Merck & Co. Inc. has tapped Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. for its expertise in the discovery and development of small molecules that modulate RNA splicing, agreeing to pay it up to $600 million per program target plus royalties on sales of any commercialized products of the collaboration. The deal, focused on potential treatments for certain neurological diseases and cancer, was accompanied by news of an expansion of Skyhawk's collaboration with Biogen Inc., which originally signed on with the Waltham, Mass-based company in January. Read More
Positive data from one clinical trial evaluating lumateperone in patients with bipolar disorder wasn't enough to lift Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc.'s stock Monday as another trial's failure with the same drug severely dampened the price of shares, while analysts took the long, more optimistic view. Read More
HONG KONG – Belgian drugmaker Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has decided to return the rights of diabetic obesity treatment HM-12525A to Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. The South Korean company said the decision followed phase II testing by Janssen, which showed the drug achieved the weight loss endpoint but didn't reach Janssen's internal criteria for blood glucose control in obese patients with diabetes. Read More
LONDON – Drug discovery specialist Evotec SE has attracted €30 million (US$33.6 million) in venture capital funding for Breakpoint Therapeutics GmbH, a virtual spin-out formed to take forward programs in DNA damage response (DDR). Read More
Patent holders are wasting their resources when they ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for an en banc rehearing on diagnostic claims that have been declared ineligible because they cite a law of nature. Read More
HONG KONG – To improve public health care in Brazil, Bioneer Corp., a South Korean biotech, and Brazilian government-run Institute of Technology on Imunobiologicals (Bio-Manguinhos) will focus on business development and R&D of in vitro diagnostics and new drugs. Read More
Batavia Biosciences BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, received a follow-up grant of $2.2 million from the global nonprofit Path, to develop and manufacture novel oral poliovirus vaccines. Read More
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Friday unsealed its decision in the patent lawsuit between Enzo Life Sciences Inc. and a group of defendant-appellees led by Roche Molecular Systems Inc., affirming a lower court's decision to grant summary judgment against Enzo for lack of enablement of the disputed patent claims. Read More
Oncosenx Inc., of Seattle, said it raised $3 million in pre-seed funding to advance its pipeline. The company is developing a selective tumor-killing platform with two main components: a proprietary lipid nanoparticle for cellular delivery and a selective DNA payload. Read More
