Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH pledged to invest €11 billion (US$11.8 billion) in a new R&D program over the next five years, with plans to devote nearly half to preclinical work and €1.5 billion (US$1.6 billion) to collaborations with external partners. The German company said it will look not only within the company, but also to academic partners, public entities and individual researchers in an embrace of open innovation models with the goal of exploring emerging science, new indications and new technology to expand its opportunities.
Defying low expectations set almost a year ago by an interim peek at phase III data, Sophiris Bio Inc.'s PRX302 (topsalysin) rose to meet its primary endpoint of statistically significant improvement of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) symptoms over 12 months in final data released Tuesday.
Cytokinetics Inc. shares (NASDAQ:CYTK) rose $1.47, or 13.6 percent to close at $12.29 on Monday after, together with partner Amgen Inc., it shared new detail on the safety and benefits of omecamtiv mecarbil in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) during a presentation of phase II expansion phase data at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions.
In a deal that could help move Allergan plc one step closer to its aspirations of launching 20 significant new drugs by 2020, the company agreed to pay privately held Mimetogen Pharmaceuticals Inc. $50 million up front for an exclusive license to develop and commercialize tavilermide (MIM-D3), a topical formulation of a small-molecule TrkA agonist for the treatment of dry eye disease.
Therapies leveraging the unique ties between cancer and the human microbiome could soon gain a significantly stronger footing through the work of a Flagship Ventures-funded start-up emerging from the firm's idea-to-market accelerator, Venturelabs.
Curevac AG, convinced it needs to grow its pipeline and work force, has raised about $110 million from new investors drawn to the ambitious company's mission of expanding its RNA-based technology platforms beyond their current applications in prostate cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer to include further programs in cancer immunotherapy, vaccines and molecular therapy.
Nearly three years past a deadline set by the Jumpstart Our Business Startup (JOBS) Act, SEC commissioners voted, 3-1, on Friday in favor of adopting final rules permitting start-ups and small businesses to raise capital from non-accredited investors by offering and selling securities through crowdfunding.
Funded and ready to put its "gem cutters" to work, Frazier's managing general partner, Patrick Heron, told BioWorld Today the company has closed its eighth fund, a $262 million tool for finding "diamonds in the rough" of early stage therapeutics companies.
Despite posting an estimate-beating 70 percent rise in third quarter net profit, slowing sales growth for Gilead Sciences Inc.'s hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs attributed to payer restrictions weighed on company shares (NASDAQ:GILD), which slid $2.83, to close at $108.13 on Wednesday.
