Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to pay privately held Avidity Biosciences LLC $20 million up front and up to $405 million per target to support development of an unspecified number of new antibody oligonucleotide conjugates for immunology and other indications. The multiyear deal, which also includes a $15 million equity investment for Avidity, opens a new front in Lilly's embrace of oligonucleotide-based drugs, the subject of earlier deals it has struck with Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Noxxon Pharma AG. Read More
Clinical-stage biotech Poseida Therapeutics Inc. received a boost Monday from a $142 million series C financing, most of which comes from Novartis AG. The funding goes toward Poseida's lead product, P-BCMA-101, which is enrolling patients for a phase II registrational trial. Read More
LONDON – As the birthplace of European biotechnology, Cambridge, U.K., should surely have all the money and services it takes to start up and grow companies. But it seems there is a gap in the market, with more good science than there is seed funding to back it. Read More
A rivalry is shaping up between heavyweight Amgen Inc. and smaller contender Mirati Therapeutics Inc. in the targeting of KRAS G12C, a protein that researchers once believed altogether intractable because it is lacking in hydrophobic pockets and binding grooves. Read More
The U.S. FDA has given its final approval to the first generic Narcan (naloxone hydrochloride) nasal spray to stop or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It marks the latest step in the agency's efforts to combat the opioid crisis. The agency tentatively approved the product from Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. June 8, 2018. Parent Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is located in Petach Tikva, Israel. Read More
LONDON – A month on from announcing the formation of a Department of Digital Health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stepped up its involvement in that area, publishing a set of guidelines on how countries can capitalize on smartphones and other personal mobile devices to improve essential services and strengthen their health systems. Read More
Biondvax Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Jerusalem, said the European Investment Bank has agreed to extend the 2017 financing agreement by an additional €4 million (US$4.5 million). The funds will be used in support of an ongoing pivotal, clinical efficacy, phase III trial of the company's M-001 universal flu vaccine candidate in Europe. Read More
In releasing its annual report Monday on the health of Medicare's two trust funds, the U.S. Medicare Board of Trustees noted that Part D prescription drug spending projections were "lower than in last year's report because of slower price growth and a continuing trend of higher manufacturer rebates," according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Read More
