Former FDA Commissioner Frank Young, 88, died Nov. 24 of B-cell lymphoma. He served from 1984 to 1989, a tumultuous period that included the AIDS crisis. At first attacked by the patient community, he was later embraced as instrumental in winning approval of azidothymidine, among other drugs. He kept busy after leaving the agency and found himself working to mitigate another health catastrophe: At Braeburn Pharmaceuticals Inc., Young managed the marketing clearance of opioid-dependency therapy Probuphine (buprenorphine), green-lighted by U.S. regulators 2016. “He had many mountains that he climbed, but first and foremost in his heart, he was deeply committed to his family,” said his son Jonathan Young, chief operating officer and co-founder of Akero Therapeutics Inc. With his late wife of 51 years, Leanne, Frank Young had five children.

U.K. startups, early stage investment on the rise

LONDON - The number of biotech startups in the U.K. increased by almost 50% between 2014 and 2018, compared to 2012 – 2016, according to the latest data from the consultancy Biocity, which has been tracking the sector since 2005. But it’s not just about the number of companies; it’s also about whether they have the resources to grow. U.K. startups historically have been underfunded compared to U.S. counterparts, but in the past four years, “money has been flooding into life science startups like never before,” the 2019 U.K. Life Science Start-up report says.

Stem cells, dead cells work equally well for heart repair

A study published in the Nov. 27, 2019, advance online issue of Nature manages a rare feat. It is both a vindication of and egg in the face for cardiac stem cell research. The good news is that cardiac stem cell transplantation after a heart attack does improve heart function, although the effect is “mild,” Jeffery Molkentin told BioWorld. The bad news is that there is nothing about their stemness that makes the cells work.  

Celltrion’s Remsima SC wins marketing approval in EU

HONG KONG – Celltrion Healthcare Co. Ltd., a South Korean biopharmaceutical corporation, won the European Union (EU) marketing approval for Remsima SC for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a subcutaneous version of Celltrion’s infliximab biosimilar, CT-P13. The drug has been approved for the treatment of RA in combination with methotrexate (MTX), in adult patients with active RA when the response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has been inadequate; and in adult patients with active and progressive disease not formerly treated with MTX or other DMARDs.

Web-based tool facilitates new antibiotic development

A new web-based tool allowing rapid in silico prediction of the ability of candidate antibiotics to accumulate in gram-negative bacteria should enable subsequent prioritization of new compounds for synthesis and further evaluation, U.S. researchers reported Nov. 18, 2019, in Nature Microbiology.

High adherence seen with Digimeds in difficult to treat HCV patients

Proteus Digital Health Inc.’s digital medicine program, Digimeds, achieved 95% adherence in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) who typically would not be offered direct-acting antivirals because of their high risk for nonadherence as a result of mental illness, transportation issues or previous evidence of nonadherence. Proteus is based in Redwood City, Calif. 

Holiday notice

BioWorld's offices will be closed in observance of Thanksgiving in the U.S. No issue will be published Thursday, Nov. 28, or Friday, Nov. 29.

Also in the news

Advanz, Aravive, Dinaqor, Forward, Hikma, Homology, Hoth, Incyte, Innovent, Lonza, Orexo, PCI, Peptidream, Recce, TLC, Tonix, Vaxil, Verrica, Zosano