Cynata Therapeutics Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said it entered a preliminary agreement, as the first step in a potential alliance, with Regience KK, of Tokyo, for Japan and certain other Asian countries. Read More

Alimera Sciences Inc., of Atlanta, finished 2015 at 167 percent above the previous year's revenue, thanks mainly to Iluvien (fluocinolone acetonide) for diabetic macular edema. The product sold $22.4 million globally, the firm said, in line with expectations set during the third quarter earnings call last year. Read More

HONG KONG – China's Wuxi Biologics Co. Ltd. managed a breakthrough by getting a biological product it manufactures approved in the use of clinical trials in Belgium, making it the first-ever China-made biologic dosed in a clinical trial in the European Union (EU). Read More

By comparing the genomic landscape of multiple metastases from the same patient to each other, and to the primary tumor, scientists have shown that prostate cancer metastases within the same patient were similar to each other in terms of their mutations and gene expression profiles. Read More

Mandatory vs. discretionary spending is shaping up to be this year's budget bugaboo for increases in spending at the U.S. NIH to support much needed biomedical research and publicly lauded initiatives such as the cancer moonshot and precision medicine. Read More

Positive data from a phase I/II trial of Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc.'s experimental therapy for CLN2, a type of the lysosomal storage disorder Batten disease, has the company cruising toward midyear regulatory filings with an eye to gaining approvals for the drug during the first half of 2017. Read More

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. managed to squeak through the IPO window but not before slashing its price to $12, below its proposed range of $14 to $16, to collect $52.8 million – well below its initial target raise of approximately $81 million. Read More

DUBLIN – Autolus Ltd. bagged £40 million (US$56.6 million) in a series B round to take forward its next-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell technology, a little more than a year after it took in £30 million in series A funding. Read More

Biopharmx Corp., of Menlo Park, Calif., said it is starting a phase IIa study for BPX-01, a hydrophilic formulation of the well-established drug minocycline. The study will assess effectiveness in reducing the number of acne-causing bacteria in patients at four weeks and will evaluate the drug's safety and tolerability. Preclinical studies have found the gel formulation of minocycline in BPX-01 can deliver the antibiotic to the layer of skin where the condition develops, suggesting that the skin penetration needed to reach an efficacious dose in humans while minimizing systemic exposure is possible. Read More