LONDON – The European Commission (EC) finally put some financial firepower behind its pledge to find treatments for 200 rare diseases by 2020, announcing €144 million (US$187 million) of new funding for 26 separate projects. Read More
Repurposing approved drugs – many of which already are being used for symptom relief – to give them official labels for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) will be one topic at an FDA-sponsored workshop next month on drug development for CFS and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Read More
A grant by the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) will support research into the role of mitochondria in Alzheimer's disease. The award of $205,260 will go to CohBar Inc., of Pasadena, Calif., which is developing a mitochondrial peptide designed to protect neurons from dying by improving mitochondrial function, reducing inflammation, increasing insulin sensitivity and decreasing oxidative stress. Read More
• Immunovaccine Inc., of Halifax, Nova Scotia, closed the previously announced private placement of its securities, raising gross proceeds of about $1.6 million. Read More
• Cylene Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said it entered an exclusive, worldwide option and license agreement allowing TetraGene LLC, of Tucson, Ariz., to advance the development of Quarfloxin and Cylene's associated cancer quadruplex-targeting technologies. Read More
• InnaVirVax, of Evry, France, presented interim results of a Phase I/IIa trial of VAC-3S at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta, showing safety at three doses tested and immune response among patients in the two highest doses. Read More
• Roche AG, of Basel, Switzerland, and BioLamina AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, signed an R&D agreement to jointly develop new cell culture systems for various applications, including stem cell research. Read More
