@FierceBiotech: Lilly, BMS halt new enrollment in PhIII lung cancer study. Item | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: Our Boston breakfast was so successful we're doing four this year, starting April 13 in SF. Topic: Designing the perfect Phase II study. | Follow @JohnCFierce
> Seattle-based Dendreon has raised an additional $80 million. Report
> Researchers say that a new antibiotic from Optimer works significantly better than the industry standard vancomycin in combating a relapse of Clostridium difficile. In a 629-patient study investigators report that fidaxomicin reduced the rate of recurrence by 45 percent when compared to vancomycin. Both antibiotics had a similar cure rate, but researchers hailed fidaxomicin's ability to target C diff while leaving healthy bacteria in the gut untouched. "Fidaxomicin does kill the bug, but in terms of recurrence, it doesn't disturb the normal balance of flora in the intestines," said co-author Dr. Sherwood Gorbach. "This drug should actually save lives." Report
> DARA BioSciences CEO Richard Franco claims that Big Pharma has demonstrated big interest in its mid-stage pain therapy. There's no word, though, on just which companies he's boasting about. Story
> Shionogi-ViiV Healthcare says that the first patient has entered the SINGLE study designed to support a new fixed-dose combination therapy for HIV. Shionogi release
And Finally... By taking muscle cells from a cadaver and grafting them on to a tube researchers say they were able to make new blood vessels, pointing to a day in which these blood vessels can be manufactured and use in heart bypass surgery. Story