Attracted to Moderna Therapeutics’ messenger RNA (mRNA) technology platform, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. purchased 10 product options to develop and commercialize rare disease treatments. The Cheshire, Conn.-based company paid $100 million up front for the options, in addition to making a $25 million preferred equity investment in Moderna.
Amgen Inc.'s first quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates, with the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company posting $4.24 billion in revenues, shy of the $4.38 billion expected by consensus.
Asking for a second efficacy study, the FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) for Pfizer Inc.'s new drug application for tafamidis meglumine to treat the orphan indication of transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR-FAP).
Two days ahead of an FDA advisory committee meeting focused on Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s new drug application for Kyprolis (carfilzomib), briefing documents highlighted the agency's concern over severe cardiac toxicities and the possibility that the second-generation proteasome inhibitor may not offer an advantage over existing multiple myeloma therapies.
Following a weekend poster presentation that confused some investors, Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. clarified on Monday that all patients who completed a 24-week regimen involving its hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug ACH-1625 had undetectable levels of HCV RNA – yet the company's stock continued a downward slide throughout the day.
AVI BioPharma Inc.'s Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD) candidate eteplirsen hit its primary endpoint of significantly increasing dystrophin in a Phase IIb trial, although shares plummeted on Monday over the lack of clinical outcome improvement.
Providing an early sales glance, Amgen Inc. CEO-elect Bob Bradway reported Monday that the company's denosumab franchise, consisting of Xgeva and Prolia, generated more than $500 million in revenue in 2011, their first full year on the market.
As Vical Inc. ramps up for a potential biologics license application filing and the commercialization of its cancer immunotherapy Allovectin – and with promising data from a preclinical herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) program – the San Diego-based company priced a $50 million public offering on Friday.
PHILADELPHIA – With lengthy development cycles and the increasing costs of clinical work, well-established therapeutics sitting on pharmaceutical company shelves may be the lowest hanging fruit.The question is: Who is going to pay for them? Big pharmas are challenged to bring all of the promising products to market, despite budget constraints; biotechs are challenged to find funding for their own technologies; and venture capital firms are challenged to get returns on investments.
PHILADELPHIA – Finding new funding options in a tight financing environment has forced biotech companies to look beyond venture capital and piece together a patchwork quilt of angel investors, government grants, product partnerships and, in some cases, online investments, all in an effort to survive.
