Most Clicked BIO SmartBrief Stories
1. Roche and Biogen halt development of ocrelizumab
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 09, 2010
Biogen Idec and Roche Holding temporarily stopped trials of ocrelizumab in arthritis patients after an independent panel voiced concern about "serious and opportunistic infections" linked to the drug, Roche said in a statement. The companies plan to review all data before deciding on the next step for development. Bloomberg BusinessWeek (03/08)
2. Merck KGaA plans to move U.S. chemical unit to Massachusetts
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 04, 2010
Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Merck KGaA's chairman, said he plans to transfer the drugmaker's U.S. chemical unit from Gibbstown, N.J., to Billerica, Mass. Merck will name the division, which markets laboratory material and life sciences equipment, EMD Millipore once it finalizes its acquisition of Millipore, Kley said. Boston Globe, The (03/03)
3. Innate Pharma will focus R&D on monoclonal antibodies
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 08, 2010
Innate Pharma said it will concentrate on the development of monoclonal antibodies while halting the development of some experimental drugs, including IPH 1101 for the indication of chronic blood cancer and two RNA-based drug candidates. "The [RNA candidate] projects will not be binned, but we will try to find buyers to continue them," said Laure-Helene Mercier, head of the firm's investor relations. Reuters (03/05)
4. OSI shareholder tells Astellas to increase takeover bid by 15%
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 05, 2010
OrbiMed Advisors, one of OSI Pharmaceuticals' major shareholders, advised Astellas Pharma to increase its takeover offer by 15%, from $52 to $60 per share. Negotiations heated up this week when OSI rejected Astellas' $3.5 billion hostile bid, prompting the latter to file a lawsuit. Bloomberg BusinessWeek (03/04)
5. Genomics pioneer shares his vision on the future of medicine
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 09, 2010
Leroy Hood, founder of Seattle-based Institute for Systems Biology, said he thinks the medicine of the future will transform from reactive to predictive, personalized, preventative and participatory medicine, also referred to as the P4 approach. In this interview, Hood also mentioned the technologies that will drive medical advances, such as the use of individual genomes as health records and application of nanotechnology in protein measurement. MIT Technology Review (03/09)
6. Aveo Pharmaceuticals will go public with 7 million shares
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 08, 2010
Aveo Pharmaceuticals plans to publicly offer 7 million shares to raise about $100 million. An analyst had a grim outlook on the initial public offering, saying that nervous investors might hinder Aveo's chance of hitting its target. Boston Herald (03/08)
7. FDA committee urges additional prosecution of food and drug execs
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 04, 2010
An FDA panel recommended that the agency "increase the appropriate use" of prosecution of drug and food industry executives under its "strict liability" provision. The agency forwarded the advice to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ahead of the release of a Government Accountability Office report on the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations. Wall Street Journal, The (03/04)
8. Prostate cancer vaccine Provenge won't undergo FDA panel review
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 03, 2010
An FDA spokeswoman said the agency will not assign an expert panel to review prostate cancer vaccine Provenge before its approval deadline in May. The Dendreon drug was evaluated by an advisory committee in 2007, but the FDA delayed its decision to wait for results of a clinical trial. Reuters (03/02)
9. Venture capitalist gives $6M to Institute for Systems Biology:
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 09, 2010
A venture capitalist in California has donated $6 million to the Institute for Systems Biology to help it transfer to a new facility and hire new faculty members, according to the Seattle-based institute. The institute will receive the gift over five years and will use it to conduct research into personalized medicine and biofuels, among other areas. American City Business Journals (03/08)
10. Stem Cell Innovations obtains research contract from German firm
BIO SmartBrief | Mar 03, 2010
Stem Cell Innovations agreed to provide research and testing to German biopharmaceutical firm Agennix to help it develop talactoferrin, an oral drug candidate that appears to fight nonsmall-cell lung cancer and severe sepsis. The agreement includes the use of Stem Cell's C3A human liver cell line. American City Business Journals (03/02)
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