SHANGHAI – As the probe into Glaxosmithkline plc enters a new, quieter but possibly deeper phase, the investigation has highlighted the greater oversight that drug companies can expect in the future from the most powerful regulatory bodies in the country.
Buoyed by the European Medicines Agency's recent reversal of its earlier negative decision on Defitelio (defibrotide), Gentium SpA unveiled its best ever quarter for the product and set out its stall on growing the market, albeit within a narrower indication.
LONDON – A new understanding of the molecular control of angiogenesis – the process by which new blood vessels grow – could lead to new therapies aimed at blocking tumor growth.
Ixchelsis Ltd., a start-up with roots in Pfizer Inc.'s UK R&D facility at Sandwich, in Kent, has raised more than $14 million from TVM Life Science Ventures VII fund for development of an oxytocin antagonist, IX-01, for treating premature ejaculation.
SHANGHAI – A year after China introduced an amended patent law, authorities have revoked the patent on Gilead Science Inc.'s HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B drug Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate).
LONDON – Cancer Research Technology Ltd. (CRT) agreed to its third licensing deal in six weeks, signing up Merck Serono SA to take forward compounds that block the WNT cell-signaling pathway.
SHANGHAI – Still avoiding discussion of its failed bid for Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. in June, Amgen Inc. continues to implement an ambitious Asia expansion strategy when it announced the launch of a new collaboration with Japan's Teijin Pharma Ltd. to search for new therapies for autoimmune diseases.
• KU Leuven, of Belgium, and FIT Biotech Oyj plc, of Tampere, Finland, signed a worldwide license and collaboration agreement to develop immunotherapeutics based on FIT's Gene Transport Unit technology for transient in vivo expression of monoclonal antibodies.
Shares of Compugen Ltd. jumped 44.5 percent Monday on news of a potential $540 million deal with Bayer Healthcare to develop antibody drugs for cancer immunotherapy, marking the Israeli firm's first substantial revenue-sharing drug development collaboration.
LONDON – Profibrix NV announced positive results in the Phase III trial of Fibrocaps in promoting blood clotting during surgery, triggering the company's acquisition under a pre-arranged deal in which The Medicines Co. has purchased all the outstanding equity for $90 million and will pay up to $140 million on U.S. and European regulatory and sales milestones.
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