Sepracor

Sepracor inks $47M IP licensing deal with Arrow

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Sepracor has struck a licensing deal with Arrow International Limited for the intellectual property rights related to stable sterile steroid suspension formulations and other applicable nebule technology for the use in developing ciclesonide, a corticosteroid. Arrow gets $250,000 on execution of the deal and payments of up to $22.5 million in support of the ciclesonide stand-alone product. In addition, Arrow gets future milestones of up to $25 million in support of Sepracor's planned ciclesonide/BROVANA combination product.

"The identification of technology to enable the successful development of a stable sterile ciclesonide suspension for nebulization has been a priority for Sepracor for our newly attained ciclesonide franchise since only a limited number of approaches can be used," said Mark H.N. Corrigan, M.D., Executive Vice President, Research and Development at Sepracor. "Arrow and its affiliates have significant experience and success in the development of inhalation solution products, particularly with corticosteroids, and we are excited to have in-licensed this technology that should assist us in moving forward two important clinical development programs in our respiratory portfolio, which could provide a significant number of patients with COPD with greater convenience in treating their disease."

- read the release

SPOTLIGHT: Sepracor licenses epilepsy drug rights

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:59:53 -0500

Sepracor is shelling out $75 million up front to license the marketing rights for an experimental epilepsy drug from Portugal's Bial. Sepracor will pay up to $100 million more in developmental and regulatory milestones. Release

ALSO NOTED: Paion inks $102M deal; Sepracor chairman plans retirement years;and much more...

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Sepracor Chairman Timothy Barberich is planning to retire. He will receive $1.65 million a year under a retirement pact. Report

> After being abandoned by Forest Laboratories, Germany's Paion has inked a $102 million development deal for the stroke drug desmoteplase. Release

> Forest Labs and Cypress Biosciences have submitted an NDA for milnacipran for fibromyalgia syndrome. Release

> The UK's Axa Framlington Health says the threat of an economic slowdown has not hampered its investment strategy in biotech. Report

> The CEO of Charles River Laboratories has exercised his options for 30,000 shares of common stock. Report

And Finally… We weren't the only ones to take a look back at 2007. Here's the Guardian's take on the year past. Article

ALSO NOTED: Cipla, Akorn in development deal; No charges in Sepracor probe; Vectura raises funds; and much more...

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:59:50 -0500

> The FDA has warned GSK that its marketing for the breast cancer drug Tykerb is out of hand. Report

> GlaxoSmithKline bought over-the-counter marketing rights to Merck's statin drug Mevacor for an undisclosed price. Report

> India's Cipla and Akorn has signed a pact to develop an inhalation drug product. Report

> The feds have wrapped up their stock-option probe at Sepracor without taking any action. The SEC began looking into the way that Sepracor granted stock options in the summer of 2006. Report

> Vectura Group has received a €10 million milestone payment from Boehringer Ingelheim along with a five million euro equity investment. Report

> A new economic development initiative in Indiana hopes to offer more work for the companies providing services to the state's life sciences industry. Report

> Trimeris announced that it is the target of a patent infringement suit Novartis has brought relating to Fuzeon. Report

> Sosei has announced good progress in its collaboration to advance the early-stage SD118. Release

> Researchers have created a new breed of mice that are resistant to the most aggressive forms of cancer. Report

> A team of researchers blitzed the C. elegans roundworm with tens of thousands of chemicals and found 115 that prolonged their short lives. But one, the antidepressant mianserin, is now commanding all of their attention. Report

> Scientists have transplanted stem cells that create new blood into the bone marrow of mice, advancing a new process that could eventually cure autoimmune and genetic blood disorders. Report

And Finally… Officials in Brazil have finalized a $23 billion plan to support science and innovation, with biotechnology playing a leading role. Report

ALSO NOTED: More takeover targets for Big Pharma; Byetta trial delivers positive data; and much more...

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:50 -0400

> Industry watchers can't resist identifying takeover targets for Big Pharma. This week, the Motley Fool's radar is picking up Sepracor--which announced layoffs yesterday after a few tough quarters. Report

> Look no further for a couple of gaping holes in our drug-safety fabric. Chinese regulators may be cracking down on some drug-safety violations, but plenty of chemicals companies aren't even being watched. Stateside, the FDA is struggling to track foreign drug makers--and that not very successfully. Report

> Researchers for Amylin and Alkermes say that the closely watched trial of the slow-release form of Byetta delivered positive preliminary data. Release

> NPS Pharmaceuticals announced today that Nycomed, after a review of the results from the recently completed Phase III study in Short Bowel Syndrome, has confirmed it will proceed with the development and commercialization of GATTEX (teduglutide) outside North America. Release

> Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have added to the store of knowledge linking dopamine to obesity. Report

> Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified a new target for drug developers out to control obesity and diabetes. Report

> Patients are using cholesterol and blood pressure meds earlier and earlier--so much so that growth in sales to young folks is outpacing the growth of sales to seniors. Report

> When John Edwards knocked drug companies for spending "twice as much" on marketing and administration as on research, he perpetuated a myth popular amongst pharma naysayers, Fortune magazine says. Report

And Finally... A new report from Consumers International says big drug makers are buying washing machines, laptops--even domestic cattle--to woo physicians in India, Pakistan and elsewhere. Report

ALSO NOTED: Lilly grabs rights to pain therapy; Study outlines billions in potential R&D savings; Takeda shares hit by FDA move

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:59:50 -0400

> Eli Lilly has agreed to pay India's Glenmark Pharmceuticals $45 million up front and up to $215 million in scheduled milestones for the North American, European and Japanese rights to the experimental pain therapy GRC 6211. Another $90 million is up for grabs for other approved uses of the therapy. Release

> A new study outlines how biotech and pharma companies could potentially save billions in R&D expenses. Report

> Shares of Sepracor surged more than 17 percent on the news that it would cut some 300 positions. Release

> Yesterday's news that the FDA wanted Takeda to halt high dosage studies of a key cholesterol-lowering drug took a 12 percent bite out of its stock value. Report

> The diagnostics company Genoptix prices its IPO shares at $17 apiece. Report

> Living Cell Technologies has raised $6.4 million of additional capital. Report

> On second thought, maybe Genentech won't restrict supplies of Avastin. This turnabout announcement comes after the company met with eye specialists who were hopping mad that patients might be forced to buy Lucentis at $2,000 per dose versus Avastin at $40. Report

> Chinese regulators have arrested 774 people over the last two months for violations of food and drug safety rules. They've also destroyed 1,000 tons of counterfeit products and instituted a new quality standard for pharmaceuticals licensing. Report

> An $80 million Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center planned for UMass Lowell will concentrate on nano- and bio-manufacturing research and is expected to play a role in moving life sciences companies from R&D into production. Report

> Pfizer vice chairman David Shedlarz could walk away with $43 million in benefits and deferred compensation when he retires later this year. Release | Report

And Finally... Researchers have completed an animal study that suggests placing mice on a buzzing platform for 15 minutes a day caused them to lose a significant amount of weight while improving bone structure. Report

SPOTLIGHT: M&A is the future for Big Pharma

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:59:53 -0400

What's Big Pharma's best hope for weathering the next few years of expiring patents and patchy pipelines? M&A, says London's Financial Times. That's not exactly revolutionary, of course; there were almost 1,000 deals in pharma/healthcare for the first half of 2007, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers. But FT fingers a few potential acquisition targets, including U.S.-based Sepracor and the U.K.'s Shire Pharmaceuticals. Article

ALSO NOTED: GSK to commercialize Lunesta; second headline; and much more...

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> GlaxoSmithKline has signed on to commercialize Sepracor's insomnia drug Lunesta, agreeing to pay $20 million up front and up to $155 million in total for milestones and licensing fees. Glaxo gains the rights to all countries except the US, Canada, Mexico and Japan. Glaxo is looking for European approval of the drug--dubbed Lunivia outside the U.S.--in the second half of next year. FiercePharma

> Arena Pharmaceuticals stock got a bump this morning when researchers found no sign of heart valve damage after six months of Phase III testing for its obesity drug Lorcaserin. Release

> Evotec has sold its Chemical Development Business to Aptuit for about $63 million in cash. Release

> As part of its overall restructuring, Pfizer will shut down its 53-year-old manufacturing facilities in Sandwich, England, shedding some 400 jobs in the process. FiercePharma

And Finally... According to new research from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, the FDA received reports of 89,842 adverse events including 15,107 deaths in 2005, more than double the 1998 numbers of 34,966 reports and 5,519 deaths. Report

ALSO NOTED: ImaRx prices IPO; Sepracor, Eisai sign deal for Lunesta; and much more...

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> GSK has decided not to exercise its option to license Exelixis' non-small cell lung cancer drug XL647 for further development. Release

> ImaRX Therapeutics has priced its IPO at $5 per share. Release

> Chutes & Ladders: Silence Therapeutics has appointed Jeffery Scott Vick as Group CEO. Release

> Sepracor and Eisai have signed a deal development and commercialization of Sepracor's sleep drug Lunesta for the Japanese market. Release

And Finally... According to a Wake Forest University School of Medicine study, a class of drugs (which included Avandia and Actos) used to treat type 2 diabetes may double the risk of heart failure. Report