In the U.S., it costs about $15,000 to $20,000 and can take up to three years to process a biotech patent application. The time frame for the process in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations is comparable to that, but the costs are generally a lot less, and those nations also are taking resolute measures to dispel any apprehension, as well as any external challenges – such as theft-by-illegal-generics and corruption – that foreign-based drugmakers may perceive, or fear, to be an issue. Read More
WASHINGTON – Although the SEC told Congress it was doing what it could to amp up the rulemaking process to implement the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, it didn't hit its first deadline. Read More
LONDON – Decreasing levels of a protein in the brain are linked to a reduced ability to form long-term memories in aging animals, a study in mice suggested. Read More
Baxter Ventures, the $200 million venture fund launched in July 2011 by Baxter International Inc., is on target to complete its first year with three equity investments and expects to close one or two more by the end of 2012, putting the fund on track to commit its first $50 million, including average initial investments of $1 million to $5 million plus potential follow-on funding. Read More
• iCo Therapeutics Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said Euro Pacific Canada Inc. carried out an overnight marketed offering, confirming about C$2.6 million (US$2.6 million) in demand for equity units, representing about 5.7 million units at a price of C45 cents apiece. Read More
• Optimer Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., of Toronto, a unit of Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc., said Canadian regulators approved Dificid (fidaxomicin) for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection in patients 18 and older. The product, a macrocycle antibiotic, gained approval in the U.S. last year. Read More
• Biotie Therapies Oyj, of Turku, Finland, said it completed enrollment in its Phase IIb trial testing tozadenant in Parkinson's disease and expects top-line data to be available around the end of the year. The 420-patient study is designed to determine the efficacy of the selective adenosine 2A receptor inhibitor in reducing the mean number of hours per day patients spend in the "off" state. Read More
