In an unrequired, head-to-head trial, Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co.'s weekly diabetes candidate Bydureon came up short against Novo Nordisk A/S' daily Victoza. Read More
LONDON – Renovo plc is shutting up the shop, announcing plans to cut more than 100 of its 110 staff and halt all clinical development, after an analysis of the failed Phase III trial of its scar prevention treatment Juvista concluded the product is ineffective. Read More
Following the decision last year by GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) to dial down its neuroscience research activities, Targacept Inc. has yanked its strategic alliance with GSK, effective May 29. Read More
InterMune Inc.'s idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) drug pirfenidone still faces some regulatory hurdles in the U.S., but the Brisbane, Calif.-based company is set to roll out its commercialization force in Europe this fall following official marketing authorization of pirfenidone, branded Esbriet, in mild to moderate IPF. Read More
Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp., of Calgary, Alberta, filed a final short-form base shelf prospectus with the securities commissions in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia allowing the company to offer common shares, warrants or units for initial aggregate proceeds of up to $15 million during the next 25 months. Read More
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., started a Phase II trial of IPI-926, an oral molecule designed to inhibit Smoothened, in patients with metastatic or locally advanced inoperable chondrosarcoma. The study is expected to enroll more than 100 patients and will compare IPI-926 to placebo, with progression-free survival as the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints include time to progression, overall survival, overall response rate and response duration. Infinity also reported that the FDA granted orphan drug status of IPI-926 in chondrosarcoma. Read More
Oxygen Biotherapeutics Inc., of Morrisville, N.C., received a $2.075-million, two-year grant from the U.S. Army to study its Oxycyte perfluorocarbon (PFC) emulsion as a therapeutic intervention to reduce brain damage in victims of traumatic brain injury. PFC emulsions interact with the reticuloendothelial system as part of the clearance mechanism and affect the number of circulating platelets. The preclinical studies supported by the Army grant will examine the effects of Oxycyte on the immune system, platelet function and distribution, as well as the safety and efficacy of platelet transfusion. Read More
Since it was founded in 2003 by a group that included 2000 Nobel Prize winner Paul Greengard, privately held Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. has focused on developing drugs for central nervous system disorders like schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Seldom seeking attention from the press, the company generally flew under the biotech industry radar. Read More
Lycera Corp. will partner with Merck and Co. Inc. to develop a new class of drugs that target the T-helper 17 (Th17) cells by means of the retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) transcription factor. Th17 cells produce the pro-inflammatory molecule IL-17. Read More
