Blade Therapeutics Inc. closed a $45 million series B financing to advance the screening, selection and development of lead molecules designed to modify the pathobiology of fibrotic diseases. Read More
If Congress truly wants the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to promote innovation and job creation, it needs to make it permanent, officials from the NIH, Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF) and Georgia Tech told a House Subcommittee Thursday. Read More
BOGOTA, Colombia – The Colombian government will set the price of Novartis AG's cancer drug Glivec (imatinib) after failing to reach an agreement with the company following price talks that started in April. Earlier this week, Colombian Minister of Health Alejandro Gaviria signed a resolution declaring Glivec, produced by Swiss pharma major Novartis, as a drug of public interest for the Latin American country. Read More
TOKYO – Biopharmaceutical companies look to benefit, at least in the short term, after Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe put off a planned 2 percent consumption tax hike scheduled for 2017. The increase now will not be introduced until at least October 2019. Read More
Cytori Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, closed its rights offering for gross proceeds of $17.1 million. The company sold an aggregate of 6.7 million units – consisting of 6.7 million shares and 3.4 million warrants – priced at $2.55 per unit. Read More
VBI Vaccines Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said the Meghan Rose Bradley Foundation, a pediatric brain cancer advocacy organization, is providing a grant to support initial research of the company's immunotherapy candidate in ex vivo studies using medulloblastoma patient samples. Read More
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., said data published in JCI Insight from an open-label phase II trial involving children, ages 6 to 12.5 at study entry, with hypophosphatasia showed that those treated for up to five years with Strensiq sustained improvements seen at the six-month primary endpoint cutoff, including improvements in patient growth, strength, motor function, agility and quality of life, which for most patients meant achieving normal values for age- and sex-matched peers. Read More
