Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. is mothballing its cystic fibrosis program and regrouping as an eye-care company after Phase III trials of denufosol tetrasodium ended in disappointment. Read More
A study published this week adds to the evidence that bones – far from being the "calcified tubes" that they were once considered – are organs that play active roles in both metabolism and fertility. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 29, 2009, and Feb. 9, 2010.) Read More
LONDON – Philogen SpA pulled its initial public offering on the Milan Stock Exchange after partner Bayer Schering Pharma AG peremptorily terminated a licensing and collaboration deal between the two for the development of vascular-targeting antibodies in the treatment of cancer. Read More
Acorda Therapeutics Inc., of Hawthorne, N.Y., reported net revenue of $52.3 million from fourth-quarter sales of multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra (dalfampridine). The drug, designed specifically to improve walking ability in MS patients, has been prescribed to about 40,000 people, or 10 percent of the U.S. MS population in the 10 months since its launch. Read More
Rosetta Genomics Ltd., of Rehovot, Israel, entered agreements with investors to purchase $6 million in securities in concurrent private placement and registered direct offerings. Read More
Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check LLP, of Radnor, Pa., filed a shareholder class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against MannKind Corp., of Valencia, Calif. Included among the allegations are that MannKind failed to disclose that inhaled insulin candidate Afrezza was riskier than the company had portrayed and that it was unlikely the FDA would approve Afrezza in the near future. Read More
Fibrocell Science Inc., of Exton, Pa., published results in The Laryngoscope of a five-patient pilot study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of autologous fibroblasts to treat vocal fold scarring. The study showed that autologous fibroblasts cultured and expanded in Fibrocell's cGMP facility and injected into the lamina propria layer of the vocal folds as an outpatient procedure appeared to be well tolerated and produced both objective and subjective improvements in voice quality that were sustained up to 12 months after treatment. Read More
Sanofi-Aventis SA's $20.1 billion acquisition of Genzyme Corp. has a number of Genzyme partners, analysts and investors wondering what happens next. Read More
