Some investors were puzzled when shares of Quest Diagnostics Inc. surged nearly 5 percent Thursday morning for apparently no reason. They could hardly be blamed for not knowing that Madison, N.J.-based Quest is entitled to a rather large payday upon commercialization of Merck & Co. Inc.'s odanacatib, which just blasted through its Phase III study goals upon interim analysis. Read More
DUBLIN, Ireland – Dublin's undpredictable weather, a confounding blend of sunshine, wind and rain, was an apt metaphor for the mix of optimism, realism and disappointment that could be heard in the many scientific sessions during the first full day of the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 (ESOF 2012) meeting at the Convention Centre Dublin Thursday. Read More
WASHINGTON – While the Federal Circuit is still digesting the Supreme Court's ruling on patents involving laws of nature and natural correlations, the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has translated its Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories Inc. decision into temporary guidance for patent examiners. Read More
Celgene International Sàrl, the Boudry, Switzerland, subsidiary of Celgene Corp., reported positive top-line results for apremilast, an oral small-molecule inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who had received an oral disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) or biologic therapy or had failed on an anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agent. Read More
• AVI BioPharma Inc., of Bothell, Wash., said it changed its name to Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. and its stock ticker to "SRPT." The firm also effected a 1-for-6 reverse stock split. The firm is working on RNA-based therapeutics, including lead drug eteplirsen for Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Read More
• Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., said it received a request for additional information from the Federal Trade Commission in connection with its pending acquisition of Actavis Group, of Zug, Switzerland. Read More
• OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., said patient dosing has begun in a Phase I trial of OMP-54F28, a fusion protein based on a truncated form of the Frizzled8 receptor, in advanced solid tumor cancers. The open-label, dose-escalation study will assess safety, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics, biomarkers and initial signals of efficacy. The drug is part of the firm's collaboration with Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer AG. Read More
• Silence Therapeutics plc, of London, raised up to £5.7 million (US$7.2 million) through the issue of new ordinary shares at 0.5 pence per ordinary share to certain investors, and up to 100 million new ordinary shares through open offer at 0.5 pence per share, plus a convertible loan of £1 million. The price represents a discount of approximately 44 percent to the closing price on July 11. The firm also entered a £10 million equity finance facility with Darwin Strategic Ltd. Read More
