After nine months of planning, Biogen Inc. delivered its bouncing baby, Bioverativ Inc. The Waltham, Mass.-based spinout emerged with two profitable products, a pipeline of candidates in hemophilia and rare blood diseases, $325 million in cash and no debt, 400 employees and a very large appetite for dealmaking and clinical development. Read More
Despite all the advances in drug research and development, the human proteome remains largely untapped – of the estimated 20,000 proteins, only about 600 are currently targeted by FDA-approved drugs. That leaves a lot of opportunity on the table for Vividion Therapeutics Inc., a San Diego-based firm launching Thursday with a $50 million series A investment co-led by Arch Venture Partners and Versant Ventures. Read More
"We're doing the bold thing" by going for phase III superiority [rather than non-inferiority] vs. standard of care with an antibiotic in Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection, Summit Therapeutics plc CEO Glyn Edwards told BioWorld Today, and it's going to cost about $100 million. Read More
In a situation analogous to BRCA-mutated tumors, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations led to defects in DNA damage repair and rendered tumor cells vulnerable to poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, researchers have reported. Read More
In another shot at escalating drug prices, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill this week to encourage generic competition by offering a new priority review voucher (PRV) program. Read More
Immunic AG, of Martinsried, Germany, a company spun out by 4SC AG, said it has expanded its series A round of financing, which now totals €21.7 million (US$23.3 million). Read More
Galena Biopharma Inc., of San Ramon, Calif., reported that its president and CEO, Mark W. Schwartz, resigned on Tuesday, and the board anticipates naming an interim CEO in a few weeks. Read More
Xoma Corp., of Berkeley, Calif., said it established proof of concept for product candidate 358, a fully human negative allosteric modulating insulin receptor antibody, in congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and hypoglycemia post-bariatric surgery (PBS). Read More
