• Bionomics Ltd., of Adelaide, Australia, said it launched a Phase I/II trial of BNC105 in women with ovarian cancer. Up to 134 patients are expected to be enrolled in the study, which is designed to test the vascular-disrupting agent in combination with current standard therapies carboplatin and gemcitabine. Read More

Only weeks after disclosing its goal of expanding into emerging markets in its 2012-2014 Mid-Range Plan, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. made a move in Brazil with the acquisition of Multilab Industria e Comercio de Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda. for BRL500 million (US$249.9 million) up front and up to BRL40 million in future milestones. Read More

LONDON – The toll the financial crisis continues to have on biotech is exposed in a new survey of the sector in France, showing that despite strong fundamentals, companies are being starved of the cash they need to advance. Read More

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S is betting the farm on its late-stage organ transplant rejection drug LCP-Tacro and exiting from all other development activities in an effort to stretch out its rapidly dwindling cash resources. Read More

LONDON – An Italian team has unravelled the mechanism by which metformin, a common diabetes drug, helps to reduce the incidence of cancer in those who take it. Read More

LONDON – A European initiative to tackle the rising tide of antibiotic resistance has kicked off, with GlaxoSmithKline plc putting up a Phase IIa compound as the first that will be advanced in clinical development as part of the public-private program. Read More