molecules

Abbott opens R&D facility, invests $53M

Maureen Martino — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:55:22 -0400

Abbott has opened a new Formulation Development Center at its Illinois headquarters. At the R&D facility, researchers will take candidate molecules and formulate them into tablets and capsules for use in in pre-clinical and clinical studies. "The new formulation center is a clear example of Abbott's commitment to advancing scientific innovation," said John Leonard, M.D., senior vice president, Pharmaceuticals, Research and Development, Abbott. "With the growing number of compounds in Abbott's pipeline, the new center utilizes the latest technology to accelerate the development of future medicines."

- see Abbott's release

Development chief outlines strategy at Genentech

John Carroll — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:55:43 -0400

Genentech's Susan Desmond-Hellmann, president of product development, outlined the biotech giant's development strategy to a group at the Goldman Sachs healthcare conference. In addition to testing new uses of its cancer blockbusters, Desmond-Hellman says the company will push hard to advance new therapies in the neuroscience and infectious disease areas. Genentech also has 14 new molecules in development for cancer indications.

The research chief also told the group that the blockbuster drugs of the past may never be duplicated. Future drugs will cater to a smaller, better defined group of patients. "The days of big cholesterol-lowering drugs for millions of people may be behind us."

- read the report in the Wall Street Journal

ALSO: Genentech announced that it had settled a patent dispute with MedImmune over basic production methods. Report

Targeted Genetics reports tgAAC94 data

Fri, 30 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Targeted Genetics is reporting results from an early-stage study of tgAAC94 for inflammatory arthritis. The drug uses a specially engineered virus to transport a gene. When working properly, the therapy produces proteins that eliminate the inflammatory molecules that cause arthritis. The company said that while the trial was not powered to show statistical significance, "tgAAC94 has the potential to improve disease symptoms that are refractory to other therapies, including systemic TNF antagonists." According to CEO H. Stewart Parker, "these clinical observations will help guide further clinical development."

A clinical trial of tgAAC94 was placed on hold last year after the death of a study participant, which threw a spotlight on the safety record of the whole gene therapy field. However, the FDA determined tgAAC94 was not to blame and the study continued.

- here's Targeted Genetics' release

Editor's note: This article has been corrected. The previous version inaccurately reported that the trial had failed. However, the trial was not set up to determine efficacy.

Takeda gains RNAi tech with $1B Alnylam deal

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Takeda's quest to expand in the U.S. market--and off-set expiring patents on big drugs--continues. The Japanese company announced today a $1 billion alliance with RNAi company Alnylam. The deal covers RNAi therapeutics in the fields of oncology and metabolic disease with the option to expand to additional therapeutic areas in the future. Alnylam gets $100 million in up-front and additional $50 million in near-term technology transfer payments. Takeda can expand the partnership in the future to include additional fields, with a payment of $50 million to Alnylam for each additional field. Finally, Alnylam will receive $171 million in milestones, along with royalties, for each product developed as part of the deal.

"We believe this alliance will accelerate our initiatives to establish the foundation for RNAi drug discovery supported by Alnylam's platform technologies and know-how. We expect that our product portfolio will be enhanced by the addition of RNAi therapeutics to our current small molecule and anti-body research platforms," said Takeda's president Yasuchika Hasegawa. Just two months ago Takeda forked over $8.8 billion dollars to buy Millennium Pharmaceuticals, bolstering its oncology pipeline.

- here's Takeda's release
- read the Wall Street Journal article for more

Esperion gets second shot as an independent drugmaker

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

After getting squashed in Pfizer's restructuring crunch, Esperion Therapeutics is reopening this week. The company, which specializes in cardiovascular and metabolic disease work, is hiring about 10 researchers from Pfizer and Esperion. Esperion was shut down last year during Pfizer's restructuring, a move that affected about 60 people working for the company, which was acquired in 2003. Aisling Capital, Alta Partners and Domain Partners are providing more than $22 million to re-start the venture, with Pfizer holding on to a stake.

Michigan officials count the reopening as a hopeful bright spot following Pfizer's decision to shutter its Ann Arbor R&D facility, which employed 2,100 people. CEO Roger Newton was cautious about describing the developer's plans, but says he expects to do some more hiring. He also told Crain's Detroit Business that Esperion has gained "control of a series of compounds and will pursue development of a small molecule that inhibits the creation of fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis."

- read the article from the Detroit News
- check out this report for more

SPOTLIGHT: Biocon establishing R&D sub

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:59:53 -0400

India's Biocon says it will transfer four molecules to a new R&D subsidiary, resisting a trend in the subcontinent of spinning off R&D into a new company. Its researchers are working on new drugs for diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, oncology and endocrinology. Report

Resolvyx rounds up $25M

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Bedford, MA-based Resolvyx has garnered $25 million in a second round of venture capital. QVT Financial LP led the funding round. The money will be used to accelerate Resolvyx's preclinical pipeline development and to advance multiple resolvin drug candidates into clinical trials in 2008. Resolvins are a recently discovered family of naturally-occurring, small molecule lipid mediators that resolve inflammation.

"We are excited about the growing recognition of the value of our unique resolvin platform. Attracting investors of this caliber underscores the significant progress we have made toward breakthrough drug products," said Paul Rubin, M.D., President and CEO of Resolvyx. "This funding allows us to continue to advance our resolvin therapeutic candidates, RvE1 and RX-10045, and to further evaluate additional resolvin and protectin compounds." Resolvyx's first round occurred in 2005, when the company gained $17 million.

- see this release for more

ALSO: Another Massachusetts-based company, Cambria Pharmaceuticals, has closed a $5.4 million Series A financing. Release

Abraxis buys Shimoda, subsidiary

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:59:54 -0400

Abraxis BioScience has completed acquisition of South Africa's Shimoda Biotech and its subsidiary, Platco Technologies. Abraxis bought the companies for $15 million up-front, plus potential additional payments upon the achievement of specified milestones. Shimoda is combining off-patent molecules with its drug delivery platform, in order to achieve faster onset and improved bioavailability characteristics of that platform. Platco Technologies focuses on the development of novel platinum-based anti-cancer drugs. Shimoda has one product on the market--Dyloject, an injectable painkiller for the treatment of post-surgical pain.

- here's the release

Related Articles:
Abraxis forges cancer licensing deal with Scripps. Report
Abraxis cleaves company into two new outfits. Report
AstraZeneca, Abraxis ink $200M licensing pact. Report
Abraxis seeks FDA approval. Report

Millennium chief scientist takes offbeat approach

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:59:55 -0400

The Scientist profiles Millennium Pharmaceuticals CSO Joe Bolen, whose team has been advancing a new therapy that targets molecules "upstream" from Velcade. The data will be released at the American Association of Cancer Research meeting. "We'll be the belles of the ball at AACR with this one," says Bolen, whose scientific journey started at the University of Nebraska and wound through 10 years of work at the NIH, where he won the institute's Meritorious Research for his work on protein tyrosine kinase oncogenes.

- read the profile in The Scientist

Related Articles:
Millennium spent $1.3M on lobbying. Report
Positive Velcade data fuels stock rise. Report
Millennium to buy AnorMed for $515M. Report

Wyeth dumps once-promising Curis collaboration

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:59:54 -0400

Back in 2004, Wyeth considered a project with Curis to develop small molecule and protein Hedgehog agonists--which promised new therapies for stroke and cardiovascular ailments--worth potentially more than $170 million in milestone payments.

That was then.

This morning, Curis announced that Wyeth is pulling out of the pact. "Our speculation is that Wyeth has decided to re-prioritize," a Curis spokesman told the Boston Globe. Curis pocketed a $3 million upfront payment in the Wyeth deal. Since then, Curis has repositioned itself as well, focusing on new cancer therapies.

- see this release from Curis
- read the story in the Boston Globe

Related Articles:
Curis halts trial for skin cancer therapy. Report
Curis halts enrollment on trial results. Report
Wyeth stumbles badly trying to develop new drugs. Report

deCODE touts heart attack prevention study

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Iceland's deCODE genetics says that its heart attack prevention drug--DG051--produced convincingly positive data in a Phase IIa study, paving the way to a Phase IIb. This recent study produced data showing that DG051 reduced leukotriene B4 (LTB4), an inflammatory molecule linked to a higher risk of heart attacks. No safety issues were raised in the study. Now deCODE plans to recruit 400 patients for its next study, slated to begin this spring.

"Our gene discovery work pointed us to the branch of the leukotriene pathway producing LTB4 as a major mechanism involved in promoting inflammation in atherosclerotic plaque and thereby increasing risk of heart attack, said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE. "DG051 has been shown to bring this pathway under control and with a very satisfactory safety and tolerability profile."

- here's the release for more info

Related Articles:
Promising results for DeCode's blood clot drug. Report
DeCode touts early heart data. Report
DeCode launches genetic trial. Report

ActivBiotics going into liquidation after trial failure

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:59:55 -0500

ActivBiotics is calling it quits following the failure of its lead therapy. All its assets--which includes a library of 250 small molecules and 800 antibacterial compounds--are going on the auction block this week, with final bids due February 1. The company's lead drug, rifalazil, failed in trials as a new therapy for peripheral arterial disease. And last year the company dumped its plans to go public, citing market conditions. ActivBiotics was founded 11 years ago as Merlin Technologies.

- see the release for more
- read the report from MassHighTech

Related Article:
ActivBiotics, Metaphore sign merger agreement. Report

AZ touts biologics pipeline

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

At an R&D day for analysts and investors, AstraZeneca is filling in some of the details on its move to merge two recent biotech purchases--MedImmune and Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT). In October AstraZeneca announced it plans to combine the two biotechs into a new biologics company with $1.3 billion in revenue. Thanks to the merger, AstraZeneca says its biologics pipeline has doubled in size; the company says it will have three new drug candidates in pivotal trials by 2010, and it's targeting an average of six investigational new drug applications for submission per year. In particular, AstraZeneca is focusing on its antibody and vaccine discovery programs.

"Building a major international presence in the research, development and commercialization of biologics to complement our small molecule capabilities is key to our sustained success," said David Brennan (photo), AstraZeneca's CEO. "The consolidation of all our biologics capabilities from AstraZeneca, Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) and MedImmune into one unit immediately creates one of the world's largest biologics pipelines and establishes us as a leader in biotechnology among our pharmaceutical peers."

Recently, one investment bank said that it expected AstraZeneca to be the worst-performing pharma company in the upcoming years due to generic competition looming in the future. Perhaps the company's reorganized biotech capabilities can convince investors otherwise.

- see this release
- read the MarketWatch report

ALSO: Take a look at AstraZeneca's pipeline. Report

Related Articles:
Forget CAT: the name is MedImmune now. Report
AstraZeneca merges MedImmune, CAT. Report
CAT fetches $1.3B in AstraZeneca buyout. Report
AstraZeneca snares MedImmune in $15.6B buyout. Report

$12M funds new stem cell company

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

With the help of lead contributers ARCH Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners, Seattle-based Fate Therapeutics has rounded up $12 million in VC. The company is developing drugs that spur dormant adult stem cells to regenerate damaged tissue. Unlike other developers, Fate's approach to stem cell research focuses on traditional therapeutics, such as small molecules and protein therapeutics, to direct cell fate--most other stem cell companies have researched cell therapy using harvested cells from cord blood or other tissues.

"We have looked at investing in many stem cell companies, but the science and commercial reality just wasn't there yet," said Robert Nelsen, founding partner of ARCH Venture Partners, whose firm co-founded Fate. "Now is the perfect storm; the right biology breakthroughs; a targeted way to use real drugs; and the leading scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors--all in the same company to develop breakthrough medicines."

- see Fate's release
- read the Seattle Times article

Related Articles:
Billion-dollar baby: Biotech still on a roll with VC funds. Report
Venture capitalists bet big on nanotechnology. Report
Bill could improve funding for small biotechs. Report

Startup: Syndexa takes flight on Harvard technology

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Syndexa Pharmaceuticals is joining the herd in the Boston-area biotech hub, getting started with technology developed by Gokhan Hotamisligil at the Harvard School of Public Health. Syndexa has already raised about $4 million in a seed round to go after new therapies for chronic inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders and obesity-related conditions--including type 2 diabetes. And the company expects to garner a $15 million round in a couple of years.

"We have demonstrated that the modulation of JNK and Endoplasmic Reticulum biology has unexpected phenomenal effects on metabolic disorders," says Hotamisligil. "The company has generated important proof-of-principle data that demonstrates that small molecule compounds can be identified that can modulate the inflammatory responses associated with JNK activity and ER biology. We believe that these compounds will have robust anti-diabetic and anti-atherosclerotic activity. This not only confirms our initial research findings but also gives us confidence that a successful drug will emerge from this work."

- check out the report from The Boston Business Journal

Related Article:
Boston biotech booming as scientific research flourishes. Report

Merck KGaA starts Phase III Parkinson's trial

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Merck KGaA has launched a late-stage study of safinamide for Parkinson's disease. The drug is designed to help improve motor function, but the study will also explore its affect on cognitive function and quality of life. Some 650 volunteers are being signed up to get two doses of the drug in combination with dopamine agonists in comparison to dopamine agonists alone. Merck gained a worldwide license to the therapy from Newron last year.

- see this release
- here's the AFX report on the trial

Related Articles:
More tests planned after Parkinson's drug fails trial. Report
New approaches pursued on Parkinson's. Report
Molecule could reverse Parkinson's. Report

GPC Biotech reports Q3 results, layoffs

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

GPC Biotech is regrouping after last week's announcement that a Phase III trial of its prostate cancer drug candidate, satraplatin, failed to help patients live longer in a critical trial. With the possibility of near-term revenue from satraplatin gone, GPC said it will reorganized in order to make its $87 million in cash last through 2009. "Numerous cost-cutting measures to be implemented shortly, including a significant workforce reduction," the company stated in a release. No word yet on just how significant the cuts will be.

GPC will continue Phase II testing of satraplatin. In addition, the company has a Phase I monocolonal antibody in development, and plans to advance a small-molecule drug candidate into Phase I testing in the near future.

- see GPC's Q3 results
- read this Motley Fool item

Related Articles:
GPC shares crater on Phase III cancer failure. Report
FDA delay forces cutbacks at GPC Biotech. Report
GPC yanks FDA application for satraplatin. Report
FDA questions satraplatin. Report
Top 5 layoffs of 2007. Report

Cytos vaccine offers radically new approach

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Cytos Biotechnology has won a round of kudos for its experimental vaccine to control hypertension. CYT006-AngQb produced positive safety and efficacy data in a small Phase IIa trial of 72 volunteers with mild to moderate blood pressure. The therapy works by inhibiting angiontensin II, a molecule responsible for high blood pressure. One of the reasons why some top scientists are bullish about the therapy is that it offers an opportunity to treat the condition with an occasional jab, as opposed to a regimen of daily pills. And it's been delivering some impressive data in the clinic. Both doses of the drug worked to lower blood pressure in the trial, with the higher dose performing best. And the therapy appeared effective in lowering blood pressure during the early morning hours, when high blood pressure is particularly dangerous.

"The big hope is that you could give a few doses, and that would be it for life, then you wouldn't have some of the compliance issues related to taking medications on a daily basis," Daniel Jones, president of the American Heart Association, told the Washington Post. "Safety is the key thing. If this is proven safe, I really can't think of a downside."

- check out this release from Cytos
- here's the report from the Washington Post

Related Articles:
Novartis, Cytos inks $500M anti-smoking vaccine pact. Report
New tech drives huge growth in vaccine business. Report
New approach to vaccine development. Report
Vaccine "renaissance" attracts huge new venture investments. Report

Syntaxin lands $33M for promising platform

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:55 -0400

The venture capital arm of GlaxoSmithKline, SR One, has co-led a $33 million venture round for the UK's Syntaxin--a developer focused on cell secretion. The Series B was also co-led by Life Science Partners. Syntaxin's technology is being used to develop proteins that can prevent a cell from secreting hormones or the signaling molecules the play a key role in disease.

"Syntaxin's discovery platform provides a unique approach to the development of a new class of biopharmaceutical products with potential application across a broad range of indications," said Deborah Harland, general partner at SR One.

- see this release for more

Galapagos inks massive RA deal with J&J

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Belgium-based Galapagos shares shot up 12 percent on news that the company has inked a massive deal with Jassen Pharmaceutica, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The deal, which is worth up to €1 billion, covers small-molecule oral drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Under the agreement, Galapagos will get €15 million up front and an additional €2 million milestone payment for GT146, one of Galapagos' advanced RA programs. Janssen may select up to 12 programs from Galapagos' RA targets. For each program licensed by Janssen, Galapagos could receive option exercise fees and milestone payments up to €73 million, plus royalties on net sales of each approved new RA drug.

- see this release on the deal for more

Related Articles:
Galapagos extends discovery pact with Amgen. Report
Galapagos to buy UK's Inpharmatica. Report
J&J restructures pharma unit, laying off workers. Report
Scientists unveil new pathway for rheumatoid arthritis. Report