Companies priced their initial public offerings (IPOs) in two hot therapeutic spaces, immunotherapy and biosimilars, proving that the window remains open – at least for the right candidates, if not at the hoped-for yield. But another firm withdrew its IPO, which could mean tighter times ahead. Read More
Merck & Co. Inc. enrolled the first patient in a global phase III study of letermovir (MK-8228, AIC246), an experimental cytomegalovirus (CMV) antiviral it licensed from Aicuris GmbH. Read More
HONG KONG – Leading Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ:SVA) has emerged as the sole supplier of hepatitis A vaccine in prefilled syringe dosages for the city of Beijing. Read More
German start-up Amcure GmbH raised €5 million (US$6.7 million) in a series A round to take forward a preclinical drug development program in cancer based on targeting a variant of the CD44 receptor, called CD44v6, which is implicated in both angiogenesis and metastasis. Read More
LONDON – A multitude of genes contribute to the age at which a girl has her first menstrual bleed, but many of them also are involved in determining levels of body fat and body mass index (BMI), a huge new international study has found. Read More
In the past four years, Macrogenics Inc. has inked five lucrative big pharma partnerships for its bispecific and multispecific antibody platform, most recently a potential $469 million deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Read More
Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., saw shares (NASDAQ:GILD) trading flat Thursday despite Wednesday's post-close report that sales of the company's hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) hit nearly $3.5 billion for the second quarter, swelling its net profit to about $3.66 billion, or $2.20 per share, up from $772.6 million, or 46 cents per share, a year ago. Read More
Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, said it entered a definitive distribution and supply agreement granting Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., of Mumbai, India, the exclusive right to market, sell and distribute Cipher's isotretinoin capsules in Brazil. Read More
Purdue Pharma LP, of Stamford, Conn., said the FDA approved Targiniq ER (oxycodone hydrochloride and naloxone hydrochloride extended-release tablets), an extended-release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesic to treat pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. Read More
Bayer AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, reported results from a phase III trial testing a 15 percent foam formulation of its azelaic acid (Aza) for the topical treatment of inflammatory papules and pustules of rosacea. Read More
