DUBLIN – Dublin-based venture capital firm Fountain Healthcare Partners closed its third fund, Fountain Healthcare Partners Fund III, LP, with a raise of €118 million (US$131.5 million), which it will invest in biotech, specialty pharma and med-tech firms in Europe and, to a lesser extent, the U.S. Read More
Showing clear confidence that its investigational mu-opioid agonist, NKTR-181, will gain FDA approval this summer, Nektar Therapeutics Inc. is talking up a recently established subsidiary poised to launch and market the chronic back pain drug. The new entity, Inheris Biopharma Inc., "will lead all of the preparations for the potential commercialization of NKTR-181, as well as development of other CNS programs, enabling Nektar to remain focused on advancing our immuno-oncology and immunology development pipeline," said Howard Robin, Nektar's president and CEO. Read More
Word from the FDA to Axsome Therapeutics Inc. about the effort with its oral N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, AXS-05, in depression – and the company's accelerated push with the compound – had Wall Street watching the NMDA space with even more interest than usual. Read More
Barely a day goes by without news relating to cell and gene therapy companies being announced. Given the ongoing developments, it is not surprising that the sector continues to attract financing and business development remains robust, with biopharma companies ensuring that they secure a position in the space for themselves through partnering and acquisitions. Read More
A study led by Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) scientists has shown that subpopulations of lung cancer cells have different metabolic dependencies, highlighting the need to understand cellular metabolism within the context of tumor heterogeneity and promoting development of targeted therapies. Read More
With the next U.S. presidential campaign season less than a year away, it's no surprise that the bipartisan momentum that's been driving Congress to actually do something to lower prescription drug prices is getting mired in politics. Read More
Immunovant Inc., one of 14 'Vants in the Roivant Sciences Ltd. family, is initiating dosing in its phase IIa trial evaluating IMVT-1401 in patients with moderate to severe active Graves' ophthalmopathy. Read More
In its latest report on brand patent settlements with generic competitors, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that, despite an increase in the number of final Hatch-Waxman patent settlements in fiscal 2016, significantly fewer settlements included reverse payments that are likely to be anticompetitive. Read More
Obalon Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, said it entered definitive agreements with investors for the purchase and sale of 5 million shares at 60 cents each in a registered direct offering for gross proceeds of approximately $3 million before deducting fees and other estimated offering expenses. It intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes. Read More
Aprinoia Therapeutics Inc., of Taipei, Taiwan, was awarded a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research for the development of molecules that bind to alpha-synuclein to be used as tracers for photon emission tomography imaging. Read More
