PharmacoFore Inc., of San Carlos, Calif., received a $10 million equity financing from a venture fund operated by magnates from the social networking world. Founders Fund partner Ken Howery was a co-founder of PayPal, and its roster of partners includes notable PayPal and Facebook execs. Companies in its portfolio include Facebook, Spotify and SpaceX.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. agreed to acquire Intellikine Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., for $190 million up front, with $120 million in potential clinical milestone payments. Intellikine's assets include small molecule kinase inhibitors of the phoshoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K 1) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR2) pathways with ongoing Phase I trials in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.
ImmunoGen Inc. licensed its maytansinoid targeted antibody payload (TAP) technology to Eli Lilly and Co., for the development of a limited number of antibody-drug conjugates for cancer. Lilly will pay $20 million up front and up to $200 million in milestone payments. ImmunoGen will also receive compensation for any research and manufacturing services it may provide to Lilly.
A new public offering of 8 million stock units and 8 million Series B warrants could raise up to $20 million for StemCells Inc., of Newark, Calif. The company just completed enrollment in a Phase I/II trial of its HuCNS-SC neural stem cells in chronic spinal cord injury.
BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lincolnshire, Ill., reported disappointing results from its two pivotal Phase III trials of LibiGel (testosterone gel) for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in postmenopausal women.
More people die of lung cancer than any other cancer. In 2010, 162,460 deaths were attributed to non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and 174,470 new diagnoses were made. Surgery is the first line of defense against lung cancer, but late-stage cancer is not resectable, and chemotherapy only increases survival by four months to five months.
Third Rock Ventures LLC said today the newest member of its portfolio, Ember Therapeutics, launched with a $34 million Series A financing. Ember will focus on discovery and development of obesity and diabetes therapeutics based on brown fat biology and new science relating to insulin sensitivity.
Stock in Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celgene Corp., YM Biosciences Inc. and other hemtaology-focused biotech companies trended upward Friday in anticipation of results presented over the weekend at the 53rd Annual American Society of Hematology meeting in San Diego.
Samsung, a noted manufacturer of televisions and other electronic devices, entered the world of biotechnology with its new division, Samsung Biologics, in May. Wasting no time, that company has launched a $300 million joint venture with Biogen Idec Inc. to develop and manufacture biosimilars.
