Epizyme Inc. views its potential $206 million new partnership agreement with Eisai Co. Ltd. as an endorsement of its research and development efforts in EZH2, and as a complement to its recent deal with GlaxoSmithKline plc within its overall business strategy.
Tissue damage following cardiac arrest or other cardiovascular events is an ongoing problem with great unmet need. DecImmune Therapeutics Inc. is a new biotechnology company focused on developing peptide and antibody therapeutics for acute inflammation and tissue damage following vascular injury by way of the N2-IgM pathway.
A Phase IIb study of a compound for bipolar depression by Repligen Corp., of Waltham, Mass., failed to reach statistical significance compared to placebo, sending the company's stock into a tailspin Monday.
BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will raise $25.1 million in a registered direct offering to support several ongoing clinical trials of its testosterone gel product, Libigel. Pursuant to a prior shelf registration, the Lincolnshire, Ill.-based company will sell 12.2 million shares of common stock and warrants to several institutional investors, with total net proceeds estimated at $23.8 million.
Lycera Corp. will partner with Merck and Co. Inc. to develop a new class of drugs that target the T-helper 17 (Th17) cells by means of the retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) transcription factor. Th17 cells produce the pro-inflammatory molecule IL-17.
A complete response letter caps the latest chapter in the troubled tale of EMD Serono Inc.'s cladribine tablets for relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The German company, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, has struggled to get the drug through the U.S. and European regulatory gauntlet, suffering setbacks nearly every step of the way.
Barely three months after reporting its outstanding clinical results for brentuximab vedotin at the annual meeting of the American Society for Hematology (ASH) in December, Seattle Genetics Inc. submitted its biologics license application to the FDA, petitioning for an accelerated six-month approval timeline.
After extending and restructuring its Phase III trial of Northera (droxidopa) for neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (NOH) in Parkinson's patients, Chelsea Therapeutics Inc. needed a bit more of a cash boost to carry it through to launch.
Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. is mothballing its cystic fibrosis program and regrouping as an eye-care company after Phase III trials of denufosol tetrasodium ended in disappointment.
Two biotech companies are headed to the bank to raise funds for advancement of peptide-based biological therapies. Versartis Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., completed a Series B financing round worth $21 million to advance its recombinant human growth hormone product into human trials, and Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Warrington, Pa., priced an underwritten public offering of 10 million units for gross proceeds of $23.5 million to funnel into its program of developing surfactant and aerosol therapies for lung diseases
