Editing the myocilin gene, the most frequently mutated gene in primary open-angle glaucoma, reduced glaucoma symptoms in an animal model. Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most frequent form of glaucoma in the U.S., affecting roughly 3 million people.

Aveo Oncology Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., completed a pre-planned futility analysis of its phase III TIVO-3 trial comparing Fotivda (tivozanib) to Nexavar (sorafenib, Bayer AG) in patients with refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma after 128 progression events and decided to continue the trial as planned without modification.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Dhaka, Bangladesh, said that it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding under which in may acquire 85.22 percent of Nuvista Pharma, another Bangladeshi drugmaker specializing in hormones and steroid drugs.

Panoptica Inc., of Bernardsville, N.J., said it secured $11 million in a series B financing. The additional financing, provided by Third Rock Ventures and SV Health Investors (formerly SV Life Sciences), will enable clinical advancement of PAN-90806, a small-molecule anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) eye drop for the treatment of neovascular eye diseases.

One of the challenges for weight loss is that the body is evolutionarily programmed to worry about famines, not feasts. As a result, losing weight, if not exactly easy, is achievable for many individuals. Keeping that weight off, though, is a formidable challenge, because weight loss sets off powerful compensatory mechanisms in the body.

HONG KONG Abbvie Inc. has added a biologics manufacturing unit in its Singapore plant, to ensure sufficient supply of biomedicines and perfect the ecosystem of biologics innovation in the region.

LONDON – The EMA is trying and plug an expected gap in the staff roster when it leaves London, publishing a £31.8 million (US$41.5 million) tender for the provision of temporary workers over the next four years.

LONDON – Only half of the cancer drugs approved by the EMA from 2009 to 2013 are increasing overall survival or improving quality of life, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.

"Nobody has done this before," Visterra Inc. CEO Brian Pereira told BioWorld, talking about the company's approach in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, an effort that is part of what fueled his company's just-finished $46.7 million series C financing. Using computational tools and methods from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visterra is "not an antibody discovery company," he said. "We design and engineer novel antibody-based solutions" that include monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), bispecific antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).