Still signing up patients for its phase III trial with Fovista, the antiplatelet-derived growth factor agent that would be used with anti-VEGF therapy in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Ophthotech Corp. pulled down a $200 million up-front ex-U.S. deal with Novartis AG that could be worth more than $1 billion, not including royalties, which are also part of the deal. Read More
While death rates for most cancers have decreased over the years, the overall survival rate for pancreatic cancer hasn't budged in four decades, a lamentable statistic due in part to the lack of diagnostic biomarkers or procedures capable of detecting the disease in an early, localized stage and leading to better treatment outcomes. Read More
LONDON – Astrazeneca plc's share price fell 13.45 percent to £41.74 (US$70.19) when the market opened in London on Monday after the company rejected a £55 per share "final bid" from Pfizer Inc. Read More
SHANGHAI – In its third academic collaboration deal announced in China this year, Astrazeneca plc, of London, signed a translational research agreement with scientists from Tianjin Medical University (TMU) to explore novel targets for cardiac fibrosis, important in the area of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Read More
The implausibility of comparing data with would-be competitors from separate trials did not stop industry wizards from following their 'Inpulsis' and guessing anyway, with the upshot that overall chances seemed to ASCEND for Intermune Inc.'s Esbriet (pirfenidone) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), over Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH's phase III outcomes with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nintedanib. Read More
Steve Prestrelski has a fascination with improving drug delivery. Two decades of experience in biotech convinced the research scientist and inventor that some of the biggest shortcomings associated with promising drugs were related largely to formulation and delivery mechanisms. Read More
BOSTON – At the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Monday's symposium on "the next emerging threat" acquired an unexpected timeliness as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials reported the first case of person-to-person transmission of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the U.S. – so much so that the session was hastily moved into the grand ballroom to accommodate surging interest. Read More
Sophiris Bio Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., said it entered a common stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund LLC, which completed an initial purchase of 604,320 common shares at $3.31 each for proceeds of $2 million. Read More
Biscayne Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Miami, said its growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) technology was featured in several presentations at the International Society for Heart Research North American Section Meeting in Miami Beach. Read More
Juventas Therapeutics Inc., of Cleveland, presented top-line interim data from a phase II study evaluating the safety and efficacy of JVS-100 in patients with symptomatic ischemic cardiomyopathy at the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Congress in Athens, Greece. Read More
Janssen Biologics B.V., of Leiden, the Netherlands, part of Johnson & Johnson, withdrew its application seeking a change to the marketing authorization for Simponi (golimumab) to add a new pharmaceutical form of intravenous (I.V.) administration for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis. Read More
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of Paris-based Sanofi SA, reported that a randomized phase II trial of its investigational Clostridium difficile vaccine showed that the vaccine generates an immune response against C. diff toxins A and B in volunteers. Read More
