Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is an innate immune protein whose function is well described by its name. However, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that STING also has a role in activating autophagy. Read More
LONDON – An academic at King's College London has sealed a $340 million biotech-style deal with Merck & Co. Inc. for novel ion channel inhibitors for treating chronic pain. Read More
Formation Biologics Inc., a company more commonly called Forbius that's developing biologics for fibrosis and cancer, has dosed the first patient in a phase IIa study designed to evaluate its EGFR-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, AVID-100, in patients with EGFR-overexpressing squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Read More
Cerebral Therapeutics Inc. CEO Dan Abrams told BioWorld that his firm's closing of the $7.8 million extension to its series A financing by Granite Point Capital Management LP and Vivo Capital LLC should "allow us to do a substantial phase II trial" that will bring an epilepsy drug-device combo therapy to the next level. Read More
The announcement from Scott Gottlieb that he was resigning as FDA commissioner took the industry by surprise, and the news weighed heavily on biopharmaceutical equities, with the BioWorld Biopharmaceutical index falling almost 4 percent by market close Thursday. The drop in value was greater than that experienced in the general markets, with the Nasdaq Composite index and Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 2 and 1.3 percent, respectively, over the same three-day period. Read More
SEATTLE – Clinical trial data for both approved and experimental HIV drugs were presented on the last day of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). Read More
SHANGHAI – By most measures, the inaugural Wuxi Healthcare Forum last week was a success. The free event was attended by more than 2,000 mostly Chinese participants, many of whom stood in the aisles of the swanky St. Regis Shanghai Jingan ballroom to hear about China's role in the future of health care. Read More
Clementia Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Montreal, obtained an interim order from the Québec Superior Court that will allow the company to hold a special meeting of shareholders on April 9 to vote on its proposed acquisition by Paris-based Ipsen SA. Read More
Scynexis Inc., of Jersey City, N.J., disclosed the sale of a $16 million aggregate principal amount of 6 percent convertible senior notes due 2025, in a private offering to Puissance Capital Management. Proceeds will retire the existing term loan set to mature in the third quarter of 2020, the company said. Read More
Offering new guidance on amending challenged patent claims, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) designated its order in Lectrosonics Inc. v. Zaxcom Inc. as precedential. Read More
