Biotech companies raised just $2.8 billion in the third quarter of 2011, according to an analysis published in Monday’s BioWorld Insight. That’s a 60 percent drop from the second quarter of this year, and – just in case you thought seasonality was to blame – a 48 percent drop from the third quarter of last year. On the bright side, biotech fundraising for the first nine months of 2011, at $16.1 billion, is still 18 percent ahead of the $13.6 billion raised in the same period last year, thanks to a strong first half. Another surprising bright spot: although public...

After a strong first half that almost put the pre-recession days of 2007 within reach, a steep decline in third-quarter biotech fundraising had most folks reaching for the TUMS.

This year's FDA approval of Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil) for restless legs syndrome came with a twist: XenoPort Inc. and partner GlaxoSmithKline plc originally developed and submitted the drug for approval via the "traditional" 505(B)(1) pathway; only after receiving a complete response letter did the firms shift their strategy, refile via the 505(B)(2) pathway, and gain approval.

Despite a Phase IIb failure in diabetic neuropathy that prompted Sangamo BioSciences Inc. to drop lead drug SB-509, analysts believe earlier-stage programs may give the firm's zinc finger protein (ZFP) platform a better chance to shine.

One place you wouldn't expect to hear debate about drug pricing is among the antibiotics experts gathered in Chicago this month for the 2011 Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC). Antibiotics are, after all, about as cheap as a drug class can be.

If the success rate for drug development overall is bad, the success rate for central nervous system (CNS) drug development can only be described as abysmal, thanks to high placebo effects, low patient compliance, subjective endpoints and the difficulties of the blood-brain barrier.

BioWorld doesn’t have an editorial calendar outlining our planned coverage, because so much of what we write depends on breaking news. That said, here’s a sneak peek at the stories most likely to end up on our cover before the year is up.   October The Obesity Society annual meeting (1-5): With Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., Vivus Inc. and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. in various stages of responding to FDA concerns and slogging forward once again, the potential (futility?) of obesity therapeutics is sure to be a hot topic. BIO Investor Forum (25-26): BioWorld will be on site in San Francisco for...