Sao Paulo, Brazil. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
—In his BioBeat column, Luke argues that the urban density and tight-knit nature of Boston’s life sciences community make it likely that “America’s Walking City” will eventually eclipse the San Francisco Bay Area as the nation’s No. 1 biotech hub. He writes, “When I travel to Boston, all I need is a hotel room, a subway pass, and good walking shoes to pack an amazingly efficient day of meetings with innovators.” In San Francisco or San Diego, he says, “you have to rent a car (often way overpriced) and spend a fair amount of time traveling around suburban office parks, sitting in traffic.”
—Senomyx (Nasdaq: [[ticker:SNMX]]), the San Diego tastemaker (literally!), said the European Union has given its regulatory approval to the biotech company’s four initial “savory flavors,” along with its S2383 flavor ingredient. The company says S2383 is a flavor ingredient that restores the taste profile in products that have reduced amounts of sucralose, the intense artificial sweetener. In a statement, Senomyx CEO Kent Snyder says the savory flavors “can be used in a variety of food products including sauces, frozen foods, cooking aids, soups, and snack foods.”
—San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics (Nasdaq: [[ticker:CYTX]]) said the first patient to use the company’s technology for treating a severe form of heart failure began last month in Minneapolis. In a statement, Cytori says it is the first FDA-approved trial in the U.S. to evaluate adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells (ADRCs) for heart disease. Cytori’s therapy uses a patient’s own regenerative cells, processed using the company’s technology.
