Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. suffered yet another blow in the development of its hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug pipeline, as the FDA requested additional preclinical safety data for IDX20963 ('963), the company's lead uridine nucleotide prodrug. Read More
SHANGHAI, China – Chinese biopharmaceutical companies are unlikely to benefit much from a relaxation in an 8-month-old ban on new initial public offerings (IPOs) or from new draft regulations aimed at improving disclosures and governance. Read More
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, increase serotonin signaling in the brain, and they have antidepressant effects, at least in some patients. Read More
3-V Biosciences Inc.'s $20 million Series C financing will push the lead cancer product, a fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitor, through Phase I trials, while boosting preclinical studies with leads in virology – the research area on which the company was founded in 2007. Read More
SHANGHAI, China – In its first China deal, San Diego-based biopharma developer Ambrx Inc. will work with Zhejiang Medicine Co. (ZMC) to develop a new breast cancer drug. Read More
• Bellus Health Inc., of Laval, Quebec, and Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Dorval, Quebec, said Bellus agreed to acquire Thallion for about $6.3 million in cash, or about 17 cents per share (on a fully diluted basis), subject to certain adjustments, and the issuance of contingent value rights (CVRs). Read More
• Seattle Genetics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., reported data at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma in Lugano, Switzerland, including results from a Phase II trial testing PET-adapted sequential therapy with CD30-targeted antibody-drug conjugate Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin), augmented by the ICE chemo regimen (ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide), which showed that 79 percent of 33 evaluable patients obtained a complete remission, including 10 patients who achieved PET-normalization (PET-N) following treatment with Adcetris alone and 16 patients who achieved PET-N following the sequential treatment program. Read More
• Pfizer Inc., of New York, said the FDA accepted for review a supplemental new drug application for Xeljanz (tofacitinib citrate) seeking to expand the drug's rheumatoid arthritis (RA) indication to include inhibition of progression of structural damage. The PDUFA date is expected to be in February 2014. Read More
Several successful cancer drugs target receptor tyrosine kinases, which phosphorylate proteins to activate them. Now, a group from the Singaporean Agency for Science, Technology and Research has shown that a protein phosphatase may be a useful target for preventing metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer. Read More
