@FierceBiotech: Melnyk's Trimel BioPharma mulls financing options: IPO possible. Article | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: I have to wonder which lawmakers are thinking about quitting if they can get Billy Tauzin's job. $2M a year is quite a temptation. Follow @JohnCFierce
> The underwriters of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals' recent IPO have acquired 2.5 million shares of the company, boosting the developer's take from $188 million to $203 million. Ironwood had hoped to raise $266 million in the IPO, but fell well short of its target. Ironwood now has $320 million in cash and a drug in late-stage development. Report
> Montgomery County officials are providing a $1.5 million grant to help the startup Zyngenia, which is chaired by ex-MedImmune CEO David Mott. Mott is also chairman of Montgomery County's Biosciences Task Force. Story
> Per Olof Wallström, the CEO of Stockholm-based Karo Bio, has handed in his resignation. Release
> Meda signed an exclusive licensing agreement for Xerese with the Swedish development company Medivir AB. Release
> Celldex Therapeutics has picked up a $3 million sublicense payment from TopoTarget. Story
Pharma News
@FiercePharma: Billy Tauzin to step down as president of PhRMA in June. Report | Follow @FiercePharma
> Analysts: Eli Lilly's Effient won't be a blockbuster. Article
> Activist investors Carl Icahn and Ralph Whitworth are loading up on Genzyme shares. Report
> Merck grew profits even more than expected from its merger with Schering-Plough, beating analyst estimates by 1 cent per share. Report
Pharma Manufacturing News
> The Alliance for a Stronger FDA is "disappointed" in the president's 23 percent budget increase request and will seek to increase it from tax revenues, which are a shrinking source of FDA funds. Report
> The recent FDA warning letter to Ohm Laboratories, in which the regulator calls "inadequate" the company's corrective measures to fix GMP violations, has left the company in a precarious position. Story
Biotech Research News
> A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a defective signaling pathway that contributes to the severity of cystic fibrosis. Article
> Nobel laureate Paul Nurse recently sat down with New Scientist to review the development of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, which he calls "one of the UK's most important biomedical research initiatives in a generation." Story
Biotech IT News
> Drugmakers are cozying up to IT companies to better make the case for their products. Report
> Health Decisions has added digital pens to its adaptive clinical trial arsenal. The contract researcher is equipping investigators with pen/paper technology from Anoto, based in Sweden. Article
And Finally...After weathering a scandal regarding research and data, Sequenom has launched a new test to determine the sex of a fetus. Story