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.
UPDATED: Baxter adds Gammagard to growing roster of PhIII Alzheimer's failures
The long and frustrating search for something--anything--that can treat Alzheimer's or blunt its symptoms ran into yet another Phase III roadblock this morning as Baxter International reported that its Phase III study of the immune-bolstering treatment Gammagard ended in failure.
Celgene nabs another round of promising pivotal apremalist data for psoriatic arthritis
Celgene has put another brick in the wall of positive late-stage data for apremalist as a new therapy for psoriatic arthritis, building on its new drug application at the FDA.
Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer target painkiller revivals as FDA warms to abuse deterrents
The FDA has fueled a pharmaceutical arms race in the painkiller market with the agency's decision last month to bar the sale and production of generic OxyContin, which has become one of the most widely abused opioids among Americans.
NeuroPhage banks $6.4M for Alzheimer's drug development effort
A little more than two years after announcing a $12.4 million round to finance early-stage efforts on its experimental therapy for Alzheimer's, Cambridge, MA-based NeuroPhage says it has landed $6.4 million from backers to work on pre-IND studies of the lead drug, NPT002.
Bristol-Myers, AstraZeneca report positive data for rare metabolic disease drug
The treatment, under review at the FDA, was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb as part of its $5.3 billion acquisition of Amylin last year and swiftly partnered with AstraZeneca in an extension of their 2007 diabetes pact.
AbbVie gains inside 'breakthrough' track at FDA for hot hep C combo
The company says that the FDA has picked its antiviral combo--with and without ribavirin-- as a new breakthrough therapy worthy of a swift review and perhaps a shortened clinical trial process ahead of a regulatory decision.
Novartis promises to test the full value of FDA's 'breakthrough' status
Ever since the FDA started to anoint a short list of drug candidates as "breakthrough" therapies deserving of swift regulatory reviews, the industry has been trying to puzzle out one important question: What does it mean?
Celgene turns to Concert for $300M deuterium-tweaking cancer collaboration
Concert Pharma CEO Roger Tung has reeled in his third collaboration deal in a little more than a year, inking a $300 million pact with Celgene to tweak cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs with its deuterium-stabilizing technology.
Novartis probes controversy around Diovan studies
Novartis has opened an investigation after learning that a company employee was affiliated with a study of its blood pressure drug Diovan as a statistician without revealing his ties to the Swiss healthcare giant.
AltheRx Pharma adds $15M, new CEO and ex-AstraZeneca exec
After gaining its lead asset from GlaxoSmithKline, AltheRx Pharmaceuticals has made a series of leadership changes through a restructuring plan that features a $15 million investment led by Becker Ventures.
Biotech financier Blech gets jail time in 'No mercy' sentence
A federal judge wants biotech investor David Blech behind bars. Blech pleaded guilty last year to trading schemes involving stocks in the biotech companies Pluristem Therapeutics ($PSTI) and Intellect Neurosciences ($ILNS), and yesterday he and his attorney asked U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan for leniency in his sentencing.
Who Will Figure Out How to Make a Business Out of Fecal Transplants?
By Bernat Olle, PureTech Ventures
Does it have to be a biotech or pharma company that figures out a way to monetize fecal transplants (FTs)? Or will hospitals find a way to make them appealing to patients without help from industry? Read more >>
Sanofi lets go of rights to Regeneron's antibodies in ophthalmology
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has wagered on two preclinical programs for its growing business in ophthalmology drugs. The biotech heavyweight has forked over $20 million upfront and promised up to $45 million in milestones to its major partner Sanofi for full rights to the pair of antibody programs for use against eye diseases.
Bristol-Myers' 'smart bomb' deal pushes Ambrx 12-month deal tally to $715M
Just a month after landing a $15 million payday for a deal with Astellas to collaborate on new antibody drug conjugates for cancer, the San Diego-based biotech Ambrx has scored another research pact--reaping another $15 million upfront from Bristol-Myers in exchange for a new oncology partnership.
