Endocyte Inc.'s stock jumped 25 percent Tuesday on news that it would be applying for marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency for two of its products: ovarian cancer candidate EC145 and a companion imaging diagnostic EC20 for patient selection. Read More
Akebia Therapeutics Inc. raised $22 million in a Series B preferred stock financing that will allow the privately held company to complete two Phase IIb studies for its anemia drug, AKB-6548, and position the program for pivotal studies. Read More
Superoxide dismutase (SOD) mutations were the first, and are still the most studied, genetic causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. But such mutations account for only a small percentage of all ALS cases. Read More
Kuros Biosurgery AG's longstanding relationship with Baxter International Inc. has dwindled to just one development program following a decision by the latter to hand back rights to three programs it had previously licensed: KUR-111, KUR-113 and KUR-115. Read More
Acucela Inc., of Seattle, reported findings in Retina: The Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases about the safety and tolerability of ACU-4429, its small-molecule visual cycle modulator, in a single-center, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation Phase I study. Data from the trial demonstrated a well-tolerated, dose-dependent modulation of the visual cycle using electroretinography. Read More
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Worcester, Mass., received two SBIR grants from the National Institutes of Health. A $304,559 Phase I grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke will fund an ongoing collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to develop RNAi therapeutics for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders. Read More
