DUBLIN – European biotechnology is on course for a new high-water mark in terms of equity funding, after a strong performance in the third quarter, particularly among listed firms raising additional cash. In total, European biotech firms engaged in drug development raised $2.489 billion during the third quarter, in disclosed transactions tracked by BioWorld. The sector has so far raised $6.348 billion over the first nine months of the year, which puts it on track to top $8 billion for the full year. It is already within touching distance of last year's full-year total of $6.85 billion. (See BioWorld, Jan. 8, 2018.) Read More
Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc. waited less than 24 hours for word late Tuesday of its second and bigger win with FDA approval of lead candidate, omadacycline, branded Nuzyra. Earlier in the day, the Boston-based company received word that Seysara (sarecycline) was greenlighted by the FDA to treat inflammatory moderate to severe acne in patients 9 and older. (See BioWorld, Oct. 3, 2018.) Read More
The revolutionary breakthrough is perhaps the most overused cliché in science communications. It's fair to say, though, that this year's chemistry Nobel Prize went for evolutionary breakthroughs. Read More
The release of abstracts related to the upcoming Society for Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC) meeting in Washington whetted investor appetite in many precincts of oncology, and an area of particular focus relates to a pair of sizzling therapeutic modalities: CRISPR/Cas9 and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. Read More
HONG KONG – Cellular Biomedicine Group Inc. has inked a partnership with Novartis AG to bring Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) to market in China, putting it in a race with competing CAR T-cell therapy Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel, Gilead Sciences Inc.), which is expected to soon start clinical trials in the country. (See BioWorld, Sept. 13, 2018.) Read More
If a new California law withstands legal challenges, it will break down the door to the boardroom for women in the drug and device industries – at least for publicly traded companies with headquarters in the state. Read More
Seres Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., is presenting new data for SER-109, a microbiome candidate in phase III development, at the IDWeek 2018 conference in San Francisco. The findings, highlighted in two presentations, provide support for SER-109 as a potential new treatment option for individuals suffering from recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Read More
A package of proposals to respond to the nationwide opioid crisis is on its way to becoming U.S. law. The Senate voted 98-1 Wednesday to send the conferenced bill to the president. The White House has indicated that President Donald Trump will sign the bill, which is a consensus of separate House and Senate bills dealing with addiction prevention, treatment, research and enforcement. Read More
GW Pharmaceuticals plc, of London, said it priced an underwritten public offering and will issue 1.9 million American depositary shares (ADSs), representing 22.8 million ordinary shares, at $158 per ADS on Nasdaq. The transaction will raise gross proceeds of approximately $300 million, and the underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 285,000 ADSs. Read More
