flu vaccine

Emergent adds new space for biotech start-ups

John Carroll — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:24:42 -0400

Emergent Technologies (ETI) has doubled its office space, taking new digs in Austin that includes new laboratory space for the biotech companies that it helps foster. ETI specializes in creating new companies that are engaged in commercializing research pioneered at regional universities.

Thomas Harlan, president and CEO of ETI, told the Austin Business Journal that the company had just run out of room. ETI moved from 12,000 square feet into 23,000 square feet of space. ETI closed a $27 million fund in the spring of 2007 and used the money to launch three companies: Mimetic Solutions, Beacon Sciences and AeonClad Coatings.

"The biotech sector is a limitless one," Harlan told the newspaper. "We're delighted to be sitting in a region where there's abundant deal flow, in terms of the science coming from the university."

- read the report in the Austin Business Journal

Novartis eyes vaccines with Protez purchase

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Novartis is shelling out $400 million for antibiotics developer Protez Pharmaceuticals. Protez gets for $100 million up front and up to $300 million more if Protez's new broad-spectrum antibiotic is a success. The antibiotic, PZ-601, is in Phase II development and aims to treat multi-drug resistant bugs such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which causes over 100,000 deaths in the U.S. and Europe annually.

The company has also been placing greater strategic emphasis on vaccine development, announcing today that it will start an anti-ulcer vaccine trial before year-end. The vaccine, which is in Phase I trials, will attempt to prevent recipients from acquiring Helicobacter pylori, a bug responsible for stomach ulcers. Novartis also has a candidate vaccine for Group B Streptococcus in Phase I trials and another for Group A Streptococcus slated to enter Phase I trials in 2010, along with a pneumococcal vaccine. Vaccines against meningococcal infections are in late stage development as well.

"The addition of Protez and its pipeline, including PZ-601, to our existing initiatives will further strengthen our position in the specialty field of hospital infections while helping to address the public health challenges of increasing bacterial resistance and high mortality rates," said Novartis' Joe Jimenez.

- see Novartis' release
- read the report from Forbes

Emergent BioSolutions buys flu vaccine maker

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Emergent BioSolutions has inked a deal to acquire the Protein Sciences Corporation assets for up to $75 million. The move is part of Emergent's strategy to expand its product portfolio with a drug candidate focused on infectious disease. Currently, most of Emergent's business comes from government contracts for biodefense. Emergent will acquire PSC's ongoing operations, including FluBlok, a Phase III recombinant influenza vaccine candidate, and certain other assets. "The acquisition of FluBlok is consistent with Emergent's strategy of expanding its product portfolio with a vaccine candidate focused on a major infectious disease," said Fuad El-Hibri, Emergent's CEO. The company recently bought rival VaxGen's anthrax vaccine business.

- check out Emergent's release
- read the Washington Post article

GSK bird flu vaccine wins race for European OK

Mon, 19 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

After investing about $2 billion in development efforts, GlaxoSmithKline has won European approval for the first bird flu vaccine that can be used either in advance of or in the early days of a human pandemic. Glaxo is clearly expecting to see orders for Prepandrix shoot up after regulators for the European Commission firmly placed the vaccine well in the lead in the heated race to develop an antidote designed to protect populations against H5N1. Switzerland has already ordered 8 million doses, enough to inoculate its entire population. And the U.S. has ordered 27.5 million doses.

"It's clear that some governments are more proactive than others," said Emmanuel Hanon, vice president of the Influenza Vaccine Franchise at Glaxo. "The policy is evolving, and I'm looking for some kind of alignment in terms of what governments are going to do. Governments are concerned by the real medical and economic threat of a pandemic."

Sanofi Aventis and Novartis are also in the race to gain approvals for a new vaccine, anxious to capture a market that may total about $1 billion a year.

- read the story from the International Herald Tribune

ALSO: South Korea, meanwhile, mobilized soldiers for a second time to help cull millions of poultry in the face of an outbreak of H5N1 in the country's bird population. Report

ALSO NOTED: GSK releases new Cervarix data; FDA mulls DTC ads; and much more...

Fri, 16 May 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> GlaxoSmithKline has released new Cervarix data that demonstrates the vaccine's ability to generate a high and sustained level of antibodies to neutralize the two most prevalent strains of cervical cancer for up to 6.4 years. Cervarix report

> The French pharma industry worries that up to 32,000 jobs are fodder for the axe, citing pricing pressures, generics, and globalization among the threats to drugmakers. Report

> Brace yourselves: An FDA advisory committee meets today to hash over the possibility of putting a side-effects hotline number in every DTC television commercial. Release

And Finally... The five key vaccine makers say they plan to produce a record 143 million doses of flu vaccine for the U.S. market next season, which should be enough to satisfy demand. Vaccine report

ALSO NOTED: Genentech options Exelixis inhibitor; Millennium reports positive data for cancer cocktail; Immtech CEO takes a pay

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:59:50 -0400

> Exelixis announced that Genentech has exercised an option to develop Exelixis' XL518, a selective inhibitor of MEK which is currently in a Phase I clinical trial. Exelixis earns $3 million on the option. Release

> Millennium Pharmaceuticals has posted positive data in a study of a drug cocktail that includes its cancer drug Velcade. The combo was being tested on patients with multiple myeloma who were ineligible for stem-cell transplantation. Report

> Immtech CEO Eric L. Sorkin has volunteered to take a pay cut during this fiscal year. Release

> AVI BioPharma has acquired all the outstanding shares of Ercole Biotech it didn't already own. Ercole has been working on alternative RNA splicing technology. Report

> Calando Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Arrowhead Research, has asked the FDA for a green light to begin an early-stage trial of a cancer therapy. Report

> For the first time, federal authorities are conceding a link between vaccines and autistic symptoms--just not the link activists thought. Report

> The venture capital group Perseus has pumped $10 million dollars into NanoBio, bringing its total investment in the University of Michigan spin-off to $30 million. Report

Most popular this week: Breakthrough reported in flu vaccine research. Report

And Finally...New Jersey, an aggressive suitor of biotech companies, is offering ImClone $32 million in tax rebates to woo it to the Garden State. Report

Novartis ends cancer trial early after hitting endpoint

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Novartis has brought a late-stage study of its kidney cancer drug everolimus to a premature close after an independent review committee determined the therapy had extended patients' lives without disease progression--the primary endpoint. The oral drug--formerly code named RAD001--works by inhibiting the mTOR protein, which regulates cell division in tumors, much like Wyeth's Torisel. Complete data will be presented at the ASCO meeting in May. And Novartis plans to examine the therapy's use in other cancers.

"This progression-free survival benefit demonstrates the possibilities of continuous mTOR inhibition as a promising target in oncology," said David Epstein, head of Novartis' oncology unit. "Everolimus is the first compound in our dynamic oncology late-stage pipeline with six compounds in registration trials to show exciting clinical data this year."

- check out the release
- see the report from MarketWatch

ALSO: Investors are wearing frowns over Novartis' pipeline prospects. Article

PLUS: Novartis has been making an argument for use of its experimental flu vaccine ahead of any potential outbreak. Report

Related Articles:
CEO: Novartis plans big restructuring. Report
Lagging sales spur Novartis layoffs. Report
Novartis--Top 15 R&D Budgets. Report

Novartis established nonprofit vaccine institute

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Novartis has established the Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health, a nonprofit venture that will take aim at diseases in the developing world. The NVGH, which will be separate from Novartis' commercial vaccine operations, will use the company's vaccine tech to make products that address unmet needs. These vaccines will be tailored for developing country needs and will be introduced first in those countries. The NVGH is a public private partnership and will also collaborate with other groups to build strength in resources.

- here's Novartis' release

ALSO: Carlsbad, CA-based Invitrogen has launched the Invitrogen Foundation, a nonprofit outfit designed to raise understanding of biotechnology, and encourage students to pursue careers in science. Report

Related Articles:
Novartis injects $816.5M in vaccine plant. Report
Novartis to build $600M flu plant in NC. Report
Novartis wins $220M flu vaccine contract. Report
Has the Gates Foundation created a malaria 'cartel'? Report

SPOTLIGHT: Gates backs new vaccine technology

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:59:53 -0500

PATH is using a $39 million grant from the Gates Foundation to help developing countries identify ways to manufacture and stockpile vaccines that could be used to defend their populations against an influenza pandemic. Developed countries have already spent millions of dollars stockpiling hundreds of millions of doses of flu vaccine. But PATH notes that developing countries are likely to be left to their own devices in the event of a pandemic. The Gates moneys will go to public and private vaccine development partnerships. Report

ALSO NOTED: Phyton cuts staff; Alzheimer's: A new indication for Enbrel?; and much more...

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> According to research released today, the anti-rheumatoid arthritis med Enbrel has shown an amazing ability to rehabilitate Alzheimer's patients. Report

> Phyton Biotech, based in Princeton, NJ, is laying off 47 workers. Phyton manufactures the cancer drug paclitaxel. There's no word yet on what triggered the cuts. Report

> Amarin says it will launch a mid-stage study of its age-associated memory impairment drug AMR101. Report

> The transplant drug sirolimus demonstrated efficacy against a rare lung condition and may be able to improve lung function as well, according to a new study. Release

> A new type of meningococcal vaccine proved effective in combating four strains of the disease in all age groups, leading Novartis researchers to believe that they may be onto the first such vaccine that can be made available to babies. Report

> A new study appears to fully sever the alleged link between the mercury-containing thimerosal and autism. Report

> As part of its infamous prosecution of Pfizer, a Nigerian court has issued warrants for eight Pfizer officials. Report

And Finally... A universal flu vaccine may be on the horizon. Report