WASHINGTON – Knowing it's not a full cure, lawmakers are suggesting an early warning system as a first step in treating the drug shortage epidemic facing the nation. Read More
San Diego-based Afraxis will receive crucial early stage funding through a new collaboration with the National Institute of Health's (NIH) Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Disease Program (TRND), boosting its Fragile X program through the notorious "Valley of Death." If all goes well, that will get a product to the investigational new drug (IND) application stage. Afraxis was one of four companies selected for the TRND program in the current application cycle. The award has no dollar amount associated with it, but is funded out of a $50 million budget through the NIH. Read More
One of the biggest challenges of RNA interference remains its delivery. Getting siRNA into the cells where it's needed has been challenging on several fronts. For one thing, RNA is not the most stable molecule. For another, even when it is stable, how to get it into specific cells has been something of a head-scratcher. Read More
While multidrug-resistant superbugs like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and NDM-1 always steal the spotlight at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), one topic that tends to fly under the radar is antifungals. Read More
Only hours after announcing a positive recommendation in Europe for terminal complement inhibitor Soliris (eculizumab) in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. won accelerated FDA approval for the drug in that indication Friday, marking what could be only the first label expansion across a host of orphan diseases. Read More
MannKind Corp., of Valencia, Calif., will offer senior secured discount notes due in 2017, which are expected to yield gross proceeds of approximately $370 million. Read More
RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Rockville, Md., said treatment and follow-up are completed on 69 patients in a Phase II trial of topical eye drop RGN-259 in dry eye syndrome. Top-line results are expected in late October. Read More
Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Piscataway, N.J., cut its work force by almost half on Friday to reduce operating expenses by $6 million. The company also expects to incur a charge in the third quarter of approximately $3 million related to the reduction. Read More
Many things change in response to the environment, but DNA does not – the genes an individual is born with are the ones passed on to offspring, whether the offspring arrives days or decades later. Read More
