Almost exactly two months after closing a $100 million offering, and with $200 million cash in the bank, Geron Corp. said Wednesday that a new management team is taking over and will look for partners to share the cost of multiple Phase II trials for its telomerase inhibitor product candidate in indications including breast and lung cancers, a Phase II trial of GRN1005 in brain metastases and a pioneering Phase I trial of embryonic stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury. Read More
LONDON – Life sciences investments managed by Phase4 Ventures, the London-based venture capital arm of the investment bank Nomura, have been sold to the U.S. investment firm HarbourVest Partners LLC. Read More
Neuralstem Inc., of Rockville, Md., announced the FDA granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to its human spinal cord-derived neural stem cells, NSI-566RSC, currently in a Phase I study to evaluate the safety of the product and the surgical route of administration in a wide range of ALS patients. Read More
R-Tech Ueno, of Tokyo, said it initiated a Phase I study of RK-023 for the treatment of hypotrichosis of the eyelashes. The company is developing the compound as a physiologically active fatty acid derivative for the treatment of dermatological diseases. The placebo-controlled, double-blind study is being conducted to evaluate safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of RK-023. Read More
AssureRx Health Inc., of Cincinnati, appointed Donald R. Wright Jr. executive vice president and chief operating officer and named John A. Bellano senior vice president of sales and commercial programs. Read More
If the three initial public offerings to price late last week – Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Endocyte Inc. and BG Medicine Inc. – are a promising sign for the U.S. IPO market, then perhaps Italian biotech Philogen SpA's plans for a €65.3 million (US$89.6 million) offering on the Milan stock exchange is a signal the European markets are opening up as well. Read More
More than 75 percent of research activity on human proteins continues to focus on the 10 percent of proteins that were known before the mapping of the human genome was completed in 2000, even though many more proteins have been genetically linked to disease during the ensuing decade. Risk-averse funding and peer review systems as well as a dearth of research tools – such as antibodies and chemical inhibitors needed to study proteins – share blame, a group of research scientists posited this week in Nature. Read More
