Actavis plc closed its $28 billion acquisition of Forest Laboratories Inc. Tuesday with new CEO and president, Brent Saunders, Forest's former chief, and the majority of Forest shareholders hanging on for the ride. Read More
SHANGHAI – Hong Kong-based Uni-Bio Science Group Ltd. (HKSE:690) said Uni-PTH, an anabolic agent that builds bone mass in post-menopausal women suffering from osteoporosis, has achieved its primary endpoint in a phase III trial. Uni-PTH could be considered a biosimilar of Forteo (teriparatide, Eli Lilly and Co.). But since China has no pathway to prove biosimilarity, Uni-Bio took the drug through its paces as if it were a new drug. Read More
LONDON – Nature has withdrawn two papers on so-called STAP cells, which claimed a method for stimulating any kind of adult cell to acquire pluripotency, but denied any fault in publishing them, saying, "We have concluded that we and the referees could not have detected the problems that fatally undermined the papers." Read More
HONG KONG – Chinese pharmaceutical conglomerate Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. and Sellas Clinicals Holding AG have agreed to terminate an 8-month-old $530 million deal, which covered drug candidates for diabetes and cancer. Read More
Nicox SA is paying $65 million up front and could pay up to $55 million more in a cash-free, stock-based acquisition of Aciex Therapeutics Inc. that gives it a near-term shot at a product approval. Read More
LONDON – The UK is stepping up its efforts against antimicrobial resistance, forming an independent commission with a brief to draw up a global plan for encouraging and accelerating the discovery and development of new antibiotics. Read More
BioWorld is delighted to launch a new series of video interviews with key biopharmaceutical executives. Our editorial team chats with executives from around the world every day for articles. Read More
Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., of Novato, Calif., said it entered agreements for $70 million in funding from Healthcare Royalty Partners and its affiliates in a private placement. Read More
Insys Therapeutics Inc., of Phoenix, said the FDA granted orphan drug designation to cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a rare pediatric-onset epilepsy. Read More
Pharma Two B Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, said its ongoing phase IIb study of P2B001 to treat early stage Parkinson's disease (PD) expanded enrollment to 25 sites in the U.S. and Israel, with a goal of enrolling 150 patients. Read More
Galderma SA, of Lausanne, Switzerland, said the FDA granted orphan designation to its trifarotene molecule for the treatment of congenital ichthyosis. Trifarotene is a selective agonist of the gamma retinoic acid receptor, which currently is in development for other more common dermatological conditions. Read More
