Company Drug Indication BioAlliance Pharma SA Sitavig Recurring herpes labialis Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. Amitiza Opioid-induced constipation Tris Pharma Inc. Karbinal ER Seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis
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
: LONDON – Galapagos NV has raised €53.9 million (US$70.7 million) in an oversubscribed placing in which it has tapped into the strong appetite U.S. investors currently have for biotechnology. This is Galapagos' fourth private placing since it went public in May 2005. "It definitely was easier than previous rounds: there was a minimal discount and we have attracted premier investment groups, in particular in the U.S.," said Onno von de Stolpe, CEO. "It's been a fantastic success," he told
By Nuala Moran | BioWorld International | Wednesday, May 8, 2013
LONDON – Symphogen A/S has taken in a further €41 million (US$54.1 million) as an extension to an earlier €100 million round agreed in 2011, bringing the total raised to $185 million. "For a private biotech, it's a pleasure to have more than €100 million," said Kirsten Drejer, CEO. The extra funding will be used "to extend the runway, not to add more programs," she told BioWorld International. The spur for raising more money was the validation of Symphogen's antibody mixtures technology in a
By Nuala Moran | BioWorld International | Wednesday, May 8, 2013
LONDON – The future development of a new class of antidepressants has edged closer, with the discovery of a molecular pathway that is fundamental to the development of depression. In depression, high levels of stress hormones such as glucocorticoids are linked to a reduced rate by which new brain cells develop – a process called neurogenesis. Researchers based at the Institute of Psychiatry in London have identified a molecule that, when blocked, halts the decrease in neurogenesis that
By Sharon Kingman | BioWorld International | Wednesday, May 8, 2013
GlaxoSmithKline plc's initiative on data transparency took a decisive step forward Tuesday as the company switched on the website that will act as the point of access to its vast repositories of clinical data and named the independent review panel who will control that access. Accredited researchers will be able to access the data (via https://clinicalstudydata.gsk.com/) only after gaining approval for their research proposals from the four-person panel. They also would have to commit to
By Cormac Sheridan | BioWorld International | Wednesday, May 8, 2013
LONDON – Redx Pharma Ltd. has unveiled a shift in strategy away from a sole focus on internally generated compounds, with the in-licensing of an early stage oncology program from Canadian biotech Pharmascience Inc. At the same time Redx announced it has put in place funding for a diversification into anti-infectives and is opening a new unit on the site of AstraZeneca plc's largest R&D facility at Alderley Park, Cheshire, UK. That will fill some of the vacuum that is about to be generated by
By Nuala Moran | BioWorld International | Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Less than a year after licensing constipation drug elobixibat from Swedish biotech Albireo AB, Ferring Pharmaceuticals SA initiated enrollment in two Phase III trials of the investigational compound in chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). The randomized, double-blind studies, Echo 1 and Echo 2, will be conducted at nearly 200 sites worldwide and will enroll approximately 1,700 patients, aiming to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of repeated daily doses of elobixibat against placebo over a
By Marie Powers | BioWorld International | Wednesday, May 8, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO – When AiCuris GmbH, of Wuppertal, Germany, analyzed the market for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) therapies, it found a market with high medical need, neglected by big pharma, featuring a variety of disease manifestations. The market had also fallen under the radar of payers, all resulting in low competition, with the potential for high prices and low marketing and sales costs, according to Helga Rubsamen-Schaeff, AiCuris CEO. In her presentation for a panel featuring the nominees
By Catherine Shaffer | BioWorld International | Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Addex Therapeutics SA, of Geneva, disclosed positive preclinical data for its GABAB receptor-positive allosteric modulator in a rodent model of chronic alcohol dependence. The Addex alcoholism candidate, ADX71441, demonstrated robust and dose-dependent suppression of alcohol intake in animals lasting 24 hours. ADX71441 is an oral small molecule, with potential for once-daily dosing. In other news, Addex said dipraglurant demonstrated dose-dependent mGlu5 receptor occupancy in a nonhuman primate
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
Type of Financing January February March April Total ($M) Public offerings 2,305.0 195.5 753.9 416.8 3,671.2 Public/other 530.4 218.9 599.3 103.5 1,452.2 Private biotechs 194.7 135.6 73.3 416.9 820.5 Total ($M) 3,030.1 550.0 1,426.5 937.2 5,943.9 Notes: Public offerings = Initial, follow-on. Private biotechs = Financings of private firms. Public/other = Other financings of public companies, including loans, bridge financings, exercises of warrants, debt offerings, rights offerings, standard
Financings Ambit Biosciences Inc. set terms for its proposed IPO, aiming to raise $65 million. Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. completed its public offering for gross proceeds of $23 million. Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc. raised $32.5 million in a final closing of its private placement. Epizyme Inc. filed an S-1 for a proposed $69 million IPO. GW Pharmaceuticals plc priced its IPO of 3.5 million American Depository Shares at $8.90 per ADS. Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. priced a public offering for gross
TOTAL: $103.52M Company (Location) Type Of Financing Number Of Shares, Units Or Warrants (M) Amount Raised (M) Investors; Placement Agents; Details Date Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Hayward, Calif.) Common stock purchase agreement N/A $2 Anthera entered an $18.5M common stock purchase agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC, under which it made an initial purchase of $2M in common stock priced at 64.8 cents apiece 4/9/13 Cardium Therapeutics Inc. (San Diego) Private placement of
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 performance milestones and smaller upfront
By Peter Winter | BioWorld Insight | Monday, May 6, 2013
Company Amount Raised Auris Medical AG $50.8M Jounce Therapeutics Inc. $47M Opsona Therapeutics Ltd. $43.2M Radius Health Inc. $43M GenSight Biologics $41.6M Esperion Therapeutics Inc. $33M Revance Therapeutics Inc. $33M Syros Pharmaceuticals $30M Labrys Biologics Inc. $31M Versartis Inc. $25M
Company Drug Indication BioAlliance Pharma SA Sitavig Recurring herpes labialis Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. Amitiza Opioid-induced constipation Tris Pharma Inc. Karbinal ER Seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis