Eye disease specialist Ophthotech Corp. became the 30th biotech this year to pursue an initial public offering (IPO), seeking to raise $85 million, according to its Form S-1 filed with the SEC Friday. The company did not disclose the number of shares or price range in the offering.

Biopharma deal-making returned to the fore during the first half of 2013, with 368 licenses and joint ventures (JV) compared to 265 during the first six months of 2012 – a 39 percent surge, according to Thomson Reuters Recap. All told, Recap captured 1,234 life science deals during the first half of the year, with licenses and JVs representing 30 percent of the total.

With lead hepatitis C virus (HCV) candidate simeprevir (TMC435) nearing the finish line and two nucleotide (nuc) polymerase inhibitor candidates for HCV in its pipeline, Medivir AB pulled the plug on its NS5A inhibitor program, citing lack of market demand, difficulty meeting its development timetable and the desire to reallocate in-house resources.

Positive findings from an initial Phase III study of pain candidate Ampion drove shares of Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE:AMPE) higher Wednesday. Patients in the Phase III SPRING study in osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) treated with a single intra-articular injection of the non-steroidal immunomodulator achieved clinically meaningful reduction in pain. Investors took notice, sending shares of the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based company up 30 percent at the opening bell.

Viiv Healthcare Ltd., a joint venture formed in 2009 by Glaxosmithkline plc (GSK), of London, and New York-based Pfizer Inc. to focus on HIV medicines, garnered its first win with the FDA's approval of dolutegravir.

Based on early evidence of efficacy in an initial cohort of 25 patients refractory to Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche AG unit Genentech Inc.), Celldex Therapeutics Inc. added an expansion cohort of approximately 75 patients to its Phase II ReACT study of rindopepimut in EGFRvIII (v3)-positive glioblastoma (GBM), seeking a better bead on the compound's potential activity in a refractory patient population.

Regenerative medicine firm Axogen Inc. priced an underwritten offering of 6 million shares of common stock at $3 apiece, seeking to raise $18 million to expand product commercialization and marketing efforts for its portfolio of peripheral nerve repair products and to expand its product pipeline. The Alachua, Fla.-based firm granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 900,000 additional shares of stock to cover overallotments.

Lakewood-Amedex might sound like a picturesque stop on a rail line or a high-end entertainment venue, but the privately held biotech is all business.

As expected, New York-based Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. submitted a new drug application (NDA) for Zerenex (ferric citrate coordination complex) in the initial indication of treating elevated serum phosphorus levels, or hyperphosphatemia, in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis.

Drug development accelerator Biomotiv LLC added $25 million to boost its capital commitment to $46 million, with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and several individual investors joining founding investors University Hospitals of Cleveland and the Harrington Family. Nationwide, based in Cleveland, will appoint a representative to the company's board of managers.