Shares of Agenus Inc., of Lexington, Mass., plummeted 23.5 percent on news that Glaxosmithkline plc’s Phase III DERMA trial testing its MAGE-A3 cancer immunotherapeutic, formulated with Agenus’s QS-21 Stimulon adjuvant, missed its primary endpoint. The trial failed to significantly extend disease-free survival in melanoma patients compared to placebo.
Former Dendreon Corp. CEO Mitch Gold and investment analyst David Miller have teamed up to open a new Seattle-based hedge fund, Alpine BioVentures. The multimillion-dollar fund will invest in newer companies in the biotech space, particularly in the area of cancer and rare diseases.
It will be anything but business as usual when Congress reconvenes on Sept. 9, as the debate on military action in Syria is expected to compress the congressional schedule prior to Oct. 1, leading to uncertainty about budget sequestration, funding for health care and research spending.
Neurotrope Inc. completed a reverse merger making Neurotrope Bioscience Inc. – a wholly owned subsidiary – in hopes of bolstering fundraising efforts to advance its programs in Alzheimer’s disease.
Shares of Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc. surged 24 percent Wednesday on top-line results from the company’s Phase II trial of cancer candidate SGI-110 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
Sangamo BioSciences Inc., of Richmond, Calif., will acquire a Phase II Alzheimer’s disease gene therapy, CERE-110, plus a device for brain delivery with its acquisition of San Diego-based Ceregene Inc. Sangamo agreed to hand over 100,000 shares of its common stock, plus a payout on revenues from its products.
The FDA has maintained a firm stance on clinical trial requirements for Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd.'s broad-spectrum antibiotic ceftobiprole for skin infections. In its half-year financial update, Basilea indicated that the agency would require two pivotal trials per indication. Basilea's stock (SW:BSLN) closed Thursday at CHF70.75 (US$76.67), down CHF2.45.
When what was once an open and collegial research relationship erupted into a patent inventorship lawsuit between the University of Utah and the University of Massachusetts, researchers Brenda Bass and Thomas Tuschl, once colleagues in a closely related field, became parties in the suit.
Pain Therapeutics Inc. and Durect Corp. each enjoyed a stock surge when news got out that Pfizer Inc. began a new clinical trial of Remoxy (oxycodone) three months after the pharma had signaled that it was considering discontinuation of the product.
