@FierceBiotech: Benlysta review spooks investors ahead of FDA panel. Report | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: AcelRx is shooting for an $86M IPO. No product revenue, late-stage pain drug. Doesn't look all that promising. Story | Follow @JohnCFierce
> In yet another new ‘first' for stem cell companies, ReNeuron says that it dosed the first patient in a small stroke study, with an elderly patient on the receiving end of a series of stem cell injections in the brain. It's the first such clinical trial in the world. "In this trial, we are seeking to establish the safety and feasibility of stem cell implantation, which will require careful follow-up of the patients who take part," said Professor Keith Muir. Investigators plan to treat a dozen people with ReNeuron's neural stem cells, which are extracted from fetuses. Story
> Winning the U.S. nod for breast cancer treatment Halaven is just Eisai's first step toward building up the drug. Now FDA-approved for late-stage breast cancer in women who've failed on at least two other treatments, the drug could reach $1 billion in annual sales, CEO Haruo Naito says, provided it wins additional indications. Item
> Jiminez: Novartis isn't 'giving up' on pharma model. Story
> Providence, RI-based Beech Tree Labs has garnered $7 million in a Series B and simultaneously announced receipt of a new government grant. Report
> Shares of ProStrakan jumped after the company announced that it had rejected a takeover offer and would consider new offers for the company. The money will be used to pay for two Phase 2 IND clinical trials currently in progress for influenza and recurrent oral herpes. Story
> Sangart says that the FDA provided an orphan drug designation for its investigational drug MP4CO. Release
> Pharma CEO pay ranks high, but not very. Report
And Finally... Accidentally leaving surgical items such as sponges and small instruments in the bodies of children who undergo surgery is both uncommon and rarely fatal. But it is decidedly dangerous and expensive mistakes, according to a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study to be published in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Such errors add an average of $36,000 in costs for each case. Article