines remain the focus of active research, both basic and clinical. Recently, there have been reports on two variations of the basic approach. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, are attempting to train T cells to recognize carbohydrates rather than proteins, while Harvard University bioengineers recently published data showing that by

BioWorld Today Washington Editor While Pfizer Inc.'s $68 billion bid for Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth is expected to boost the New York pharmaceutical giant's earnings and secure its position as the world's largest drugmaker, Dutch biotech Crucell NV became a casualty of the deal. Crucell, of Leiden, the Netherlands, said Monday that Wyeth had dropped out of merger talks with the Dutch drug and vaccine maker. Earlier this month, Crucell acknowledged that the two firms had being having "friendly

BioWorld Today Assistant Managing Editor Embryonic stem cells, which have been hailed as a potential revolutionary development in the field of regenerative medicine since the creation of the first cell line more than 10 years ago and also have generated a hailstorm of controversy in political and religious arenas, finally have a chance to prove their mettle in patients. Seven months after Geron Corp.'s 22,000-page investigational new drug application - the largest IND ever received by the FDA

BioWorld Perspectives Contributing Writer Editor's note: Douglas Martin, M.D., is managing director of Leerink Swann Strategic Advisors. What should you do when your blockbuster is being legally copied and sold for a fraction of the cost? For biopharmaceutical companies, the answer should be to create a sequel with nearly the same cast, and then target a new audience. In taking an aggressive "strategic innovation" approach, companies can leverage years of research to identify molecular

All My Clones—Episode 20: Strange Proceedings If you missed previous episodes of the biotech-themed soap opera "All My Clones," click here to read the beginning of the story. Champagne flutes filled with Krug 1998 vintage Champagne ($350 a pop, as it were) clinked during Cappuccino Pharmaceuticals' holiday party celebration. CEO Rupert Madasheck opened a package from the board chair, Betty Lidalot, to find a Tourneau Epic II limited edition watch. "A Lidalot better than the 'My Name is Rupert

BioWorld International Correspondent LONDON - ReNeuron plc has finally got the go-ahead for a clinical trial of its fetal neural stem cell treatment, securing the approval of UK regulators to treat 12 patients who are disabled following an ischemic stroke. The trial of ReN001, to take place at Glasgow University's Institute of Neurological Sciences, comes two years after the FDA put the product on hold in January 2007. Guildford, UK-based ReNeuron has continued to try to meet the agency's

BioWorld Today Staff Writer Peptimmune Inc., a privately held U.S. biotechnology company, has granted Novartis AG an exclusive option to license its drug candidate for multiple sclerosis, PI-2301. In the event that Novartis opts in, the Basel, Switzerland-based drugmaker would assume the global clinical development, manufacturing and marketing of PI-2301 and all associated costs. Cambridge, Mass.-based Peptimmune would receive more than $500 million if certain development, regulatory and

BioWorld Today Washington Editor WASHINGTON – Making health care more affordable, accessible, effective and safe, but less costly, for Americans has been an ongoing debate for decades, with little achieved over the many years of discussion. But President-Elect Barack Obama - being sworn-in at noon Tuesday - and the Democrats, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy (Mass.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.), have vowed that, this time, the U.S. health care system will be fixed. The growing unemployment rate

BioWorld Today Correspondent Although the news was hardly a surprise, shares in Arpida AG still dropped by more than 4 percent Tuesday, following confirmation from the FDA that it would require additional clinical data to approve the Swiss firm's antibiotic iclaprim. A straight approval of the drug, which is in development for treating complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs), was never in the cards, following a 17-to-2 vote against from the FDA's Anti-infective Drugs Advisory

Image Cranky commentary by Cynthia Robbins-Roth As we head into the New Year, the wonderful world of biotech — and its various fan clubs — continues to provide entertainment and challenges. Let's take a look at what the end of 2008 had for us: Do It Yourself Biotech Why should biotech be restricted to eggheads in lab coats? So far, those serious folks have not provided NEARLY enough fodder for the tabloids. And so far, paparazzi have not made a dime from stalking bio-stars. In an effort

BioWorld Perspectives is a free, weekly e-zine that offers unique viewpoints on developments within the biotechnology industry. Although published by the editors of BioWorld Today, the opinions expressed in BioWorld Perspectives do not reflect those of BioWorld Today or its editors. The approach taken with BioWorld Perspectives is to provide you with a fresh outlook on topics that you can't find elsewhere. You'll be able to read a variety of opinions and shared insight on the companies, trends

BioWorld Today Washington Editor ROCKVILLE, Md. – A federal panel of advisers Wednesday voted unanimously that Ovation Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s investigational antiepileptic drug Sabril (vigabatrin) should be approved in the U.S. as a second-line treatment for complex partial seizures (CPS) in adults, despite the medication's risk of irreversible vision loss. However, the FDA's Peripheral and Central Nervous System Advisory Committee said the drug should be limited to patients who have not

BioWorld Today Staff Writer Plexxikon Inc. and Swiss drugmaker F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. have signed another deal for a Raf kinase inhibitor, this time for PLX5568, a potential treatment for a genetic kidney disease that also might work as a painkiller. The deal, worth about $335 million over the term of the partnership, calls for a $60 million up-front payment to Plexxikon. The up-front money is expected to extend the company's cash runway through early 2012, Kathleen Sereda Glaub, president

BioWorld Today Washington Editor WASHINGTON – Reforming the U.S. health care system is one of the "greatest challenges of our time," Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-designate Tom Daschle told lawmakers Thursday during the first confirmation hearing held by the 111th Congress for the proposed Obama cabinet. "The flaws in our health system are pervasive and corrosive," Daschle declared. "They threaten our health and economic security." The hearing was convened by the Senate Health

Science Editor Innate immunity currently is thought of the immune system's version of a one-night stand. Unlike the B and T cells of the adaptive immune system, which remember pathogens years to decades after they have first encountered them - the reason that vaccines are effective - macrophages and natural killer cells of the innate immune system were thought to have a more "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" approach to fighting pathogens. But in the Jan 11, 2009, online edition of Nature

OK, so maybe 2008 wasn't exactly a sparkling year for biotech — though it certainly fared better than the previously deemed unsinkable banking and automotive industries — and most people in the business probably want nothing more than just to get on with 2009 already. But there were plenty of defining moments throughout the past year that deserve recapping. Some were good, some were bad and others were an infuriating combination of both that, nevertheless, kept investors coming back for more

BioWorld Perspectives Managing Editor The bad news is, experts predict the economy will worsen in 2009. VC funding is expected to fall, with more money diverted from seed financings and Series As to later-stage companies that must hold off on exits while waiting out the markets. The good news is, biotechnology tops the list of industries likely to receive VC funds in 2009. VC Funding in Third Quarter 2008 Ends High; Dip Expected in 2009 Biotech was the top industry sector in terms of dollars