SAN FRANCISCO – Following 2013's strong dealmaking streak, the first quarter of 2014 is carrying its momentum, evidenced by 587 announced deals and $49.7 billion in total disclosed deal value, according to data released at Allicense 2014, in San Francisco.
Oncogenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares (Nasdaq:OGXI) fell 60.3 percent after the company and its partner, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., reported that their experimental prostate cancer therapy, custirsen, failed to perform better than standard chemotherapy in a pivotal trial.
Seven big trailers owned by Antriabio Inc. sit parked in Boulder, Colo., holding the keys to a dream deferred: Inside is the equipment PR Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PRP) once used to manufacture microparticles for its experimental sustained-release formulation of basal insulin, Insular. Outside are the rough realities that drove it into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008.
Despite strong economic and logistical arguments to be made for conducting clinical trials in Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries), increasingly complex regulation, corruption and patent challenges are forcing drugmakers to up their game to succeed, according to a new report from Thomson Reuters Life Sciences.
Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. has completed a $22.5 million financing to fund four trials of the company's mucous-penetrating nanoparticle platform and its lead application in fighting inflammation after cataract surgery.
Principia Biopharma Inc. has raised $50 million to advance the company's pipeline of small-molecule autoimmune and oncology therapies into clinical testing. Sofinnova Ventures led the funding, citing strong preclinical validation of Principia's pipeline and its prolific drug discovery engine.
Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc. has started a phase I dosing study of its lead candidate for inborn errors of metabolism, AG-348. The experimental treatment for pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency, a rare inherited metabolic disorder, could help rapidly advance the drug toward a proof-of-concept test in target patients.
Iconic Therapeutics Inc., a small company developing a new therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), raised $20 million in new equity financing and appointed MPM Capital partner William Greene CEO to lead the company through mid-stage testing and beyond.
Merck & Co. Inc. gained an anticipated FDA approval Monday for Grastek, its immunotherapy tablet for grass pollen-induced allergies, adding direct competition for Greer Laboratories Inc.'s recently approved Oralair in a race to expand the reach of disease-modifying allergy treatments.
Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s shares (NASDAQ:PTLA) rose 6.4 percent Monday as the company advanced its global pivotal trial of betrixaban, testing how well the drug prevents blood clots when patients are hospitalized for critical cardiovascular conditions and following their release.
