NPS Pharmaceuticals

GSK ends NPS's osteoporosis drug study

Maureen Martino — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:20:00 -0400

Bad news for NPS Pharmaceuticals: the company announced late Thursday that its partner GlaxoSmithKline would abandon a Phase II study of Ronacalaret, an osteoporosis drug. According to SEC filings cited by the Associated Press, GSK is halting the study because Ronacalaret is not effective. "GlaxoSmithKline has not communicated to the company a decision with respect to their continuation of other research and development activities under the agreement," NPS said in the filing.

GSK and NPS have been partners since 1993, and NPS has received $26.1 million in various milestone payments since then. NPS won't have to return any of that money.

- see the RTTNews article

C&L: Milano tapped to run ViroPharma

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:59:52 -0500

ViroPharma has named Vincent Milano to succeed Michel de Rosen as president and chief executive. De Rosen will continue as non-executive chairman. Also, Daniel Soland has been named COO.

NPS Pharmaceuticals President and CEO Tony Coles is moving to take the reins at Onyx Pharmaceuticals. Onyx CEO Hollings Renton had announced plans to retire last October. He steps out officially at the end of March. NPS COO Francois Nader, meanwhile, is stepping up to the Coles' position. Nader joined NPS in 2006 and was promoted to COO last year.

Richard Eno was named CEO of Metabolix.

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics announced that Manish Singh, Ph.D., MBA has been named president and CEO.

Akrimax Pharmaceuticals has named Alan Rubino as its new president.

Neuropharm Group has named Bob Prachar president US operations.

Dynavax announced that Dr. Martin Sanders has been appointed executive vice president and chief development officer.

Genta says that Richard Moran will retire as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Proteolix has appointed Matthew Ferguson to the new position of chief financial officer.

Mylan announced the appointment of Eric Leeds as senior vice president and head of global investor relations.

Axial Biotech has named Eric K. Olson executive vice president of sales and marketing.

BioVascular has named Christopher Bussineau, Ph.D., vice president of pharmaceutical operations and Eric Karpinski vice president, business development and nonvascular operations.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals has named Daniel Magilavy, M.D. vice president of clinical research.

Ambrx has named Douglas Axelrod, M.D., Ph.D., as senior vice president for clinical research and development.

t2cure has named Dr. Petra Rueck head of clinical operations.

Nile Therapeutics has named Hsiao Dee Lieu, M.D., F.A.C.C. as its vice president of clinical research.

GenomeQuest has hired Anthony Salerno as its new vice president of strategic business development.

Molecular Profiles has added Dr. Mike Fanfarillo as operations director and Dr. Robert Sherry as associate director in pharmaceutics.

Steven M. Agnoff has joined Inclinix in the position of vice president of marketing and product management.

BioStorage Technologies has named Dr. Wolfgang Hoffer as managing director of the company's European operations in Griesheim, Germany.

United BioSource Corporation has expanded its regulatory affairs group led by Mark Ammann, Pharm.D. and LaVonne Lang, Dr PH.

Ardea Biosciences has formed an inflammatory disease Scientific Advisory Board. They are: Mark Genovese, M.D.; John Sundy M.D., Ph.D.; Ikumi Tamai, Ph.D.

Aton Pharma announced that Dr. Fred Eshelman has joined the management board of Aton's parent company, Princeton Pharma Holdings.

ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals announced that Eric Rowinsky, M.D. will join its board of directors.

Transgenomic has appointed David Pauluzzi to its board of directors.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals announced that John Wright has been appointed to the board of directors.

Human Genome Sciences has appointed Maxine Gowen to its board of directors.

ALSO NOTED: Acorda shares bounce on new data; Endo CEO hits the exit door; BioSante in protocol deal; and much more...

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Shares of Acorda Therapeutics took a big bounce yesterday when the company announced new data demonstrating that its multiple sclerosis drug Fampridine-SR does not raise heart-related risks higher than a placebo. Release

> Endo Pharmaceuticals CEO Peter Lankau has handed in his walking papers. Endo says he is leaving March 1 and will be replaced by its COO and CFO on an interim basis. Release

> BioSante Pharmaceuticals has reached agreement with the FDA on a special protocol assessment for its Phase III trials for LibiGel--a therapy for female sexual dysfunction. Report

> Following a recommendation from the FDA, NPS Pharmaceuticals is preparing a confirmatory late-stage study of Gattex in patients with short bowel syndrome. Report

> Shares of Medarex were buoyed yesterday by an analyst's remark that its cancer drug--ipilimumab--which delivered disappointing data in December, may yet demonstrate its ability to improve overall survival rates. Report

> Amsterdam-based Pharming says it expects a final EMEA decision on Rhucin in the second quarter and is close to detailing its request that the EMEA reexamine its application to market Rhucin in Europe. Report

> The FDA issued a warning letter to Replidyne regarding antibiotic faropenem medoxomil 300 mg. Letter

> Pipex Pharmaceuticals announced that its New Drug Application for oral tetrathiomolybdate has not been accepted by the FDA for further review as submitted. Release

> As if questions about the effectiveness of cholesterol meds weren't enough, now research is casting blood pressure remedies into doubt. Report

> Workers at Pfizer's Terre Haute, Indiana, plant where the ill-fated Exubera was made are, shall we say, less than exuberant today. The company has decided to cut 660 jobs there. Report

And Finally... Here's a troubling milestone: Bird flu deaths in Indonesia have hit 100. 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

NPS pockets $30M, parts ways with AstraZeneca

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:59:54 -0400

NPS Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca are ending their six-year-old collaboration to develop new drugs for metabotropic glutamate receptors, or mGluRs. AstraZeneca is paying NPS $30 million for the full rights to the research. NPS says it will earmark these new funds for late-stage product development.

"This strategic move creates investment flexibility for NPS and enables us to use the monies from this deal, the previously announced Nycomed GATTEX deal and the approximately $10 million in savings over the next two years from this transaction to support the further development of our late-stage pipeline products, PREOS and GATTEX, in specialty indications," said NPS CEO Tony Coles.

- see the release on the breakup

ALSO: Just yesterday billionaire George Soros cut his investment in NPS to 1.8 percent. Report

Related Articles:
Analyst puts NPS Pharma under microscope. Report
NPS sells drug rights. Report
NPS halves workforce in restructuring. Report
NPS sells two facilities. Report