DUBLIN – Crispr Therapeutics AG raised $64 million in new funding, bringing in two heavyweight strategic investors, London-based Glaxosmithkline plc, through its SR One venture capital arm, and Celgene Corp., to advance its development of novel therapies based on Crispr-Cas9, the genome editing technology that has taken the academic world by storm since its emergence in 2012. Read More
After months of bipartisan negotiations, a House subcommittee yesterday released its 2.0 discussion draft of the 21st Century Cures Act that fills one of the holes in the first version released in January – provisions to bolster funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read More
SHANGHAI – Beigene Co. Ltd. has three candidates currently in phase I trials in Australia and has revealed the science and possible indications behind the cancer compounds: BGB-283, a second generation inhibitor of B-RAF; BGB-290, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor and BGB-3111 inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK). Read More
Sanbio Inc., a small trans-Pacific cell therapy company leveraging Japan's efforts to foster regenerative medicine development, has completed an IPO of shares (TYO:4592) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to help it advance SB623, its lead mesenchymal stem cell-based treatment for chronic stroke. Read More
Not unexpectedly the FDA gave the green light to Kythera Biopharma Inc.'s fat reduction drug Kybella (deoxycholic acid), as a treatment for adults with moderate-to-severe fat below the chin, known as submental fat. Read More
Two concurrently published papers showed yesterday that patients with the T790M resistance mutation responded at high rates to either rociletinib (CO-1686, Clovis Oncology Inc.) or AZD9291 (mereletinib, Astrazeneca plc). Read More
With the goal of providing the first oral option for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Tyrogenex Inc. launched a phase II study of X-82, a drug that could also be differentiated in the crowded AMD market by its dual action, inhibiting both VEGF and PDGF. Read More
In the heady days when venture capital (VC) was flowing like a waterfall, not-for-profit support of biotech endeavors was considered – by both parties – as a type of gravy, sometimes with the end goal of producing a scientific paper but rarely with a clinical milestone in mind. Read More
Novogen Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said it completed the placement to U.S. institutional investors of 51.75 million ordinary shares, raising a total of $15.525 million. Read More
Biogen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Abbvie Inc., of North Chicago, said the FDA accepted for review the companies' biologics license application for Zinbryta (daclizumab high-yield process) for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Read More
Ascendis Pharma A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said its phase I single-ascending dose study of Transcon Treprostinil produced dose-dependent increases in plasma treprostinil levels in line with expectations. Read More
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA, of Deerfield, Ill., said they reached an agreement to resolve most of the Actos (pioglitazone HCl) product liability lawsuits pending in the U.S. Read More
