• Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, is acquiring specialty dermatology generics company Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Melville, N.Y., from a Nordic Capital-led consortium for nearly $1 .53 billion in cash. Fougera will become part of Sandoz, Novartis' generic drug division. Read More
• FibroGen Inc., of San Francisco, said it expanded an ongoing Phase II study of GF-3019, a human monoclonal antibody against connective tissue growth factor, in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Read More
• Exelixis Inc., of South San Francisco, expanded its cabozantinib development program under a cooperative research and development agreement with the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program. Read More
• iTeos Therapeutics SA, of Gosselies, Belgium, said it raised €3 million (US$3.9 million) in a Series A round from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), Hunza Ventures SCA, Life Sciences Research Partners, VIVES Louvain Technology Fund and several business angels. Read More
• Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, reported a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter, posting a non-GAAP net loss of $43.5 million, or 68 cents per share, compared to consensus estimates predicting a loss of $63 cents per share. Read More
NEW YORK – Revenue losses due to patent expirations, an increasingly complicated regulatory landscape and erratic results in getting drugs to market are key dynamics forcing biopharmas to take a look in the mirror and acknowledge the need for change, according to a panel at the New York Biotechnology Association 21st annual meeting this week. Read More
Variations in the makeup of the commensal bacteria that colonize our intestines, or gut microbiome, are an intensively studied contributor to health in and beyond the gut. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 3, 2007, and April 23, 2012.) Read More
WASHINGTON – When it comes to discovering new uses for failed drugs, serendipity is about to be replaced by translational science in what National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins is calling a "win-win-win" pilot program for researchers, industry and patients. Read More
