Although its $36.3-million acquisition of privately held CyDex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lenexa, Kan., is the fourth in the last 28 months for Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., CEO John Higgins described it as "transformational" and a "game changer." Read More
Celgene Corp.'s fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings of $347.6 million, and its 2010 net non-GAAP earnings of $1.315 billion allowed it to end the year on a positive note. A 45 percent increase in Revlimid sales, at $2.47 billion, led the surge in earnings, with Vidaza also on the rise, and Thalomid and Abraxane contributing solidly. Celgene guidance calls for further growth in 2011. Read More
A week after disclosing plans for an upcoming Phase II/III trial of placenta-derived cell therapy PLX-PAD in critical limb ischemia (CLI), Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. is securing some much-needed funding in a public offering. Read More
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Worcester, Mass., reported its collaboration with miRagen Therapeutics Inc., of Boulder, Colo., demonstrated that RXi's self-delivering rxRNA (sd-rxRNA) technology could be used in vitro to enhance the activity of a microRNA of interest to miRagen. Read More
Provectus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Knoxville, Tenn., completed patient accrual and treatment of subjects in its Phase I trial of PV-10 for liver cancer. The study involved six subjects with cancer metastatic to the liver or with recurrent liver cancer, with the goal of determining the safety and tolerability of a single intralesional injection of PV-10. Read More
