> Shares in Active Biotech (STO:ACTI) dropped 60% after development of its prostate cancer drug tasquinimod screeched to a halt. The Swedish biotech was developing tasquinimod with Ipsen (EPA:IPN), but the partners decided to cut their losses after seeing topline data from a Phase III trial. Tasquinimod failed to extend overall survival in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. Release
> Bone Therapeutics (EBR:BOTHE) joined the small but growing band of European companies to set up in the biotech hotspot of Kendall Square. The Belgian biotech picked the site in Cambridge, MA, as the base for its U.S. operations, which are set to scale up as it advances its clinical trial program in the country. Abcam (AIM:ABC), Horizon Discovery (AIM:HZD) and Ipsen (EPA:IPN)--as well as units of Novartis ($NVS) and Sanofi ($SNY)--also have operations in Kendall Square. Release
> Galapagos (AMS:GLPG) traded up almost 20% after its AbbVie ($ABBV)-partnered blockbuster hopeful GLPG0634 impressed in a Phase IIb trial. Data on the oral JAK1 inhibitor suggest it works quickly, is as effective as similar drugs--as well as emerging antibody rivals--and has a good safety profile. With the data in the bag, attention now turns to the date on which AbbVie will decide whether to opt in to the program. A decision is expected in September. The company followed up the news by filing for a $150 million (€140 million) Nasdaq IPO. FierceBiotech I More
> UniQure ($QURE) priced its follow-on offering at $29.50 (€27.80) a share, well below the figure it was aiming for when it first filed the paperwork. Net proceeds are expected to total $82.4 million before money from a possible over-allotment is counted. The total is down on the amount uniQure thought it might be able to raise because news of a possible regulatory setback for Glybera in Europe wiped out some of the share price gains made in the wake of the deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY). Release
> GW Pharmaceuticals ($GWPH) posted positive data on its cannabis-derived epilepsy drug, Epidiolex. The open-label study linked the drug to a 54% drop in the number of seizures in patients with severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy. The finding bodes well for Epidiolex as GW Pharmaceuticals puts it through the more rigorous test of a Phase III trial in patients with Dravet syndrome. Patients with Dravet in the open-label study experienced a 53% fall in the number of seizures. FierceBiotech
> Kalliste Biotech Fund Manager Sacha Pouget tallied up the top performing European biotech stocks and spotted one country is outperforming the rest: Germany. The top two stocks--Medigene (FRA:MDG1) and Formycon (FRA:FYB)--are both German, as are two of the other companies in the top 10. Strong performance by these companies has underpinned a 61% increase for German biotechs as a whole, a far greater rise than any other country has achieved. BiotechBourse
> Incyte ($INCY) moved forward with plans to open a 9,000-square-foot site in Geneva, Switzerland. The site will give the Wilmington, DE-based biotech a base from which to oversee its European clinical development activities. Incyte is currently aiming to open the site in the next few months and staff it with 15 new employees. FierceBiotech
> Having shopped around for a U.S. partner for almost a year, Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX:SANN) is now considering raising cash and bringing its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug to market solo. CEO Thomas Meier said the rethink was prompted by talks with U.S. investors, who argued the chance to keep more of the sales make it the smart option. Such bullishness has bitten biotechs in the past, though. Bloomberg
> Omeicos Therapeutics raised €6.2 million ($6.6 million) in a Series A round. The German biotech will use the money to advance the lead candidate from its research into synthetic derivatives of natural metabolites of omega-3 fatty acids toward the clinic. Omeicos thinks its synthetic molecules can strike the balance between potency and stability that evaded earlier attempts to use omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Release
> Actelion (SIX:ATLN) hit the gas on development of its selective S1P receptor modulators after weighing up the medical and commercial potential of the assets. The lead candidate--ponesimod--is moving into a Phase III multiple sclerosis trial and a Phase II chronic graft versus host disease study. Actelion is pushing a second asset into Phase II to assess its effectiveness against systemic lupus erythematosus. The Phase III trial is due to last three years and enrol 1,100 patients. Release
> Foamix Pharmaceuticals ($FOMX) raised $60 million (€56 million) in a secondary offering. The Israeli biotech--which went public in a scaled-down $40 million IPO in September--will use the cash to run a suite of mid to late-phase clinical trials. A Phase III trial and safety studies of FMX102--a treatment for the bacterial skin infection impetigo--are expected to swallow up around $10 million of the cash, a sum that could be exceeded by FMX103 and FDX104 if they advance into Phase III. Globes I SEC filing
> AstraZeneca's ($AZN) MedImmune teamed up with Immunocore on a Phase Ib/II immuno-oncology trial. The study will test Immunocore's T-cell receptor-based therapy in combination with MedImmune's investigational checkpoint inhibitors against PD-L1 and CTLA-4. Oxford, U.K.-based Immunocore originally hooked up with MedImmune in January 2014. Release