@FierceBiotech: Buzz: Actavis closes in on Big Pharma status with $64B Allergan buyout. Report | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: Buzz is on. It looks like Allergan found its White Knight deal in Actavis. More likely that Pfizer now follows up? | Follow @JohnCFierce
@DamianFierce: Relevant to today's $PFE + Merck KGaA deal: @FierceBiotech's (now dated) list of the biggest upfront payments ever. More | Follow @DamianFierce
> Shares of Celldex ($CLDX) shot up 26% Monday morning on the news that interim results for its glioblastoma drug rindopepimut demonstrated "clear signs of clinical activity." There was an overall survival rate of 12 months compared to 8.8 months for the control arm of the study. It's rare to see signs of success in this field. And 27% of the patients in the drug arm were alive without disease progression at 6 months, compared to 11% in the control group. Release
> Merck ($MRK) announced that an analysis of data from a pivotal Phase II study--KEYNOTE-002--showed that its PD-1 drug pembrolizumab "substantially improved the primary endpoint of progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy (P<0.0001 for both comparisons) in patients with ipilimumab-refractory advanced melanoma." Release
> Portola along with Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) and Pfizer ($PFE) say that the first part of their late-stage study of Andexanet alfa produced rapid and nearly complete reversal (by approximately 94 percent, p value < 0.0001) of the anticoagulant effect of Eliquis (apixaban) in healthy volunteers ages 50-75. Release
> Shares of Amicus Therapeutics ($FOLD) shot up 15% this morning after the biotech reported that its drug migalastat garnered additional positive data in a late-stage study of Fabry disease. Release
> Roche ($RHHBY) has bagged its deal to develop INO-5150, Inovio's ($INO) DNA immunotherapy targeting prostate cancer, as well as their research collaboration in prostate cancer. All of Roche's rights to INO-5150, including the right to license the product to other parties, will be returned to Inovio. Inovio says it plans to advance INO-5150 into a Phase I clinical trial in the first half of 2015. Shares dropped 8% this morning. Release
> Tekmira Pharmaceuticals ($TKMR) has licensed its proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery technology for exclusive use in Dicerna's ($DRNA) primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) development program. Dicerna will pay Tekmira $2.5 million upfront and payments of $22 million in aggregate development milestones, plus a mid-single-digit royalty on future PH1 sales. Release
Medical Device News
@FierceMedDev: UPDATED w/ info from @AdvaMedUpdate Trade agreement with China paves the way for reduction in medical device tariffs. Article | Follow @FierceMedDev
@EmilyWFierce: Reckitt ready to set pharma free in December spinoff, dubbed Indivior. Story | Follow @EmilyWFierce
> Medtronic partners with DaVita as it rolls out CRT meta-analysis data. Story
> LifeBond raising $25M to support development of surgical sealant technology. More
> Report: Hold off on knee replacement until it's necessary. Article
Pharma News
@FiercePharma: Kindred's losses expand as struggling startup boosts R&D efforts. More | Follow @FiercePharma
@CarlyHFierce: $ACT to Acquire Allergan to Create Top 10 Global Growth Pharmaceutical Company with $23 Billion in Revenue. Release | Follow @CarlyHFierce
> Reckitt ready to set pharma free in December spinoff, dubbed Indivior. Story
> Surprise: Merck's cholesterol combo Vytorin hits goal in long-awaited outcomes trial. More
> Roche's Avastin wins FDA green light in ovarian cancer. Article
CRO News
> Recipharm trades $140M for a Portuguese CDMO. Story
> Catalent makes another buy and ticks up its revenue. Report
> Parexel eyes logistics with latest EU expansion. Story
> WuXi ups its revenue ambitions after M&A and expansion. Article
Biotech IT News
> Pathway Genomics strikes IBM Watson deal and research collaboration. Report
> Ombudsman pushes EMA for explanation of Humira CSR redactions. Item
> Venter's HLI inks deal to access registry of 11,000 twins. Story
> Genomics England seeks teams to analyze data from 100,000 Genomes Project. More
> NHS sets out vision for IT-enabled, research-facilitating future. Article
Animal Health News
> High-flying Heska talks up business overhaul at NYC investor event. More
> Phibro updates guidance for the year, declares quarterly dividend. Report
> Kindred's losses expand as struggling startup boosts R&D efforts. Story
> FDA continues crackdown on equine drugmakers. Item
> Aratana shares sag despite lower-than-expected Q3 loss. Article