SAN DIEGO – The mood at the Biocom Global Life Science Partnering Conference last week was generally upbeat on the long-term future of the sector, but venture capitalists, investment bankers, serial entrepreneurs, and other speakers at the conference warned that 2016 might be rough for raising capital.

Like seemingly everything having to do with computers these days, bioinformatics is pushing into the cloud, allowing for cheaper and more efficient computation to identify potential targets for precision medicine.

With the rising increase in bacteria and fungus resistant to current medications, companies are developing drugs that use novel mechanisms of action to fight the bugs.

While the biotech industry has come a long way in developing new innovative drugs, companies will face external and internal issues in 2016, according to a new report from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD).

Highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART), combining multiple drugs into a cocktail, can effectively suppress HIV. But patient compliance in taking pills, especially after the virus becomes resistant and requires multiple pills per day, can be a challenge.

Venture capitalists hit the ground running after returning from their summer vacations that saw third-quarter investments fall substantially from the first half. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 2, 2015.)

Last week, Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the failure of two phase III evofosfamide trials, one in pancreatic cancer and another in soft tissue sarcoma, but Barry Selick, CEO of the South San Francisco-based company, gave investors some hope that the drug might work in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Last week, Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the failure of two phase III evofosfamide trials, one in pancreatic cancer and another in soft tissue sarcoma, but Barry Selick, CEO of the South San Francisco-based company, gave investors some hope that the drug might work in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 8, 2015.)

It's been three years since the FDA Safety and Innovation Act, the most recent reauthorization of the user fee program, was enacted, providing plenty of data on advisory committee meetings to examine.

Transcelerate Biopharma Inc., a nonprofit established by 10 of the industry's largest pharmas in 2012 – and has doubled its membership since then – is charged with the task of reducing redundancy and speeding drug development for its member drug companies. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 26, 2012.)