The European Society of Cardiology meeting kicked off in Barcelona over with weekend with better-than-expected data in the antiplatelet space from blockbuster Plavix (clopidogrel) and late-stage candidate Brilinta (ticagrelor), though the latest news struck another blow to Effient (prasurgrel), a recently approved blood thinner from Eli Lilly and Co. (BioWorld Today)
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)
