Cleveland Biolabs Inc. (CLBI), a company that has long seen the potential for additional applications for its acute radiation exposure drug, entolimod, is putting the TLR5 agonist at the center of Genome Protection Inc. (GPI), a new joint venture formed with Everon Biosciences Inc. to develop and commercialize drugs for anti-aging applications, including frailty. Initially funded through a $10.5 million equity financing with venture capital fund Norma Investments Ltd., GPI's portfolio also includes small-molecule and vaccine candidates from Everon intended to protect organisms from the accumulation of cells with damaged DNA that drives aging and multiple age-related diseases, including cancer. Read More
China's promise of an accelerated approval pathway for a list of 48 drugs approved elsewhere to treat life-threatening or rare diseases could be a good opportunity for the companies that make the drugs, but once again the devil will be in the details, Hogan Lovells partner Philip Katz told BioWorld. Read More
Ethan Perlstein acknowledged up front that Perlara, "as the first biotech PBC," is "a different type" of C corporation but not – as some have surmised – a not-for-profit entity. That said, Perlstein – who founded and serves as CEO of Perlara, previously Perlstein Lab, following his postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University's Lewis-Sigler Institute – wanted the 2014 startup to be "180 degrees different in every regard" from the typical biopharma, from its scientific approach to its branding and business model. The PBC, or public benefit corporation, provided a structure to define social and environmental missions that were aligned with venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship and to create a footprint for drug discovery that regarded patients as true partners rather than volunteers for clinical trials. Read More
Nanotechnology's time ascendant at the peak of the hype cycle is past. But that doesn't mean the hard work of basic science and translation into industry isn't getting done. Since 2001, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) said more than $25 billion has been invested by the U.S. government into nanotechnology. That massive investment is starting to pay off in developments that benefit various industries, including med tech and biotech. Read More
PERTH, Australia – Sydney-based Pharmaxis Ltd. announced a capital raising of A$24 million (US$17.3 million) to ready itself for another partnering play. The funds will be raised in a two-tranche placement of 73.4 million ordinary shares priced at A32 cents per share. Read More
HONG KONG – Israel's Can-Fite Biopharma Ltd. has received a first payment of $2 million from CMS Medical Venture Investment Ltd., as part of a recent $72 million development, registration and marketing agreement for the exclusive rights of Can-Fite's lead drug candidates in greater China, an area that includes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Read More
New York is the latest state to file suit against Purdue Pharma Inc., of Stamford, Conn., accusing the company of "years-long deceptive and unlawful practices" in marketing opioid products, including Oxycontin (oxycodone). Read More
Evolus Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said underwriters of its public offering purchased an additional 600,000 shares at $20 apiece. The company issued a total of 3.6 million shares, with net proceeds of about $67.7 million. Read More
Mundipharma International Ltd., of Cambridge, U.K., and Helsinn Group, of Lugano, Switzerland, signed a licensing and distribution agreement for antiemetic agent Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) in Vietnam, extending an international collaboration. A 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, the compound has been approved in Vietnam. Terms were not disclosed. Read More
