Henri Termeer rediscovers the 'Genzyme feel' in world of biotech startups
Two years after leaving the biotech giant Genzyme, Henri Termeer has found increased demand for his expertise and personal resources from a growing crowd of startups in the Boston area and The Netherlands, he told FierceBiotech in an interview. Read more >>
UPDATED: Deborah Dunsire exits as Takeda cuts CEO role in Millennium shakeup
Millennium CEO Deborah Dunsire is retiring and her business development chief Anna Protopapas will step in to head the oncology business of Takeda Pharmaceutical. The Japanese drugmaker revealed the management shakeup in a terse announcement today.
U.S. drug market shrinks for first time
U.S. drug spending dropped last year. While that may be welcome news for healthcare budgets, it's not so good for branded drugmakers.
FDA's Hamburg touts rising approval record and promises swifter interaction
Margaret Hamburg, the head of the FDA, turned up at Reuters Health Summit with a bullish assessment of both the agency's responsiveness as well as the biopharma industry's improving track record on R&D and new approvals. And she's promising that a new "breakthrough" drug program has the potential to shave three to 5 years off the development process.
Biotech Receptos claims $73M IPO prize to fuel oral MS contender
San Diego-based biotech Receptos has priced an initial public offering of 5.2 million shares at $14, raising $72.8 million as the company closes in on late-stage development of its lead candidate for multiple sclerosis.
CytRx dumps failed IIb trial for lung cancer, focuses on aldoxorubicin
CytRx has decided to dump a Phase IIb lung cancer study for the number-two drug program in the pipeline after the monitoring committee concluded that the trial was unlikely to find any improvement in progression-free survival compared to standard treatments.
Global CRO Quintiles rakes in $947M as its hot IPO sells at top range
The global CRO Quintiles won some enthusiastic support for its IPO, raising close to a billion dollars for the company and its top investors after hiking the number of shares sold at the top of its range. With investor demand running hot, Quintiles wound up selling 23.7 million shares at $40 each, raking in $947 million as market bulls push the Dow ever higher.
Trevena lands $430M Forest deal, $60M venture round as heart drug heads to PhIIb
With its lead drug poised to begin a Phase IIb study for acute heart failure, Trevena grabbed a $30 million investment from Forest Laboratories, which also picked up an option to snag global rights to the biotech's lead therapy with a deal that includes a $430 million potential payout.
Fast-growing Biogen Idec bursts the seams at new Cambridge HQ
When George Scangos took the helm at Biogen Idec, he left little doubt that he couldn't much stand the company's gleaming new headquarters in Weston, MA, the brainchild of ex-CEO Jim Mullen. R&D in Cambridge was where it was at, and that's where he spent the bulk of his time.
The pharma spin-offs have just begun
After all, investors and shareholders responded strongly to Pfizer's animal-health spinoff and nutrition-unit sale--so much so that analysts are calling on CEO Ian Read for more.
Shire strikes discovery deal in rare diseases with Bill Gates-backed Nimbus
Shire has nailed down another deal to fuel its growing rare disease unit. The pharma group has tapped the Cambridge, MA-based startup Nimbus Discovery, which will use its computational approach to find small-molecule drugs for rare genetic diseases known as lysosomal storage disorders.
China backs its booming biopharma industry with big subsidies
China is in the middle of one of its 5-year economic plans, and it's got big plans for biopharma. China Daily reports that the sales revenue for the industry came close to $29 billion last year, up a whopping 18%. And the government is feeding about a half billion dollars in annual government support to keep the growth going at the same torrid pace.
Which Big Biotechs are hitting the gas pedal on R&D spending?
The R&D numbers for the top 10 biotechs may only amount to a fraction of what you'll find in Big Pharma. But unlike the giants, which are trying to keep a lid on multibillion-dollar budgets, you'll find a much faster crowd when you turn your gaze to the biotechs.
Genomics, Biotechnology's Oldest Next Big Thing
The economist Edward Fiedler famously said "He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass," a statement to whose veracity I can readily attest having written widely on the potential of genomics during my tenure on Wall Street. Read the feature >>
Startup biotech charges into PhII with $23M bankroll for rare disease drugs
A little more than a year ago, the startup crew at Lumena Pharmaceuticals was based in North Carolina and working on a new drug for diabetics. But things have changed. The company moved to San Diego, refocused its lead program on a rare liver disease and today announced that it had rounded up $23 million in Series A cash from a trio of venture groups.
UPDATED: Takeda beefs up new vaccines arm with $250M bolt-on buyout of Inviragen
A couple of months after moving its experimental dengue vaccine into the second phase of a mid-stage study, Fort Collins, CO-based Inviragen has been snapped up by Takeda in a $250 million deal.
UPDATED: Biotech trio to take over Alderley labs as AstraZeneca heads south
It's the start of what locals hope will be a continued migration of smaller companies to the Alderley campus to fill the void of AZ's massive exit from the area.
GlaxoSmithKline's 'independent experts' start to hand out keys to its data vault
Despite a major backlash in the industry, GSK has agreed to open up the data vault to investigators who intend to publish their findings, accelerating a move in the industry to provide greater transparency to the public. But the pharma giant's "independent experts" selected to run the program include at least two people with close ties to GSK.
NGM raises $13M for cardio/metabolic R&D work
The company, which includes Genentech legend Art Levinson on its board, has been engaged in basic scientific research for the past 5 years, with a special focus on cardio/metabolic work.
Astellas, VCs stake virtual biotech spinout with $15M and a PhII program
Astellas and a pair of venture companies have joined forces to launch a spinout virtual biotech which will pick up mid-stage research work on an experimental therapy for nocturia.
