Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has agreed to pay Molecular Templates Inc. $30 million up front and potential milestone payments of as much as $632.5 million should the Austin, Texas-based company choose to co-develop CD38-targeted engineered toxin bodies (ETB) for the treatment of patients with diseases such as multiple myeloma. News of the deal lifted Molecular Templates' shares (NASDAQ:MTEM) 52.4 percent higher on Wednesday to $6.25. Read More
DUBLIN – Shares in Pharming Group fell 21 percent Wednesday on news that the FDA issued a complete response letter to its supplementary BLA for Ruconest (conestat alfa) for preventing hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks. The agency has requested an additional clinical trial to allow for further evaluation of the drug's effectiveness in the prophylactic setting. Read More
LONDON – Shield Therapeutics plc is "back in control of its own destiny" after securing an immediate £11 million (US$14.5 million) payment as part of an exclusive commercialization agreement for its Feraccru iron replacement therapy. Read More
Science prides itself on being a rational endeavor. But scientists, though they collectively skew more toward Dr. Spock than Dr. Phil as far as personality is concerned, are not immune to the often irrational ways in which our species makes decisions. Research is a cultural activity, and subject to the same cognitive shortcuts and cultural pressures as other cultural activities. Read More
Silverback Therapeutics Inc. lifted the shades on its secretive operation just enough to reveal an extension of its series A round, previously cited only in SEC filings, to $47.5 million. The financing was led by existing investor Orbimed with participation from new investors Celgene Corp. and Alexandria Venture Investments. Read More
G1 Therapeutics Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said it priced an underwritten public offering of 3 million shares at $60 each, for total gross proceeds of $180 million. The underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 450,000 shares. Read More
Propanc Biopharma Inc., of Melbourne, Australia, disclosed the execution of a research collaboration agreement with the University of Jaén in Spain, for the provision of research services and scientific technical advice for the company's POP1 drug discovery program. The goal for the program is to synthesize and develop a backup clinical compound to the company's lead product candidate, PRP. Read More
With the U.S. Senate voting 93-7 Tuesday to adopt the conference report for an $855.1 billion bill that will fund the departments of Defense, Labor, Education and Health and Human Services (HHS) in fiscal 2019, the NIH and most of the other HHS agencies are on track to escape the cycle of continuing resolutions that have become the norm for too many years. For that to happen, though, the House has to approve the bill and the president has to sign it before midnight Sept. 30. Read More
Bioxcel Therapeutics Inc., of New Haven, Conn., appointed Chetan D. Lathia senior vice president and head, translational medicine, clinical pharmacology and regulatory affairs. Read More
