Onconova Therapeutics Inc. priced its shares higher than expected in an initial public offering (IPO), and Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc., also pricing, rolled out 1 million more shares than originally targeted, to settle in the midrange of the targeted cost per share. Read More

Despite the proliferation of biotech initial public offerings (IPO) this year – including two that priced yesterday (see the related story in this issue) – Adimab LLC is distinctly disinterested in the public markets. And the Lebanon, N.H., firm can well afford to remain private. Early Friday morning, the company disclosed two more in a string of lucrative deals that catapulted it to profitability just three years after its 2007 launch. Read More

Mergers and acquisitions have always been a regular staple in the biotech industry . . . until this year that is. Can it be possible that there won't be at least one blockbuster deal executed by the end of December? Read More

If the FDA wants innovators to share their risk evaluation and management strategies (REMS) with competitors, it needs to come up with guidance, and possibly incentives, to ensure fair play, a former FDA attorney told the agency Thursday as it kicked off a two-day public meeting on how best to standardize and evaluate REMS. Read More

Biogen Idec Inc., of Weston, Mass., blasted consensus sales estimates for multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) out of the water, turning in $192 million in its second quarter earnings, compared to the $75 million expected by the street. The company's total revenues were $1.7 billion for the second quarter, up 21 percent over the second quarter of 2012. Read More

The tumor suppressor PTEN is "probably second only to P53 in the number of deletions and mutations we see in cancer," Vuk Stambolic told BioWorld Today. Read More

• Provectus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Knoxville, Tenn., said an article published in PLOS One, based on a study conducted at the Moffitt Cancer Center examining the immunologic mechanism of PV-10 in murine models of breast cancer and melanoma, concluded intralesional administration of the drug reduced the growth of directly injected tumors and led to the induction of a robust antitumor T-cell response. Read More

• Adaptimmune Ltd., of Oxford, UK, opened a Phase I/IIa, multiple-site, two-cohort, open-label trial in ovarian cancer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., and City of Hope in Duarte, Calif. Researchers will investigate the safety, bioactivity and effectiveness of treating patients with their own T cells after genetically engineering the cells to enhance their antitumor properties. Read More

• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, and Lonza Group, of Basel, Switzerland, said they decided to discontinue their collaboration for the development, manufacturing and marketing of biosimilars following a strategic review of the Teva-Lonza Joint Venture. Read More