Privately held Concert Pharmaceuticals Inc. struck another business development high note, inking an exclusive license agreement that provides Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc with global rights to develop and commercialize deuterium-modified sodium oxybate (D-SXB) compounds, including C-10323, aimed at narcolepsy.
Small biotech Psyadon Pharmaceuticals made a big clinical move by initiating a Phase III study of ecopipam – its only asset – for the treatment of self-injurious behaviors in the ultra-rare orphan disease Lesch-Nyhan disorder.
The notoriously challenging glioblastoma indication claimed another victim as EMD Serono reported that internally developed integrin inhibitor cilengitide failed to significantly improve overall survival (OS), the primary endpoint, in its Phase III CENTRIC trial investigating the agent when added to standard chemoradiotherapy (temozolomide and radiotherapy).
Immunomedics Inc. went small with its first financing in more than five years, pricing an underwritten public offering of 6.1 million shares at $2.30 each – a 15 percent discount to Thursday's closing price – and seeking to raise just $14 million.
Late Wednesday, Ambit Biosciences Inc. disclosed an S-1 filing with the SEC for an initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock, expected to trade on the Nasdaq market under the symbol "AMBI." The company is seeking to raise up to $57.5 million, though the number of shares and price range were not yet determined.
Third Rock Ventures LLC plumbed its considerable network and assembled a team of prestigious cancer biologists and immunotherapy experts to form Jounce Therapeutics Inc., which launched Thursday with a $47 million Series A financing.
In October 2012, the FDA cancelled the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for Nov. 8, which was to include a review of the new drug application for pomalidomide, Celgene Corp.'s immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) candidate in multiple myeloma (MM).
Over the past three years, pharmaceutical companies collectively jettisoned 150,000 jobs. Small wonder that the industry now finds itself facing an enormous talent gap in its scientific work force, according to a report released this week by PwC's Health Research Institute (HRI).
Celldex Therapeutics Inc. upsized its underwritten public offering by pricing 12 million shares of common stock at $7.50 – less than a 2 percent discount to Tuesday's close and a 1 percent premium to Monday's close – to seek a $90 million raise rather than $75 million cited in a preliminary prospectus filed Monday with the SEC.
The up-front payment was just $5 million, but a potential $225 million option and licensing deal between Opexa Therapeutics Inc. and Merck Serono SA to develop and commercialize Tcelna (imilecleucel-T), a personalized T-cell immunotherapy in multiple sclerosis (MS), could offer a win-win for the small biotech and for the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany – provided the product crosses the finish line.
