LONDON – As pharma's quest for pipeline-boosting innovation pushes further into academia, GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) has launched Discovery Fast Track to accelerate the translation of target biology into drug candidates. Read More

LONDON – Peptides that can boost the immune response to bacteria could lead to a novel therapy for sepsis – and may also make it possible to develop a new generation of vaccines. Read More

The growth equity arm of Novo A/S has clocked up its first major pharmaceutical investment, a $700 million buyout of generic antibiotics developer and manufacturer Xellia Pharmaceuticals AS, under a new investment strategy it formulated more than a year ago. Read More

LONDON – Merck Serono is enlarging its venture fund from €40 million to €100 million (US$51 million to $128 million) – increasing its capacity to invest in early stage companies, technologies and products that can be shaped up for the company's internal pipeline. Read More

Embryonic stem cells have been the subject of so many political fights that it's easy to forget they have also faced formidable scientific obstacles. Read More

• Helsinn Healthcare SA, of Lugano, Switzerland, and Vifor Pharma, of Villars-sur-Glane, Switzerland, signed an exclusive license and distribution agreement for netupitant-palonosetron fixed-dose combination, an investigational Helsinn product for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, giving rights to Vifor to distribute the product in Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Read More