Three weeks ago, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. CEO Ron Bentsur faced tough questions at the 31st Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco about continuing delays in reporting long-term Phase III data on Zerenex (ferric citrate) for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis. Read More
Less than a month after BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. acquired Zacharon Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $10 million up front plus potential milestone payments, Avalon Ventures has scored another win in Afraxis Inc.'s potential $187.5 million licensing deal with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. Read More
Biogen Idec Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings missed estimates, but Wall Street barely noticed as revenue topped expectations, driven largely by steady growth in multiple sclerosis (MS) drugs Avonex (interferon beta-1a) and Tysabri (natalizumab), with investors already looking ahead to the much-anticipated launch of oral MS drug BG-12. Read More
The FDA's marketing clearance of three alogliptin-containing drugs for Type II diabetes as adjuncts to diet and exercise sent Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc. on a happy Wall Street ride, at the same time causing onlookers to speculate about what the approvals might mean for the obesity candidate Contrave, which – like alogliptin – is partnered with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Read More
While the FDA is still waiting for its first biosimilar application to be submitted, a few states – with the encouragement of patient advocacy groups and the biopharma industry – are already casting a safety net for when interchangeable biologics hit the U.S. market. Read More
Bone Therapeutics SA raised €7.7 million (US$10.4 million) in new financing as a prelude to a larger round, as it seeks to expand the indication range for its cell therapy product Preob. Read More
Shares in Active Biotech AB fell almost 13 percent Monday on news that its immunotherapy Anyara missed the primary endpoint of a Phase II/III trial in advanced renal cell cancer. Read More
• BGI-Shenzhen, of Shenzhen, China, extended its all-cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock in Complete Genomics Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., through Feb. 1. The offer would otherwise have expired Jan. 25. Read More
• Medivir AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said it entered a nonexclusive collaboration between Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., part of Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, N.J., and Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., for the clinical development of an all-oral (interferon-free) direct-acting antiviral (DAA) hepatitis C (HCV) combination therapy. Read More
• Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, of Bridgewater, N.J., said it entered a license and distribution deal with Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of South Kora, for exclusive distribution rights to Hanmi's new drug application, currently under FDA review, for esomeprazole strontium delayed-release capsules. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read More
