Once thought to be useless junk of the genome, long noncoding RNA is getting some serious attention as a source of druggable targets. And that interest helped RaNA Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., land a $20.7 million Series A financing round led by Atlas Venture, SR One and Monsanto Co. – with participation by Partners Innovation Fund – to get its lncRNA discovery platform off the ground. Read More
Columbia Laboratories Inc.'s attempt to find a niche for its Prochieve progesterone gel to reduce the risk of preterm birth may have raised more questions than answers, at least as far as the FDA is concerned. Read More
LONDON – BTG plc is celebrating its first regulatory approval after the FDA gave the nod to Voraxaze, an antidote to the chemotherapeutic methotrexate. Read More
• Huya Bioscience International LLC, of San Diego, entered an agreement with Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Research (TIPR) in Tianjin, China, to promote new drug development in China and worldwide. Under the terms, Huya will have the first opportunity to evaluate certain R&D projects conducted at TIPR and agreed to provide support and assistance as needed. Read More
• Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Rockville, Md., received approval from the Hungarian Regulatory Authority and Ethics Committee for its initial clinical trial application to begin a Phase I trial of RX-3117. Preclinical studies showed anticancer activity. The company plans to explore its potential in a broad range of cancers including colon, lung and pancreatic. Read More
