In the first quarter of 2016, private U.S. biopharmas tracked by BioWorld Snapshots raised about $380 million less than the same quarter in 2015, but the year-over-year decline was easy to shrug off because the first quarter of 2015 contained a monster $450 million series C round by Moderna Therapeutics Inc.
Diabetes drugs have come a long way from meta-analyses from Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, and others suggesting that Avandia (rosiglitazone, Glaxosmithkline plc) was increasing the risk of cardiovascular (CV) problems.
Gene therapy has come a long way in the decades since it was first conceived, with eye diseases being one of the major focuses for companies big and small alike.
About 30 million Americans, roughly 10 percent of the population, has one of the 7,000 known rare diseases, defined as affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. And rare diseases unfortunately affect children disproportionately, making up half of all cases globally.
Having large databases can be helpful in making discoveries not obvious in smaller datasets, but getting the data into a compatible format and then actually using the “big data” in a meaningful manner can be challenging.
Competition for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infections, the most common in the U.S. is heating up. In addition to Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir, Gilead Sciences Inc.) and Viekira Pak (ombitasvir, paritaprevir, ritonavir and dasabuvir, Abbvie Inc.), Merck & Co. Inc. gained FDA approval of its once-daily treatment, Zepatier (elbasvir and grazoprevir), earlier this year.
A new study in Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) using data from 15 pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations establishes price tags for the cost of implementing clinical trial amendments.
The American College of Cardiology's (ACC) annual meeting wrapped up last week with some disappointing results being presented despite the top-line outcomes of the trials being previously announced.
The public biotech markets weren't alone in taking a beating in the first quarter; venture capital investments in private U.S. biopharmas tracked by BioWorld Snapshots also saw a steep decline, with companies raising about $1.6 billion, compared to $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2015.