material in umbilical cords after birth—side-stepping the controversy over drawing stem cells from embryos, according to the company.
BioVex — Woburn, MA
BioVex is developing genetically modified viruses to treat cancer and infectious diseases. This spring Luke wrote about the positive results BioVex reported in a mid-stage clinical trial in which its lead drug—a genetically modified herpes simplex virus—partially shrank melanomas in more than a quarter of patients studied. The company hopes to close a major financing next year to fund further development of its treatments.
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals — Watertown, MA
Dicerna has garnered attention in the white hot RNAi field with its next-generation RNAi treatments. The venture-backed company, which says its offers alternative gene-silencing drugs to Alnylam’s and others, is developing drugs that block so-called Dicer enzyme and could be longer-lasting than competing RNAi drugs.
Dyax Pharmaceuticals — Cambridge, MA
Dyax (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DYAX]])—a 13-year-old biotech company known for its oft-licensed phage display technology for drug discovery—has its sights set gaining FDA approval of its lead drug, DX-88, for patients with the rare and life-threatening condition hereditary angioedema. Luke caught up with the company this summer after it announced positive results from a late-stage study of DX-88, and I wrote a quick post recently about its financing deal to raise up to $50 million.
EnVivo Pharmaceuticals — Watertown, MA
EnVivo is advancing treatments for nervous-system disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntinton’s disease, and schizophrenia. In October, news broke that venture firm Fidelity Biosciences, based in Cambridge, invested $65 million in EnVivo in a Series D venture financing, buying out EnVivo’s other investors.
EyeGate Pharma — Waltham, MA
EyeGate offers potential relief for those of us who have had needles stuck in our eyes to treat such conditions as dry eye and uveitis. The venture-based company is developing a proprietary delivery technology to administer drugs to the front- and back-surface tissues of the eye—no needle required. We profiled the firm and its non-invasive approach to delivering eye treatments earlier this year.
Idera Pharmaceuticals — Cambridge, MA
Idera is a leading developer of DNA- and RNA-based drugs that target immune-system receptors called Toll-like receptors (TLRs) as a means of treating such ailments as
