• Activartis Biotech GmbH, of Vienna, Austria, said it expects interim results from an ongoing Austrian Phase II trial of its cancer vaccine in glioblastoma multiforme in the second half of next year. Activartis' technology uses autologous dendritic cells to activate tumor-specific T cells and activates release of interleukin 12, a signaling molecule key to polarizing an immune response based on killer T-cell activity. The primary objective of the randomized, open-label, two-arm trial is progression-free survival, with overall survival as the secondary goal. Read More

LONDON – GenKyoTex has begun initial prospecting for commercialization partners as its first-in-class dual NOX inhibitor, GKT137831, enters Phase I trials, and academic collaborators deliver further evidence of the drug's therapeutic effect in models of diabetic nephropathy. Read More

LONDON – Big pharma may be getting more engaged in early stage deals, but the gulf between the end product of a typical academic research program and the kind of inputs that will fit into the bottom end of pharma's drug development pipeline remains an area that is badly in need of new approaches to funding. Read More

DUSSELDORF, Germany – Golden autumn sunlight breaking over the mighty Rhine was the pleasing sight for delegates taking a breather from the many sessions at the BIO-Europe Fall 2011 meeting, which opened at the Congress Center Dusseldorf Monday.But there was little time to savor the view. With 2,825 individual delegates representing 1,596 companies in attendance, and 183 company presentations scheduled here through Wednesday, the meeting does not allow much time for hanging around. Read More

LONDON – Russia's state-owned investment firm Rusnano has made its first foray into U.S. biotech, joining existing and other new investors in private funding rounds totaling $94.5 million for nanomedicine specialists Selecta Biosciences Inc. and Bind Biosciences Inc. Read More

LONDON – During an infection, some of the bacteria that enter the mammalian bloodstream are immediately coated with platelets and end up in immunity-inducing dendritic cells in the spleen within minutes.The discovery of the details of that pathway, including the underlying molecular interactions, by a team of researchers based in Germany, raises the prospects of being able to develop better immunotherapies to protect against infectious diseases and cancer. Read More

DUSSELDORF, Germany – Buoyed by Monday's series of workshops on the dos and don'ts of finding partners and striking deals (and learning to live with them afterward), companies attending BIO-Europe Fall 2011 rolled up their sleeves Tuesday and started in on what they had really come for: bare knuckles partnering. With 14,661 scheduled one-to-one meetings – and countless more unscheduled, impromptu exchanges – it's unlikely that any aspect of biotechnology will not receive an airing at this event. Read More

Biotie Therapies Oyj has closed the door on its proposed stock-based acquisition of Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA, following Merck Serono SA's surprise decision to exit a partnership with Newron on the Parkinson's drug safinamide. Read More