If any doubt remained regarding the potential of nucleoside analogue drugs to treat hepatitis C virus, the $2.5 billion offer for Inhibitex Inc. by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. should have put it to rest. Closely following Gilead Sciences Inc.'s acquisition of a similar technology in its $11 billion purchase of Pharmasset Inc., the deal makes it clear that a nuc is now a must-have weapon in the HCV arsenal. Read More
SAN FRANCISCO – Heightened security in the wake of the Occupy Wall Street movement didn't deter more than 8,000 participants who flocked to San Francisco for the 30th J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Read More
Forma Therapeutics Inc. pulled another $700 million trick from its sleeve, just a few days after signing an $815 million deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Read More
Canadian biopharma Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. has nabbed a deal that could be worth more than $600 million. The collaboration with Roche Holdings AG member Genentech Inc. intends to discover and develop compounds and companion diagnostics for the treatment of pain. Read More
Providing an early sales glance, Amgen Inc. CEO-elect Bob Bradway reported Monday that the company's denosumab franchise, consisting of Xgeva and Prolia, generated more than $500 million in revenue in 2011, their first full year on the market. Read More
• Senesco Technologies Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J., entered into a securities purchase agreement to raise $2 million through the sale of 7.69 million shares of common stock. Outside investors also will receive 50 percent warrant coverage at an exercise price of $0.286 per share. Each unit was priced at 26 cents each. Net proceeds are expected to cover working capital and research and development as well as general corporate purposes. The company is developing SNS01-T in multiple myeloma and other B-cell cancers. Read More
• Apricus Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, entered a licensing agreement granting Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., the exclusive rights to market Vitaros (alprostadil), Apricus Bio's treatment for erectile dysfunction, in Canada. Abbott will commercialize and market Vitaros in Canada where the drug was approved by Health Canada in late 2010, with launch anticipated in 2012. Read More
• BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Birmingham, Ala., reported long-term results from the extension phase of its randomized Phase IIb study of BCX4208 added to allopurinol in patients with gout who had failed to reach the serum uric acid OR sUA therapeutic goal of < 6 mg/dL on allopurinol alone. The company said the results confirmed that BCX4208 was generally safe and well tolerated, and sustained sUA control over time. Read More
