Prevention, the old saying goes, is the best medicine. But in 2011, a clinical trial demonstrated medicine can also be prevention – an insight that was named Breakthrough of the Year by Science magazine and its publishing society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read More
WASHINGTON – It's a scenario that invokes all the imagery of blockbuster disaster movies. A terrorist attacks the U.S. with the deadly smallpox virus, causing pandemonium and chaos in a country where only people older than 40 are generally vaccinated against the disease. Read More
PharmacoFore Inc., of San Carlos, Calif., received a $10 million equity financing from a venture fund operated by magnates from the social networking world. Founders Fund partner Ken Howery was a co-founder of PayPal, and its roster of partners includes notable PayPal and Facebook execs. Companies in its portfolio include Facebook, Spotify and SpaceX. Read More
A day after inking a potential $251 million agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. to license out its phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)-delta research and development program, Exelixis Inc. trimmed its pipeline further, agreeing to terminate the preclinical programs that were part of a blockbuster 2009 PI3K collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis SA, of Paris. Read More
BioWorld's offices were closed Friday, Dec. 23, and Monday, Dec. 26, in observance of the Christmas Day holiday. No issues were published those days. Read More
Biotie Therapies Oyj closed out the year exactly as planned – with a product undergoing regulatory review in Europe. Development partner H. Lundbeck A/S disclosed on Dec. 21 that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had accepted for review its marketing authorization application (MAA) for nalmefene to treat alcohol dependence. Read More
• Compass Biotechnologies Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, formed four operational divisions to develop and commercialize products in women's reproductive health; hepatitis antiviral drugs and prophylactic vaccines; recombinant protein therapeutics called biobetters; and cytokine reagents, diagnostics and growth factor supplements for the cell culture and biotech manufacturing industries. The company said it engaged advisors to raise approximately $5 million as a bridge financing in the first quarter of 2012, with a larger secondary offering expected later in the year. Read More
• Protox Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, completed dosing of the second cohort in its transrectal study of PRX302 for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. PRX302 is a genetically engineered version of the pore forming protein proaerolysin designed to disrupt membrane integrity in prostate cells. Read More
Researchers from the University of California at Irvine and Kyushu University in Japan reported new studies, which "reveal the potential and possible limitations of using synthetic polymer nanoparticles as plastic antidotes." Read More
