Edge Therapeutics Inc., of Berkeley Heights, N.J., gained FDA orphan designation for EG-1962, the company's lead candidate for treating patients who have suffered an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, also known as a ruptured brain aneurysm. Read More
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., of Norwood, Mass., opened enrollment in its phase II study of Resunab for the treatment of skin-predominant dermatomyositis, a rare, inflammatory muscle disease that is accompanied by skin rashes and affects up to about 25,000 individuals in the U.S. Read More
Xencor Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., appointed Mark Lotz vice president, regulatory affairs and Wayne Saville vice president, clinical oncology. Read More
Scientists from the Australian University of Queensland have shown that there are two distinct types of neuronal precursor cells in the hippocampus, a brain region that plays a role in both memory and mood. Read More
strong>Ocular Therapeutix Inc., of Bedford, Mass., priced an underwritten public offering of 4 million shares of its common stock at $22 each, with 3.2 million sold by the company the rest by certain stockholders. Read More
LONDON – Start-up Auspherix Ltd. has raised £6 million (US$9.2 million) in a series A round to advance the development of a novel class of antibiotics, which it said has broad-spectrum effects against both multidrug-resistant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Read More
Citing serious manufacturing problems, the NIH Clinical Center suspended operations of its Pharmaceutical Development Section (PDS), which makes products for clinical trials conducted at the NIH hospital and collaborating facilities. Read More
Scientists made progress toward the goal of mammalian tissue regeneration with the publication of studies showing that mice could be induced to self-repair ear wounds by a drug treatment that increased levels of the transcription factor HIF-1alpha. Read More
LONDON – Summer has been slow to arrive in Europe this year, something that is maybe a blessing for patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), an extreme sensitivity to sunlight, who have been awaiting the market rollout of the first approved treatment, Scenesse (afamelanotide). Read More
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is betting $80 million up front plus up to $490 million in milestones on a new avenue for addressing pulmonary pathology developed by Parion Sciences Inc., that could potentially improve the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) and other lung diseases. Read More
DUBLIN – In what would be the seventh biotech IPO on the Euronext Exchange this year, Abivax SA is seeking about €44 million (US$49 million) to fund clinical development of its pipeline of antiviral vaccines and drugs. Read More
An FDA panel's provisory vote of confidence for a drug from Sprout Pharmaceuticals Inc. that could become the first ever therapy for hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women lifted shares of a would-competitor: Palatin Technologies Inc., which is advancing its candidate through phase III trials. Read More
