Depomed Inc. boosted its pain portfolio with the purchase of Nautilus Neurosciences Inc.’s migraine drug, Cambia (diclofenac potassium for oral solution) for $48.7 million. Nautilus is eligible for an additional $5 million payment based on achievement of sales milestones. Cambia is the only single agent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory specifically indicated for migraine, with $18 million in sales over the past 3 months.
The FDA raised the bar in long-term treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with the approval of combination product Anoro Ellipta. Developed by Glaxosmithkline plc (GSK) and partner Theravance Inc., Anoro (vilanterol plus umeclidinium bromide), delivered by inhaler, pairs a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) with a long-acting beta2 agonist (LABA).
Heading for the end of the year, investors probably were looking for positive pivotal data from Onconova Therapeutics Inc.’s rigosertib in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS); instead, the Newtown, Pa.-based biotech said Wednesday it was calling it quits on the Phase II/III trial testing the drug in pancreatic cancer.
Ribavirin (RBV) could drop out of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy for genotype 1 (GT1) patients, as a result of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s triumph in the Phase III program known as ION, which tested the once-daily, fixed-dose combination of its approved nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and the NS5A inhibitor ledipasvir, with and without RBV.
California Stem Cell Inc., of Irvine, Calif., completed a Phase I trial of a cancer stem cell-based therapy, DC-TC in hepatocellular carcinoma. The trial, carried out in Shanghai, China, in accordance with international standards, was designed to determine safety in patients with Stage IV disease.
Synthetic Biologics Inc., of Rockville, Md., said it closed a its underwritten public offering of 13.225 million shares of its common stock, including a fully exercised over-allotment option by the underwriters covering 1,725,000 shares, offered at a price of $1 per share. The gross proceeds were $13.2 million.
Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, N.J., is collaborating with Glaxosmithkline plc, of London, to test Merck’s anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, MK-3475, with GSK’s oral kinase inhibitor, pazopanib, in advanced renal cell carcinoma. The companies began a Phase I/II trial evaluating safety and efficacy of the compound in treatment-naïve patients with the disease. Under the collaboration, the companies will study MK-3475 with pazopanib and other agents in the GSK portfolio in the future.
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