Congress is awash in a flood of new and reintroduced bills aimed at taming prescription drug prices in the U.S., but none of them follows in the wake of the administration's proposal to remove the safe harbor for the current rebate system. Read More
Just months after hitting an all-time low, shares of Immune Design Corp. (NASDAQ:IMDZ) rocketed 310 percent higher Thursday to $5.82 as Merck & Co. Inc. moved to buy the immunotherapy developer for $5.85 cash per share, or about $300 million. The deal focuses on a portfolio of approaches to cancer immunization, adjuvant systems and technologies designed to enhance the ability of a vaccine to protect against infection, said Roger Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories. Read More
When a woman in Cork, Ireland, cutting off her own right index finger to relieve her pain made headlines recently, the mainstream media brought to popular knowledge the condition with which she had been diagnosed: chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a devilish affliction being pursued by the likes of New York-based Axsome Therapeutics Inc. and the Grunenthal GmbH, of Aachen, Germany. Read More
Blocking the CCR5 receptor on neurons enhanced the recovery from stroke and traumatic brain injury in animal studies, and patients with the delta32 mutation in CCR5, which renders the receptor nonfunctional, showed better recovery after mild to moderate stroke in the TABASCO clinical trial. Read More
In another instance of a state trying to wag the federal government, California's attorney general and a state legislator unveiled legislation Wednesday to prohibit pay-for-delay, or reverse payment, settlements between brand drug companies and generics. Read More
HONG KONG – Clinical-stage biotech Guangzhou Magpie Pharmaceutical Inc. closed a series B financing round and raised nearly ¥100 million (US$14.8 million) to move its first-in-class core asset for the treatment of ischemic stroke and other drug candidates further into the clinic. Sangel Capital is backing the round on its own. Read More
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new reported on global health expenditure, revealing that health spending is growing faster than the rest of the global economy, accounting for 10 percent of gross domestic product. Read More
Theratechnologies Inc., of Montreal, reported that for its fiscal year ending Nov. 30, it recorded record revenue with net sales of $58.55 million, up 36.6 percent from the previous year. Read More
Hoth Therapeutics Inc., of New York, which is developing targeted therapeutics for patients suffering from indications such as atopic dermatitis, closed its IPO of 1.25 million shares at $5.60 each, resulting in gross proceeds of $7 million. In addition, the company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 187,500 shares at the IPO. Read More
Anixa Biosciences Inc., of San Jose, Calif., said it extended its collaboration with The Wistar Institute to focus on understanding the role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in cancer progression and how they can be used in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Read More
