DUBLIN, Ireland – It has not been long since the first research programs got under way, but there is evidence already that projects undertaken by the €2 billion (US$2.4 billion) Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) are having an impact on the environment for drug development in Europe.

LONDON – The process by which tumors spread around the body involves a crucial molecular interaction between tumor cells in the bloodstream and the cells that line the blood vessels, a new study suggested.

Orphan Synergy Europe (OSE) Pharma SA came out of the starting gate with a Phase II candidate, in-licensing a therapeutic cancer vaccine discovered at San Diego-based Epimmune Inc. that had languished following that company's 2005 merger with Immuno-Designed Molecules (IDM) SA, of Paris.

LONDON – RedX Pharma Ltd. is planning a £10.8 million (US$16.8 million) investment to extend the reach of its expertise in the structural modification of marketed drugs into antibiotics and antivirals.

DUBLIN, Ireland – As a general science meeting, the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) does a pretty good job of being all things to all men and all women.

DUBLIN, Ireland – Small molecules may be hard enough to get through development and registration, but that is nothing like the challenge the industry is facing in attempts to get cell therapies to market.

DUBLIN, Ireland – Dublin's undpredictable weather, a confounding blend of sunshine, wind and rain, was an apt metaphor for the mix of optimism, realism and disappointment that could be heard in the many scientific sessions during the first full day of the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 (ESOF 2012) meeting at the Convention Centre Dublin Thursday.

• Ipsen SA, of Paris, said partner Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., was notified that the FDA placed on hold both Phase III studies evaluating IB1001, an intravenous recombinant Factor IX therapy for the treatment and prevention of bleeding episodes in people with hemophilia B.

Genmab A/S entered its second DuoBody deal with a large pharmaceutical firm inside two months. The Copenhagen, Denmark-based antibody developer entered a broad collaboration with the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Biotech Inc. to develop bispecific antibodies against Janssen-supplied targets.

LONDON – The asthma treatment Flutiform finally won the seal of the European Commission recently, more than 12 years after SkyePharma plc set its sights on what it thought would be the relatively straightforward development of a combination product based on two marketed drugs.