A False Claims Act suit was unsealed alleging that Johnson & Johnson fraudulently obtained a patent to block generic competition for prostate cancer drug Zytiga (abiraterone acetate), a drug that costs roughly $9,000 per month and generates about $2.4 billion in annual revenue for New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J, according to law firm Herrera Purdy LLP. 

Schrodinger Inc., of New York, said it received a preclinical milestone payment from Sanofi SA, of Paris, in a drug discovery program advancing as part of a multiyear, multitarget collaboration.

Hemostemix Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, said it will not proceed with its nonbrokered private placement of up to $6 million in secured convertible debentures and will not have a second close of its nonbrokered private placement of up to $1 million in secured convertible debentures, which previously raised gross proceeds of $525,000. The company said it continues to pursue efforts to raise capital to fund operations and an ongoing phase II trial.

Ideaya Biosciences Inc., of South San Francisco, appointed Paul A. Stone chief financial officer, Andres Briseno, vice president, finance and Mick O'Quigley vice president, development operations.

Hummingbird Bioscience Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, said it completed an extended series A financing round led by Heritas Capital Management and SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.

Volitionrx Ltd., of Austin, Texas, was awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Walloon Region in Belgium to support a collaboration with Giga at the University of Liege, Belgium. The project will study the use of telomere maintenance as a cancer diagnostic using Volitionrx's Nucleosomics platform.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) unveiled its preliminary list of potential assessment topics for next year. The list is based on the projected timing and likelihood of FDA approval, and whether an evidence review would suggest specific actions for payers, physicians, patients and policymakers to improve clinical practice.