Sorbent Therapeutics Inc. expanded its Series B financing round by $36 million, for a deal total of $53 million. The proceeds will support Phase II development of its cardiovascular candidate, CLP1001. The financing round was led by new investor Novartis Venture Funds, and was joined by Sofinnova Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, CMEA Capital and AgeChem. Novartis attributed its interest in Sorbent to CLP1001's promising clinical data. Read More
Pundits may complain that ours is a society of instant gratification, but few would argue that there's at least one group of people who could use a bit more instant gratification: patients with major depression. Antidepressants are notorious for taking weeks to work, if they are going to work at all, making finding the right drug and dose for patients an often months-long ordeal – for patients who may well be at risk of suicide. Read More
Vivus Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., submitted a new drug application (NDA) to the FDA for avanafil, its investigational drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Read More
WASHINGTON – Brent Ahrens, general partner at venture capital (VC) firm Canaan Partners, arrived at the 2011 BIO International Convention Tuesday in a pretty good mood: Canaan's portfolio firm Advanced BioHealing Inc. had just closed its $750 million acquisition by Shire plc. Read More
Nuvo Research Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, said a Phase II trial of Pennsaid Viscous Solution 2 percent (topical diclofenac sodium viscous solution) met its primary endpoint of reducing osteoarthritis pain compared to placebo (p = 0.042). Read More
Researchers from the British Medical Research Council have identified a gene variant that is associated with both lower body fat content and higher risk of heart disease and Type II diabetes. Read More
