Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Biotech Inc. is committing $30 million up front, plus up to $787 million in milestones to Aduro Biotech Inc. for an exclusive global license to a lung cancer treatment based on Aduro's Listeria-based immunotherapy platform. Read More
The surveillance agency of Brazil's Ministry of Health (Anvisa) suspended on Thursday the distribution and commercialization of the meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine Meningitec, following a global recall by its owner Nuron Biotech Inc., of Exton, Pa. Read More
LONDON – Adaptimmune Ltd. has released the first positive clinical data of its second-generation T-cell immunotherapy in a solid tumor, reporting four of five patients with advanced synovial sarcoma have responded to the treatment. Read More
The industry has reached a tipping point with regard to women in higher-ranking positions, said Wende Hutton, general partner with venture capital (VC) firm Canaan Partners. Read More
The social pressures leading to eating disorders are well known. But the disorder also has a biological component. Genetic studies have uncovered variants that are associated with the risk of developing anorexia, and twin studies suggest they may be a larger contributor to who will become anorexic or bulimic than social pressures. Read More
With nearly 10,000 confirmed cases of Ebola and the World Health Organization (WHO) expecting up to another 10,000 new Ebola infections per week in West Africa, the need for a vaccine has never been more apparent. Read More
Esperion Therapeutics Inc., of Ann Arbor, Mich., said it priced an underwritten public offering of 4.2 million shares of its common stock at $20 each for expected gross proceeds of $85 million. Read More
Batu Biologics Inc., of San Diego, said it signed a license agreement with the Regents of the University of California, gaining exclusive rights to peptide drugs developed at UC San Diego that have been proven to stimulate cancer-killing immune responses. Read More
Pharmacyclics Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., said it entered a master clinical drug supply agreement with Roche AG, of Basel, Switzerland, to evaluate safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of Imbruvica (ibrutinib), an oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in combination with Gazyva (obinutuzumab), a CD20-directed antibody, in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). Read More
Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, said it plans to conclude production and pursue a sale of one of its three manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico. The facility, located in Guayama, will remain in operation until the end of 2015. Read More
Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, said immunotherapy, CTL019, that was the subject of a study partly funded by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) over the past 22 years and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that 90 percent of children and adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) achieved complete remission after receiving the investigational personalized cellular therapy. Read More
