Protagen AG, of Dortmund, Germany, started a collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, to utilize Protagen's Serotag technology to investigate the immuno-profiling of prostate cancer patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors and therapeutic vaccines. Terms were not disclosed. Read More
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, of Dublin, reported revenues of $444.6 million for the first quarter, including sales of narcolepsy drug Xyrem (sodium oxybate) totaling $316.8 million, up 16 percent over the first quarter of 2017. Read More
Cesca Therapeutics Inc., of Rancho Cordova, Calif., said in an S-1 filing that it is offering up to 3.2 million units – each unit consisting of one share of common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of common stock. Units have not yet been priced. Read More
After news of its $1.2 million contract with Michael Cohen, a personal attorney for President Donald Trump, exploded this week across the headlines and in social media, Novartis AG issued a statement Wednesday basically saying there's nothing to see here other than the fact that the company got nothing for its money. Read More
DUBLIN – Early stage Swiss firm Memo Therapeutics AG raised CHF5 million (US$5 million) in a series A2 round to fund preclinical development of its antibody discovery platform, which is based on a proprietary method of capturing and banking an individual's antibody repertoire. Read More
HONG KONG – Hangzhou, China-based Ascletis Pharma Inc. became the first pre-revenue biotech startup to seek public listing in Hong Kong this week. The company plans to use the proceeds to advance its two hepatitis C drug candidates into commercialization in China. Read More
HONG KONG – Nasdaq-listed Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech Ltd. is on the brink of collapse, as it is undergoing a series of events due to internal disputes concerning its privatization. The company has put its vaccine productions on hold, which may soon have an impact on its business. Read More
Escient Pharmaceuticals Inc. CEO Alain Baron told BioWorld that the company's $40 million in series A cash will "take us through 2021, we believe, and we expect to be in the clinic in that time in at least one indication, and perhaps even as far as proof of concept in one indication." Read More
LONDON – Claims that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines cause harm have been shown to be unjustified in a meta-analysis of 26 trials involving more than 73,000 girls and women, published this week. Read More
Bioclin Therapeutics Inc., a startup developing a monoclonal antibody (MAb) to fight metastatic bladder cancer, has expanded its series B financing to $50 million. Proceeds from the round will be used to support phase II testing of the company's lead candidate, B-701, both as a single agent as well as in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab, Merck & Co. Inc.) and separately with docetaxel. Enrollment in phase II trials of the anti-fibroblast growth factor receptor-3 (FGFR3) MAb is expected to wrap up by the second half of 2018, with initial data expected by year-end, said Stephen Lau, CEO of the San Leandro, Calif.-based venture. Read More
Evelo Biosciences Inc., which is seeking to piggyback on the natural evolution of the gut to disrupt disease processes, raised $85 million in its IPO by offering approximately 5.3 million shares priced at $16 – the midpoint of its proposed range – to advance its microbial gut therapies, which target inflammatory diseases and cancer. The company, which listed on Nasdaq under the ticker EVLO, granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 796,875 additional shares, potentially adding $12.75 million to its raise. Read More
Lodo Therapeutics Corp. chalked up with Roche Holding AG's Genentech arm its first major deal for a platform that involves making bioactive natural products directly from the microbial DNA sequence information contained in soil, with Genentech pledging as much as $969 million, which includes an up-front payment of an undisclosed amount. Read More
