In the course of looking for therapeutic antibodies that could be used as a treatment for the influenza virus, researchers have identified antibodies that are able to fight multiple strains of the flu, giving scientists new hope that a universal flu vaccine is a realistic option. Read More
Stock in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. fell 6.7 percent Thursday after the Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based company said it would extend the enrollment period for a trial of peramivir for hospitalized influenza patients. The company revised its clinical trial design for the study in response to feedback from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Read More
An item in BioWorld Today, Jan. 12, 2011, should have stated that Astex Therapeutics Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, received an undisclosed milestone payment from Novartis AG triggered by the initiation of a clinical trial of LEE011, an oncology candidate being developed by the companies under a 2005 collaboration aimed at cell cycle inhibitors. Read More
Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, agreed to sell up to $25 million in shares of its Series 8 nonconvertible preferred stock, warrants to purchase up to 22,563,177 shares of common stock and an additional investment right to purchase up to $25 million in shares of its Series 9 convertible preferred stock in a registered offering to an unnamed life sciences institutional investor. Read More
Evotec AG, of Frankfurt, Germany, received a milestone payment of €2 million (US$2.67 million) from Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, of Ingelheim, Germany. Read More
Lorus Therapeutics Inc., of Toronto, enrolled the first cancer patient in a Phase I study evaluating its small-molecule anticancer drug candidate LOR-253. Read More
Benitec Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, received from the European Patent Office a Communication of Intent to grant application 2005 727 680 titled "Multiple promoter expression cassettes for simultaneous delivery of RNAi agents." Read More
SAN FRANCISCO – If there was a trifecta for biotechs developing new weight-loss therapies, presentations by Vivus Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. Wednesday at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference would have given you a pretty good idea of who to pick for win, place and show. Read More
SAN FRANCISCO – As the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference wrapped up yesterday, the BioWorld Today team compared notes and observations about the meeting, which reported the largest-ever number of attendees (8,680 registered attendees, 1,400 more than last year) in its 29-year history. Read More
