result in another 1 million patients who didn’t realize they had the disease to start seeking treatment, which includes Vertex’s drug telaprevir.
—As Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) restructures its global R&D work to cut $1.5 billion in spending, Massachusetts could see 350 jobs added, according to reports in the Boston Globe. The firm will be cutting 100 jobs in the Boston area while adding 450 through the relocation of its neuroscience and cardiovascular metabolic research groups from Groton, CT.
—Cambridge-based Vitality, a maker of Internet-connected pill bottle caps to remind patients to take their meds as scheduled, was bought by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, former executive chairman of Los Angeles biotech firm Abraxis BioScience, which sold to Celgene last summer. Soon-Shiong, an early investor in Vitality, is working on improving healthcare with patient-centered health initiatives and wellness-focused technologies through a venture called the All About Advanced Health (AAAH) Project. The Vitality brand name will be retained and its management team will remain in Cambridge.
—Our new Detroit and national med tech editor Tom Lee took at look at Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) in light of its fiscal 2010 earnings, which were released early this week. The med device firm’s overall sales dipped 5 percent from 2009. Boston Scientific has acquired several companies over the past few months and retains a bright outlook on its future, saying it can generate 11 to 12 percent compound annual earnings growth over the next four years.
—Ocular Therapeutix, a Bedford, MA-based developer of hydrogel treatments for the eye, said it raised $14 million in a Series D round of funding, which included new investor Ascension Health Ventures, the investment arm of the country’s largest chain of Catholic hospitals Ascension Health. Previous Ocular investors Polaris Venture Partners, SV Life Sciences, and Versant Ventures also participated in the round. The company has now raised $41.2 million since its founding.
