Arca closes in on FDA app; CureTech gets $10.5M for clinical trial work; patients fund R&D programs

> Arca BioPharma says it's close to filing bucindolol for FDA approval as a genetically targeted heart failure drug. Arca re-discovered bucindolol, a drug that had been in development for 20 years, and plans to market the drug in tandem with a genetic test to identify which patients would most likely benefit from it. Report [1]

> Mylan has bought out Watson Pharmaceuticals' 50 percent interest in their Somerset Pharmaceuticals joint venture. The terms were not disclosed. Report [2]

> Teva is investing $10.5 million in CureTech so it can carry out a mid-stage trial of CT011 for colon cancer. Report [3]

> Zogenix has closed an $18 million secured loan facility with Oxford Finance Corporation and CIT Healthcare LLC. Zogenix will use the money to prepare for the potential launch of sumatriptan DosePro for acute migraine. Release [4]

> Inspire Pharmaceuticals has increased the number of recruits and doubled the treatment time for a late-stage trial of its cystic fibrosis drug denufosol. Inspire report [5]

> Pharmacopeia announced that it has received a milestone payment from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals for progress made in identifying a systemically administered inhibitor of JAK3 kinase. Release [6] 

> Fresh off its $7.5 billion deal to buy Barr Pharmaceuticals, Teva is eyeing joint ventures in Japan. Teva report [7]

> When it comes to policing off-label marketing, the FDA is no SWAT team, a new report from the government's auditor shows. It's more like the Keystone Cops, ill equipped to crack down even on blatant marketing abuses. FDA report [8]

> As powerful narcotic drugs have moved out of the hospital and into patients' medicine cabinets, fatal drug errors have risen dramatically, a new study finds. Report [9]

> Fueled with $30 million from Florida's innovation incentive program, an MIT spin-off--Draper Laboratory--is ramping up plans to recruit about 165 R&D staffers at the University of South Florida in Tampa and St. Petersburg. Report [10]

> In the wake of BIO's 2006 annual gathering in Chicago, a local biotech group formed Propel, an organization that mentors fledgling drug developers. Report [11]

And Finally... Jay Tenenbaum wanted to do much more than help raise money for cancer research after his diagnosis for melanoma. He believes groups of patients like himself can advance new therapeutics that can save their lives. The multimillionaire created CollabRx with $2 million of his own money and is raising $3 million more. And Tenenbaum is hoping to create a group of "virtual" biotechs that can advance new research into life-saving therapies. Report [12]