Genmab A/S entered its second DuoBody deal with a large pharmaceutical firm inside two months. The Copenhagen, Denmark-based antibody developer entered a broad collaboration with the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Biotech Inc. to develop bispecific antibodies against Janssen-supplied targets. It is banking $3.5 million up front and could receive up to $175 million more in milestone and license payments for each successfully developed product. Read More
Researchers from the Australian Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and colleagues, including some from Cylene Pharmaceuticals Inc., have reported that by inhibiting RNA Polymerase I with their preclinical compound CX-5461, they were able to activate p53 specifically in cancer cells – a feat that researchers have been trying to achieve "for many years," Cylene CEO William Rice told BioWorld Today. Read More
DUBLIN – Small molecules may be hard enough to get through development and registration, but that is nothing like the challenge the industry is facing in attempts to get cell therapies to market. Read More
LONDON – RedX Pharma Ltd. is planning a £10.8 million (US$16.8 million) investment to extend the reach of its expertise in the structural modification of marketed drugs into antibiotics and antivirals. Read More
NEW YORK – Regulators are endeavoring to take steps to boost the prospects for small companies to partake in the initial public offering (IPO) market, but more can be done to help not only companies going public today, but those that went public in the pre-healthcare reform era and that have been burdened and are struggling with the side effects of overregulation for years, according to someone the SEC actually listens to. Read More
• Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., said the FDA approved its abbreviated new drug application for Next Choice One Dose (levonorgestrel tablet, 1.5 mg), the generic equivalent to Jerusalem-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s Plan B One-Step. Watson plans to launch immediately. Read More
• Ember Therapeutics Inc., of Boston, said a study published in Cell found that beige fat cells, which burn caloric energy like brown fat cells, are specifically targeted by the hormone irisin. The isolated beige fat cells are a type of brown fat cell that is distinct from the classic brown fat and are produced from white fat depots when triggered by specific conditions such as exercise and cold. Ember recently completed a licensing agreement with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for intellectual property related to that beige fat discovery. Read More
• Organovo Holdings Inc., of San Diego, received U.S. Patent No. 8,143,055, titled "Self-assembling multicellular bodies and methods of producing a three-dimensional biological structure using the same," which covers one of its core bioprinting technologies. Read More
By looking at extreme phenotypes, researchers at the University of Washington have managed to identify a genetic contributor to cystic fibrosis patients' susceptibility to lung infections. Exome sequencing of families has been used to identify several genetic causes of rare monogenic diseases. Read More
