Off to a strong start with $102 million in series A money, Gritstone Oncology Inc.'s research with immunotherapies based on tumor-specific neoantigens (TSNAs) will first try the vaccine strategy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) – a "big idea that merits some detailed attention and effort," CEO, president and co-founder Andrew Allen told BioWorld Today. Read More
LONDON - The UK government has delivered on a commitment to boost investment in Alzheimer's disease, bringing six pharmaceutical companies together in the formation of a $100 million Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF). Read More
HONG KONG – South Korean biotech Genexine Inc. licensed out three of its compounds for $100 million to a Chinese drug developer, exploring the Asian market for next-generation long-acting growth hormone treatments. Read More
SAN FRANCISCO – With widespread excitement about immuno-oncology combinations driving deals, the pressure to find synergies has never been greater. The opportunities are creating new challenges for companies big and small, executives at the 2015 BIO Investor Forum said Tuesday. Read More
A biotechnology company developing an alternative to current dialysis access products raised $150 million in a committed series B preferred stock financing, making it the largest B round this year, according to BioWorld Snapshots. Read More
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted an Oct. 20 public meeting on a recent notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for human subject research protections, and the members of the HHS staff on hand were available to clarify issues such as the conditions under which de-identified biospecimens could be used without consent. Read More
People managing chronic conditions and rare diseases are the "alpha geeks" who epitomize how digital communications channels and social media can be best used to promote the NIH's goal of translating discovery research into health. Read More
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, is seeking an expedited hearing in federal district court on its challenge of the FDA approval earlier this month of Dublin-based Alkermes plc's schizophrenia drug Aristada (aripiprazole lauroxil). Read More
Merus BV, of Utrecht, the Netherlands, filed an F-1 seeking to raise up to $60 million in a U.S. IPO. The company, which raised $80.5 million in a series C round earlier this year to support its bispecific antibody approach in immuno-oncology, is seeking to list on Nasdaq under the ticker MRUS. Read More
Femtogenix Ltd., of London, was formed by King's College London and Research Corporation Technologies (RCT) of Tucson, Ariz., with RCT also providing undisclosed series A funding for the venture. Read More
Bluebird Bio Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported data at the Cooley's Anemia Foundation Symposium in Chicago, including an update from one subject with beta-thalassemia major treated in 2007 in the LG001 study using the firm's first-generation HPV569 lentiviral vector. Read More
