A single injection of the peptide hormone fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) directly into the brain induced long-term remission from type 2 diabetes in rats and mice. Read More
Seattle Genetics Inc. (Seagen) started its second-ever phase III study, pitting a CD33-targeted antibody-drug conjugate paired with widely used hypomethylating agents (HMA) vs. HMAs alone in older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Read More
Eight months after its $38 million series E round brought aboard new strategic and crossover investors, Selecta Biosciences Inc. made manifest what the move often signals, filing for an IPO that would raise as much as $75 million. Read More
Shares of Innocoll Holdings plc jumped 47.8 percent Wednesday on word that two phase III trials testing Xaracoll, its long-acting bupivacaine implant, solidly hit their primary endpoints in a postoperative pain study, findings that bode well for the company’s overall collagen-matrix platform technology, even if analysts await greater clarity to gauge the product’s potential in the non-opioid analgesic market. Read More
HONG KONG – Data infrastructure building has started quickly after China’s government announced plans to pour billions into the development of precision medicines. A group of leading companies in cloud computing, medical services and genomics have come together to provide the country with a platform essential to the future bloom of precision medicine in the country. Read More
DUBLIN – Sanofi SA ratcheted up the tension in its takeover battle with Medivation Inc. by seeking to oust the Medivation board and replace it with its own slate of candidates. It disclosed Wednesday that it had filed preliminary consent solicitation materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a bid to replace Medivation’s directors with what it described as “eight independent and highly-qualified candidates who are willing to fully and fairly evaluate all of Medivation’s strategic options.” San Francisco-based Medivation quickly responded by unveiling plans to file consent revocation materials with the SEC. Read More
Twoxar Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., said it is collaborating with the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago to identify and investigate potential new medicines to treat atherosclerosis. Read More
Appili Therapeutics Inc., of Halifax, Nova Scotia, said it raised about C$3.3 million (US$2.5 million) to advance research and development of its anti-infective candidates and to open a medicinal chemistry lab in Halifax. Read More
Flex Pharma Inc., of Boston, initiated a human proof-of-concept efficacy study in nocturnal leg cramps with its chemically synthesized, single molecule, transient receptor potential ion channel activator, formulated as an orally disintegrating tablet. The randomized, blind, controlled, cross-over study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its single agent in more than 50 subjects who suffer from nocturnal leg cramps on a frequent basis. Nocturnal leg cramps can cause severe pain, interrupted sleep, reduced quality of life and interference with activities of daily living. The company estimates that NLC affects more than 4 million Americans nightly. Read More
