@FierceBiotech: Roche melanoma drug registers striking results. Article | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: Cephalon CEO Frank Baldino is taking a temp medical leave of absence, but no word on what ails him. Story | Follow @JohnCFierce
> Venture capitalists have invested $123 million in Michigan companies so far in 2010, according to a report released today by the Ann Arbor-based Michigan Venture Capital Association. Item
> We are hearing some very loud and credible chatter that long-awaited good news may be coming for Cleveland BioLabs (Nasdaq: CBLI), the company that engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of products for human protection from radiation. Article
> Idera Pharmaceuticals has achieved a milestone under its worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA. The milestone was achieved upon Merck KGaA's initiation of a Phase Ib clinical trial of IMO-2055 in combination with cisplatin, fluorouracil and cetuximab in first-line treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Idera release
> Shire has won approval from the European Commission to market its Gaucher disease treatment, called VPRIV, to 30 countries in Europe. The drug, which was approved in the U.S. by the FDA in March, is an enzyme replacement therapy intended for long-term treatment of type 1 Gaucher disease. Report
> For investment banks, August is the sleepiest month, sending dealmakers to the beach. But not this year. There's been $217.9 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions so far this month. That makes it the fourth-busiest August ever, not far behind the dotcom go-go years of 1999 and 2000 and the credit boom year of 2006, when leveraged buyouts reigned. Last August, there was less than $130 billion worth of deals, according to Thomson Reuters. Story
> Shares of Exelixis rose Thursday after several executives and directors at the biotechnology company bought shares of its stock. Insider stock purchases by executives are typically a sign of confidence in the company's prospects. Article
> IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) announced today that they have entered into an agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany for chemical process development and clinical trial doses supply of Florbetaben, a molecular imaging compound in development for the detection of Alzheimer's Disease pathology. IBA release
And Finally... DNA from survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 65 years ago may help doctors gauge whether certain cancer treatments can trigger genetic defects that can be passed on to patients' children. News