Eastgate Biotech Corp., of Toronto, which focuses on developments specifically in insulin drug delivery for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, said it entered a definitive agreement with Genluiching Mining Corp., which will invest up to $5 million via several tranches. Read More
Clovis Oncology Inc., of Boulder, Colo., filed an 8-K Tuesday with the SEC disclosing that the SEC's Division of Enforcement has made a preliminary determination, or Wells Notice, recommending civil enforcement actions be filed against the company and some of its former and current officers. Read More
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., received a five-year award of up to $56 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to support preclinical and clinical development through phase II of INO-4500, a vaccine against Lassa fever, and INO-4700, a vaccine for Middle East respiratory syndrome. Read More
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shone a glaring spotlight on the state of the U.S. economy with a report that predicts that the federal budget deficit will reach $1 trillion in 2020 on its way to a deficit of more than $1.5 trillion eight years later. Perhaps even more disturbing for makers of drugs and devices is that Medicare spending has resumed its robust growth rate now that the recession is over, and may double to $1.5 trillion in 2028, roughly the same number as the overall budget deficit in 2028. Read More
In February, when Biogen Inc. said it was adding to the phase III effort with aducanumab in Alzheimer's disease (AD), language by the firm's chief medical officer (CMO), Alfred Sandrock, might have raised a red flag, or at least a pink one. "We did see more variability on the primary endpoint than assumed when we did the original sample size estimation, so we decided to increase the sample size" by 510 patients in the two studies, he said during a Leerink Partners health care conference. Read More
PARIS – Clinicians were the target audience during the first day of presentations at the International Liver Congress (ILC), hosted by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). On Wednesday morning, EASL interactive research think tanks – a new format at this year's ILC – examined emerging studies in eight areas of importance to treating physicians. Topics ranged from identification of targets and pharmacotherapy in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to options and trends in managing advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), new directions in treating liver disease and the integration of care for HCV infection and substance use among people who use drugs. Read More
The $3 billion bump in funding this year for the NIH seems to have whet the congressional appetite for even more support for the agency's life-changing research efforts in the year to come. Read More
