Incyte Corp.'s decision to buy into the costly phase III development of baricitinib in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) looked even smarter Wednesday, upon release of top-line data showing the oral JAK1/2 inhibitor superior to top-selling drug Humira (adalimumab), potentially positioning it for a larger share of the crowded RA market than previously predicted. Read More
With would-be competition in the wings from Thar Pharmaceuticals Inc. in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), Axsome Therapeutics Inc. filed for an IPO that would raise as much as $57.5 million to fund AXS-02 (disodium zoledronate) in a phase III trial called Create-1 that began over the summer for that indication, and to boost efforts with AXS-05, a fixed-dose combination of dextromethorphan (DM) and bupropion, slated to enter phase III experiments next year in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Read More
NEW DELHI – Claiming that the unregulated proliferation of online sales of pharmaceuticals in India could put lives at risk and threaten their businesses, some 800,000 pharmacies shut down for a day on Oct. 14. Read More
LONDON – Biotech executives gathering for the Bioindustry Association's (BIA) annual forum in London Thursday will hear the cheery news that 2014 was the best year for financing to date, with the UK the "standout story" in the sector across Europe as a whole. Read More
Galera Therapeutics Inc. completed a $37 million series B designed to propel its pipeline of selective dismutase mimetics and move lead candidate, GC4419, into a randomized, double-blind phase IIb trial aimed to prevent oral mucositis (OM) in head and neck cancer patients receiving chemoradiation therapy. Read More
An ounce of prevention could be worth several pounds of cure when it comes to protecting clinical trials from the dangers lurking in social media. Read More
In an ambitious scheme to develop a pipeline of drug therapies targeting hearing loss, Third Rock Ventures backed Decibel Therapeutics with a $52 million series A to advance "disruptive discoveries in the physiology of the ear," as characterized by Third Rock partner Kevin Starr, who serves as Decibel's chairman and interim CEO. Read More
For two days, industry observers watched as shares of Zafgen Inc. plummeted for no apparent reason, losing more than half their value and driving analysts to speculate that disappointing data lay ahead for the company's lead candidate, beloranib. Read More
Contravir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Edison, N.J., said it closed its previously underwritten public offering of 5 million shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to 3 million shares of the company's common stock at a fixed combined price of $3. Read More
Innate Pharma SA, of Marseille, France, said it received a $5 million milestone payment from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of New York, as part of their licensing agreement for lirilumab. Read More
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said the phase III study testing the lower 72 mcg dose of linaclotide in adults with chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) met the primary endpoint. Read More
