Disappointing results from Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Phase II ELECTRON study of nucleotide analogue polymerase inhibitor GS-7977 showed that six out of eight patients with a prior null response to an interferon regimen relapsed within four weeks of completing a course of GS-7977 plus ribavirin. Read More
Continuing the recent frenzy of dealmaking activity in the hepatitis C virus (HCV) space, Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. is expected to announce Tuesday morning that it licensed preclinical NS5A inhibitor EDP-239 to Novartis AG in a deal worth up to $440 million. Read More
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The recent history of biology has been dominated by the Human Genome Project, but even as the first complete sequence was published 11 years ago, it was evident that translating that into something of use for human health and medicine would require a far greater undertaking - of mapping and understanding all the proteins in the human body. Read More
Shares of Corcept Therapeutics Inc. jumped nearly 50 percent aftermarket on Friday as news began to spread that the Menlo Park, Calif.-based biotech had won FDA approval of Korlym (mifepristone) to treat hyperglycemia in patients with Cushing's syndrome. Read More
WASHINGTON – Armed with more information about cardiovascular and teratogenic risks, as well as a less restrictive risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS), Vivus Inc. is prepared for a second performance before the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC). Read More
• BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., of Novato, Calif., said it started a Phase I study in healthy volunteers for BMN-111, an analogue of C-type natriuretic peptide in development for achondroplasia. The trial is a two-part study designed to test single and multiple subcutaneous doses of the drug in up to 74 subjects. Data are expected in the third quarter of this year. Read More
• ProMetic Life Sciences Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said a stakeholder has invested a further C$1 million (US$1 million) in equity. The firm also restructured the repayment of C$4 million in secured loans, deferring payment until July 1, 2013. Those two transactions are expected to allow the company an opportunity to repay its loans with anticipated revenues generated from commercial transactions. Read More
Three separate papers last week reported different new insights into isocitrate dehydrogenase 1, or IDH1, an enzyme that is critical in the altered metabolism of cancer cells. Two papers came out of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the third out of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Read More
• Cancer Research UK's Cancer Research Institute in London reported that a combination of gemcitabine and drug candidate MRK003 killed cancer cells in mice with a greater effect than either drug alone. The drug is being tested in a clinical trial carried out in partnership with Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust. The drug combo may have application in pancreatic cancer. Read More
• Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., said the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion for Humira (adalimumab) in adults with moderate to severely active ulcerative colitis who have not responded to, cannot tolerate or have medical contraindications to conventional therapies. A final decision from the European Commission is anticipated in a few weeks. Read More
