MUNICH and HEIDELBERG, Germany – Biotech’s summer of love has been an overwhelmingly American affair. The flood of U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) completed in 2013 – by the end of August, 26 companies had raised $1.84 billion – threatens to further widen the already large gulf between the U.S. and European biopharma sectors. Read More

LONDON – Acacia Pharma Ltd. raised £15 million (US$23.5 million) in a Series B funding, providing the means to complete Phase III development of its lead product, APD421, for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and to file a new drug application around the middle of 2014. Read More

MUNICH, Germany – Shares in Wilex AG gained as much as 12 percent Monday on news that its subsidiary, Heidelberg Pharma GmbH, entered a research collaboration and option agreement with Roche Holding AG, based on its preclinical antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology. Read More

LONDON – Novabiotics Ltd. rejected a new round of private funding in favor of an exclusive licensing deal with Taro Pharmaceuticals North America Inc., for the co-development of its first-in-class antifungal peptide Novexatin, which is about to enter Phase IIb development in the treatment of nail infection onychomycosis. Read More

Merck Serono SA spinout Obseva SA hit the ground running with a CHF32 million (US$34.7 million) Series A financing led by Sofinnova Partners and co-led by Sofinnova Ventures and Novo A/S. Read More

Zealand Pharma A/S added Eli Lilly and Co. to its roster of big pharma diabetes partners, entering a research collaboration with the Indianapolis-based firm that could eventually lead to a novel, first-in-class therapy. Read More

SHANGHAI – Four multinational pharmaceutical firms have been hit with allegations of bribery in China since the Glaxosmithkline plc scandal first broke almost two months ago. China’s State Administration for Industry & Commerce (SAIC) has announced a three-month probe that will target pharmaceutical and medical device sales. Read More

• Lipidor AB, of Stockholm, a Karolinska Development portfolio firm, reported results from a Phase I/IIa study of AKVANO/calcipotriol spray formulation for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris, which showed that the water-free spray had clear and significant antipsoriatic effects vs. placebo, comparable to a marketed formulation of calcipotriol, meeting the primary objective of the study. Read More