Ten days after inking a potential $494 million deal with eye care specialist Alcon Inc. for the ex-U.S. rights to vitreous macular adhesion (VMA) candidate ocriplasmin, ThromboGenics NV raised €77.8 million (US$103.2 million) in a private placement of about 3.2 million new shares with domestic and international investors. Read More

LONDON – The human equivalent of a gene that helps planarian worms regenerate may play a role in the development of cancer, a study suggested. Read More

Promethera Biosciences SA raised €17 million (US$22.7 million) in a Series B round last week to fund the first clinical trials of its allogeneic stem cell therapy for pediatric and adult liver disorders. It also received a further €6.6 million in loan financing from Belgium's Walloon region. Read More

Shares in ReNeuron plc dropped 16 percent Tuesday on news that the stem cell therapy developer is seeking up to £9.4 million (US$14.6 million) in new funding through a combined share placing and open offer. Read More

LONDON – The UK Biobank, comprising medical, lifestyle and genetic information specially collected from 500,000 middle-aged volunteers, is now complete and ready for use by industry and academic researchers. Read More

• Genmab A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, said GlaxoSmithKline plc, of London, agreed to settle with Roche AG subsidiary Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, and City of Hope concerning U.S. Patent Nos. 6,331,415 and 7,923,221 (the Cabilly II and III patents) relating to recombinant antibody production for ofatumumab. GSK is Genmab's development and commercial collaborator for the CD20 antibody. GSK initiated the case in October 2009. Terms of the agreement over the two patents, which are due to expire in December 2018, were not disclosed. Read More