Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc., set to report Phase III data next quarter for its next-generation platinum chemotherapy picoplatin in small-cell lung cancer, is adding some flexibility to its financial position with a $60 million committed equity financing facility. (BioWorld Today)
In its second major collaboration this year, Danish biotech NeuroSearch A/S inked a discovery deal with Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Pharmaceutica NV for central nervous system disease drugs, a move that strengthens the company's balance sheet ahead of expected data from its late-stage Huntington's disease program. (BioWorld Today)
Five months after a regulatory snag pointed to a delay with a partnered chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug, Forest Laboratories Inc. picked up another drug that could offer near-term entry into the multibillion-dollar COPD market. (BioWorld Today)
Concurrent offerings of stock and convertible notes are expected to bring Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. as much as $310.3 million in net proceeds - $356.9 million if underwriters opt to buy more shares and notes - as the firm looks to expand its pipeline offerings beyond the cancer drug partnered with Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Corp. (BioWorld Today)
Though a regulatory hitch with migraine drug frovatriptan threatened to derail the company last year, Vernalis plc has turned its fortunes around in the last several months, closing a solid financing in May and now signing an early stage oncology collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc. (BioWorld Today)
