Not nearly as expansive as the draft 21st Century Cures Initiative released earlier last week by a House committee, the president Friday unveiled his $215 million Precision Medicine Initiative focusing on collaborative efforts to leverage advances in genomics, data sharing and health information technology to accelerate biomedical discoveries. Read More
The FDA's granting of breakthrough designation for Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s obeticholic acid (OCA) in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) put the U.S. regulators on record about the disease – its dangers and the need for new therapies, "the first time that this has been acknowledged formally by the agency" outside of workshops, noted Deutsche Bank analyst Alethia Young in an email alert to investors Friday. Read More
Can life get any better for Biogen Idec Inc.? Growth in the company's multiple sclerosis (MS) franchise, led by Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), and keen interest in an early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) candidate propelled the big biotech's shares (NASDAQ:BIIB) Friday to a 52-week high of $397. Read More
Investors flocking to Spark Therapeutics Inc. more that doubled the company's value in a fiery debut that drove shares (NASDAQ:ONCE) of the gene therapy developer's upsized initial public offering (IPO) up 117.4 percent to $50 from its $23 initial offering price. Read More
HONG KONG — Researchers from the Riken Institute in Japan have demonstrated for the first time the profound effect that chronic hepatitis infections can have on the genetic mutations found in liver tumors, potentially paving the way for development of tailored therapies for the different types of liver cancer. Read More
Epirus Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Boston, priced a public offering of 9.6 million shares at $5 apiece for net proceeds of about $44.2 million. Read More
Dendreon Corp., of Seattle, reached an agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., of Laval, Quebec, pursuant to which, subject to bankruptcy court approval, Valeant will serve as the "stalking horse" bidder in conjunction with a court-supervised sales process. Read More
Vital Therapies Inc., of San Diego, said it achieved the 200-subject enrollment target in VTI-208, its randomized, controlled, open-label phase III trial in alcohol-induced liver decompensation. Read More
strong>Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of New York, said the FDA approved Evotaz (atanzanavir 300 mg/cobicistat 150 mg) tablets in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults. Read More
