It might be hard to tell these days, but cancer immunotherapy can be disappointing, too. In a lunchtime review Monday at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in San Francisco, Ronald Levy, a Stanford University professor with a long, storied history in the field, reviewed the trickle of clinical research presented at the meeting … Continue reading “Pioneer’s Lament: Lack of Checkpoint Immunotherapy For Blood Cancer”
Author: Alex Lash
I've spent nearly all my working life as a journalist. I covered the rise and fall of the dot-com era in the second half of the 1990s, then switched to life sciences in the new millennium. I've written about the strategy, financing and scientific breakthroughs of biotech for The Deal, Elsevier's Start-Up, In Vivo and The Pink Sheet, and Xconomy.
Immunotherapy Confidence (And Audience) Abundant At ASH T-Cell Talk
With cancer immunotherapy tallying impressive patient results and new drug approvals, people in the field are confident about expanding its scope. That confidence was abundant in back-to-back presentations Sunday at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting before an audience into the thousands. Two heavyweights in cancer immunotherapy, Carl June, a professor at the University … Continue reading “Immunotherapy Confidence (And Audience) Abundant At ASH T-Cell Talk”
At ASH, Sunesis Dices Data to Argue For “Failed” Leukemia Drug
No drug has been approved to treat acute myeloid leukemia in four decades. As two specialists in the field wrote a couple years ago, “We indeed regularly administer the same chemotherapy regimens that became standard care for AML in the 1970s, back when each of us was playing Little League baseball.” South San Francisco, CA-based … Continue reading “At ASH, Sunesis Dices Data to Argue For “Failed” Leukemia Drug”
Amid String of Exits for VenBio, a Founding Partner Leaves, Too
With three acquisitions of its portfolio companies, San Francisco biotech investment firm venBio has had a few good exits recently. Now one of its partners is exiting, too. Kurt Von Emster, one of four venBio founders, has decamped for Abingworth, a life science venture firm with a much longer history and global reach. Abingworth made … Continue reading “Amid String of Exits for VenBio, a Founding Partner Leaves, Too”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Amgen, Ariosa, Avanir, Audentes & More
Where is biotech innovation? All over, we would contend, but according to The Scientist magazine, San Diego has been an especially good place to look this year. The publication listed its top 10 life science innovations of 2014, and five are from San Diego companies. Fifty percent. It might have helped that 40 percent of … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Amgen, Ariosa, Avanir, Audentes & More”
With Crossover Cash, Seres Health Aims For Big Microbiome Milestones
Seres Health of Cambridge, MA, announced two big steps Tuesday. First, it says it has raised $48 million in a Series C round from public investors, which is often a sign among biotech companies that a push toward an IPO is on the horizon. If indeed that is the company’s intent—as CEO Roger Pomerantz (pictured) … Continue reading “With Crossover Cash, Seres Health Aims For Big Microbiome Milestones”
“Innovation at Biotech’s Epicenter,” Dec. 17: Check Out the Agenda
We’re less than one month away from our annual biotech event in San Francisco. This year, it’s called Xconomy Forum: Innovation at Biotech’s Epicenter, and we’re gathering December 17 in the Mission Bay neighborhood to talk about the emerging science, unique geography, and risk-taking strategies that will spur the Bay Area’s biomedical innovation for the … Continue reading ““Innovation at Biotech’s Epicenter,” Dec. 17: Check Out the Agenda”
Roche Enters Noninvasive Prenatal Test Market With Ariosa Purchase
Eyeing the biotech IPO boom earlier this year, Ariosa Diagnostics planned to go public as it battled larger competitors in the prenatal testing field. But the San Jose, CA-based company backed off in late April, and that was its last chance. Multinational healthcare firm Roche has bought Ariosa for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced … Continue reading “Roche Enters Noninvasive Prenatal Test Market With Ariosa Purchase”
More Biotechs Belly-Up These Days but Dendreon Still “One of a Kind”
Biotech companies rarely go bankrupt. Sitting where I sit, that bit of conventional wisdom comes around every so often, although it doesn’t generate quite the same buzz as Halley’s Comet or a wardrobe malfunction. Bankruptcy just doesn’t get America jawing over the water cooler on Monday morning. (I can’t imagine why.) If your cooler is … Continue reading “More Biotechs Belly-Up These Days but Dendreon Still “One of a Kind””
Patient Deaths Move Amgen To Pull Drug From Stomach Cancer Trials
[Corrected 11/25/14, 3:00 pm. See below.] Thousand Oaks, CA-based Amgen said Monday it has halted all use of its experimental antibody therapy rilotumumab. [A previous version of this story said rilotumumab was developed at Immunex, which Amgen acquired in 2002. The drug was in fact developed at Amgen’s main campus. We regret the error.] An … Continue reading “Patient Deaths Move Amgen To Pull Drug From Stomach Cancer Trials”
Bay Area Innovators To Shake Up “Biotech’s Epicenter” Event 12/17
We’re one month away from our annual biotech event in San Francisco. This year, it’s called Xconomy Forum: Innovation at Biotech’s Epicenter, and we’re gathering December 17 in the Mission Bay neighborhood to talk about the emerging science, great ideas, and risk-taking strategies that will spur the Bay Area’s biomedical innovation for the next 25 … Continue reading “Bay Area Innovators To Shake Up “Biotech’s Epicenter” Event 12/17″
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Juno, Hutch, Fibrogen & More
Snow? What snow? The only thing piling up at astonishing rates on the West Coast this week is biotech news. Up in Seattle, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has unveiled its new president, and its neighbor Juno Therapeutics filed to go public—two events not entirely unrelated, as we note here. Down the coast, Gilead … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Juno, Hutch, Fibrogen & More”
Seattle’s Fred Hutch Taps a Harvard, Merck Vet As New President
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle has unveiled D. Gary Gilliland as its new president and director. He steps to the helm with a strong tailwind, as the center’s research is part of a new field that has shown early promise eradicating leukemia from some of the sickest patients in the country. Gilliland … Continue reading “Seattle’s Fred Hutch Taps a Harvard, Merck Vet As New President”
With Gilead’s $125M Purchase, FDA Voucher Program Gains Momentum
[UPDATED 11/19/14, 6:44pm. See below.] The next time Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) has a drug ready for an all-important Food and Drug Administration review, it can jump the line. That’s because Gilead, the Foster City, CA-based maker of blockbuster drugs to treat HIV and Hepatitis C, paid a little-known Canadian drug company $125 million for … Continue reading “With Gilead’s $125M Purchase, FDA Voucher Program Gains Momentum”
With Atlas Cash and Berkeley Tools, Intellia Joins the CRISPR Fray
Add another entrant to the race toward what might be called Gene Therapy 2.0. Atlas Venture and the research arm of the drug giant Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]) have put $15 million into the Series A round for Intellia Therapeutics, which is emerging today from stealth after two years of incubation. The Cambridge, MA, startup will … Continue reading “With Atlas Cash and Berkeley Tools, Intellia Joins the CRISPR Fray”
New Research Could (Finally) Remove RNAi’s Commercial Limitations
[Corrected 11/17/14, 12:30pm. See below.] If nothing else, the acronym RNAi, which stands for ribonucleic acid interference, should be familiar to biotech observers as something that won two researchers the Nobel Prize in 2006, and that a few companies have tried to turn into drugs. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) is the most well-known. But in … Continue reading “New Research Could (Finally) Remove RNAi’s Commercial Limitations”
Deltanoid and Beyond: Madison Legend DeLuca Has More “D” To Play
Hector DeLuca is the embodiment of nearly a century of University of Wisconsin research into Vitamin D, and he’s working to extend that reach for at least another generation or two. Now in his mid-80s, DeLuca is the CEO and president of a small Madison, WI, biotech, Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals. He’s also the university’s former biochemistry … Continue reading “Deltanoid and Beyond: Madison Legend DeLuca Has More “D” To Play”
In Its Bumpy Second Life, Geron Signs Top Drug Over to J&J
As we saw this week with Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), pioneers in the biomedical industry can end up with arrows in their back, bleeding to death. Geron (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GERN]]) has avoided that fate. Based in Menlo Park, CA, the former developer of a cutting-edge stem-cell therapy decided three years ago to ditch stem cells, even though … Continue reading “In Its Bumpy Second Life, Geron Signs Top Drug Over to J&J”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Intarcia, Dendreon, Amgen, Doudna & More
[Corrected 11/13/14, 5:40 pm. See below.] West Coast spotlights this week are on new ways to fight disease. Some are close to getting to market: Amgen announced late-stage development and regulatory news about two drug programs that aim to treat psoriasis and heart disease through novel biomolecular mechanisms. Some are a bit farther away: Bicoastal … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Intarcia, Dendreon, Amgen, Doudna & More”
As Huge Bills Loom, Immunotherapy Pioneer Dendreon Enters Bankruptcy
After 22 years, one groundbreaking cancer treatment, and even more ups and downs than the volatile biotech industry would consider normal, Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has filed for bankruptcy. The company and its prostate-cancer treatment sipuleucel-T (Provenge) could be sold, or it could emerge from bankruptcy court with completely new ownership. From a reading of … Continue reading “As Huge Bills Loom, Immunotherapy Pioneer Dendreon Enters Bankruptcy”
What Early Looks From ASH Tell Us About Cancer Immunotherapy
[Note: Ben Fidler contributed to this report.] Immunotherapy is one of the most promising new ways to fight cancer, and we’ve followed it closely for some time. One of its main proving grounds is in blood-borne cancers, because some of the immunotherapy methods are, at least for now, easier to target in that direction. That’s … Continue reading “What Early Looks From ASH Tell Us About Cancer Immunotherapy”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Nevro, Coherus, Xenon, Rock Health, Etc.
The first week of November has brought the first taste of winter to much of the U.S., plenty of sunshine to California, and a flurry of IPOs. There have been three so far on the West Coast, the main story of what’s been a slow week otherwise. The pace will pick up today and tomorrow … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Nevro, Coherus, Xenon, Rock Health, Etc.”
In Short Order, Indi Convinces Insurers To Cover Its Lung Test
One year after launching its first product, Seattle’s Integrated Diagnostics has secured insurance coverage from several healthcare groups, including UnitedHealthCare (NYSE: [[ticker:UNH]]). The biotech firm, which goes by the shortened name “Indi,” said today that United and six preferred provider organizations (PPOs) covering more than 200 million people, will reimburse for the Xpresys Lung test, … Continue reading “In Short Order, Indi Convinces Insurers To Cover Its Lung Test”
NimbleGen Cofounder Opens Invenra, A “Cell-Free” Antibody Shop
If you pay attention to emerging biotech companies, you might have heard of Sutro Biopharma. With a new way of making therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, the Northern California company has raised more than $90 million and just struck a major deal with Celgene. It’s a lot less likely you’ve heard of Invenra. But the Madison, WI-based … Continue reading “NimbleGen Cofounder Opens Invenra, A “Cell-Free” Antibody Shop”
History, Yes, But Biologist’s Imagination Is No Flight Of Fancy
Any book about life science innovation that starts with quotes from Frank Zappa and Albert Einstein promises to be a good read. The Biologist’s Imagination holds to that promise, as authors William Hoffman and Leo Furcht, both of the University of Minnesota Medical School, take several forays back in history to explain the “crossroads”—perhaps an … Continue reading “History, Yes, But Biologist’s Imagination Is No Flight Of Fancy”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Amgen, Inslee, Fibrogen, Receptos & More
Amgen keeps adding to the layoffs, the governor of Washington has a lot to say to Xconomy about his state’s life sciences industry, and San Francisco’s Fibrogen hopes to crank up the IPO engine. Let’s get to the roundup. —Under hedge fund pressure to break itself up, Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) of Thousand Oaks, CA, instead … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Amgen, Inslee, Fibrogen, Receptos & More”
UCSF Chancellor Hawgood Kicks Off “Biotech’s Epicenter” Forum 12/17
It’s my six-month anniversary at Xconomy, and I’m working to put together my first live event. As a native San Franciscan—I believe we’re known as “unicorns,” as folks on the tech side might say—I mulled over the theme and decided, what better way to get people together than to drum up a little hometown pride? … Continue reading “UCSF Chancellor Hawgood Kicks Off “Biotech’s Epicenter” Forum 12/17″
Bio Venture Specialists Advent Raise $235M For European, U.S. Deals
Another early-stage biotech investor has clocked in with a new fund. London-based Advent Life Sciences said Tuesday it has closed a $235 million vehicle, its second specialized fund since the tech and life science investors of Advent Venture Partners went separate ways last decade. The firm used to invest in tech and life sciences from … Continue reading “Bio Venture Specialists Advent Raise $235M For European, U.S. Deals”
Syros Raises $53M More To Push Gene-Control Drugs Into Human Trials
The backers of Syros Pharmaceuticals are sparing no expense. The Watertown, MA-based biotech has reeled in a $53 million Series B round, a huge sum for a company based on relatively new understanding of fundamental human biology: the way our genes are controlled by extremely complicated signals within our cells. “Our investors and board said … Continue reading “Syros Raises $53M More To Push Gene-Control Drugs Into Human Trials”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Genentech, Sutro, Amgen, Regulus & More
Immunotherapy deals that could reach $1 billion? We’ve got two of them this week. Sure, those billion-dollar figures include, as they often do, a lot of biobucks, but the rest of the details in those deals—Genentech and NewLink Genetics; Celgene and Sutro Biopharma—are no small potatoes. Let’s get to the roundup. —Roche’s Genentech division in … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Genentech, Sutro, Amgen, Regulus & More”
Try Then Buy? Sutro Deal Could Be Celgene’s Biggest Antibody Bet Yet
Celgene, one of biopharma’s most aggressive and creative dealmakers, said Thursday it has forged a deep partnership with South San Francisco, CA-based Sutro Biopharma that could end up with an acquisition. If it does, it would dramatically expand Celgene’s footprint into the world of biologics, which the Summit, NJ-based company has mainly stayed away from … Continue reading “Try Then Buy? Sutro Deal Could Be Celgene’s Biggest Antibody Bet Yet”
J&J, GSK, Tekmira, And Others Take Next Steps To Fight Ebola
There’s been distressing Ebola-related news in recent days. The deadly virus continues to spread in West Africa, with more than 4,500 fatalities now reported, and efforts to halt its spread in the U.S. have been mired in controversy and confusion, forcing President Obama to appoint an Ebola “czar” to coordinate national response. But there’s good … Continue reading “J&J, GSK, Tekmira, And Others Take Next Steps To Fight Ebola”
As Atlas Splits, Is There A Case To Make In Venture For Specialists?
Readers of this column who are of a certain age might remember Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders in black eyeliner, dressed as a diner waitress singing, “I’m special, so special, and I gotta have some of your attention.” Swap “money” for “attention,” and it could be a refrain that venture capitalists are singing these days … Continue reading “As Atlas Splits, Is There A Case To Make In Venture For Specialists?”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Illumina, Atara, Invitae, Canaan & More
From big venture firms to tiny genomics startups, we’ve got plenty to round up this week—beyond biotech, too, as the San Francisco Giants head east to the biggest baseball rodeo for the third time in five years, thanks to Seattle native Travis Ishikawa (pictured). Here’s the windup, and the pitch… —Canaan Partners of Westport, CT, … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Illumina, Atara, Invitae, Canaan & More”
Canaan Closes $675M Fund, One Of Venture’s Ten Largest This Year
In a year of big venture capital numbers, Canaan Partners has provided one of the biggest. The Westport, CT-based firm announced Thursday a $675 million fund, its tenth. As with its previous general funds, Canaan, which also has a main office in Silicon Valley, will put the money into both tech and life sciences. Both … Continue reading “Canaan Closes $675M Fund, One Of Venture’s Ten Largest This Year”
Illumina Admits First Startup Accelerator Class
Bioinformatics giant Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) is getting into the accelerator game, along with other players in the life sciences and other fields. On Wednesday it announced the first three startups chosen to start the program this fall at its San Francisco lab space. San Diego-based Illumina, which makes genomic analysis systems, unveiled the program in … Continue reading “Illumina Admits First Startup Accelerator Class”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: CareFusion, Sunesis, Second Genome, Etc.
After a week’s hiatus, the roundup is back. We’ve been busy. New Xconomy San Francisco editor Bernadette Tansey took a first look at a plan to build a local incubator for synthetic biology startups, while I covered an appearance by Tekmira Pharmaceuticals CEO Mark Murray, the first since his company’s drug was approved for emergency … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: CareFusion, Sunesis, Second Genome, Etc.”
As Virus Spreads to U.S., Tekmira CEO Answers Ebola Questions
Two weeks after Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TKMR]]) announced that its experimental drug was being used to treat Ebola patients, CEO Mark Murray said today that developing the drug has been like swimming in “shark infested waters” but gave no updates about the patients or about future use of the drug. It was the first of … Continue reading “As Virus Spreads to U.S., Tekmira CEO Answers Ebola Questions”
So Far, Little Proof That Digital Health Is Healthy. Does It Matter?
Digital health is popular among investors, there’s no doubt. But is it good for us? Products such as fitness wristbands and online wellness coaching are generating buzz, and as a techno-skeptic I often roll my eyes at the trendy accessories and general assumption that life is easier online. Meanwhile, the funding keeps rolling in. Through … Continue reading “So Far, Little Proof That Digital Health Is Healthy. Does It Matter?”
Alios’s Corporate Venture Backers Ride RSV (And Hep C) To Big Payday
The venture arms of Big Pharma have helped hold up early stage biotech funding the past few years. The acquisition of Alios BioPharma, announced Tuesday, could be the biggest win yet for that group. Alios, a South San Francisco, CA-based developer of antiviral drugs, went to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: … Continue reading “Alios’s Corporate Venture Backers Ride RSV (And Hep C) To Big Payday”
Well-Traveled Rhodes Leaves Epizyme For Atlas Venture Partnership
One month after his resignation from Epizyme was announced, Jason Rhodes says he’s becoming a partner at Atlas Venture. At Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme, Rhodes was chief financial officer and president as he helped the firm turn its exploration of epigenetics, a cutting-edge area of biomedical science, into a clinical pipeline and a spot on the NASDAQ. Epizyme … Continue reading “Well-Traveled Rhodes Leaves Epizyme For Atlas Venture Partnership”
Ex-Elan Trio Grabs Their Former Employer’s Kinase Inhibitor Program
Elan lives on. No, former CEO Kelly Martin isn’t swooping back in his infamous corporate jet. Elan was a high-profile Irish-American biotech that created the multiple sclerosis treatment natalizumab (Tysabri), developed the promising but unsuccessful Alzheimer’s treatment bapineuzumab, and built a billion-dollar drug-delivery business. But a long boil of shareholder discontent over management practices (the … Continue reading “Ex-Elan Trio Grabs Their Former Employer’s Kinase Inhibitor Program”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Ebola, Immunotherapy, Avalon & More
[Updated with Novo Nordisk obesity news, 9/26/14, 12:38pm. See below.] Out west this week, there was Ebola-related pharmaceutical news large and small. Vancouver biotech Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TKMR]]) got emergency clearance from the U.S. and Canada to administer its unproven Ebola drug to people with the infection, and the company announced a few people had … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Ebola, Immunotherapy, Avalon & More”
“100K” Marathon: A Decades-Long Health Study Makes Its Business Case
For the past several months, 108 people, most of them in the Seattle area, have been under constant biomedical surveillance. And they like it. They’ve agreed to submit to a battery of medical tests that began this year but could stretch for 25 years or more in a landmark study organized by Seattle’s Institute for … Continue reading ““100K” Marathon: A Decades-Long Health Study Makes Its Business Case”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Halozyme, Nektar, Allozyne, Novo & More
We’ll kick off this week’s roundup with two more FDA approvals of drugs brought to market by Big Pharma companies but originated in biotech labs. Biotechs have come to represent a big part of medicines that come to market, especially when innovation and medical need come into play most clearly. According to this Nature study … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Halozyme, Nektar, Allozyne, Novo & More”
Sold For Parts, Accelerator Grad Allozyne Reaches End of the Line
With barely a whisper, Seattle biotech Allozyne has been broken up for parts, with most of its assets sold off earlier this summer to a previous licensing partner, Xconomy has learned. The buyer was MedImmune, the biotech division of the multinational drug company AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]), and the deal effectively ends the nine-year run of … Continue reading “Sold For Parts, Accelerator Grad Allozyne Reaches End of the Line”
Scholar Rock’s Local Approach to Immune Disease Nabs $20M
With a pharma partnership already in hand and big biotech names on board, the Cambridge, MA-based startup Scholar Rock today announced a $20 million Series A round of funding. With the cash, the company will continue its pursuit of antibody therapies that exploit a relatively new biological understanding of the way crucial proteins called growth … Continue reading “Scholar Rock’s Local Approach to Immune Disease Nabs $20M”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gates, Orexigen, Medivation & More
The West Coast news of the past seven days was dominated by approvals. The FDA was responsible for two of them. In San Diego, Orexigen Therapeutics traveled a long, long road with its weight-loss drug Contrave, and finally saw the FDA’s green light. But apparently investors didn’t approve; they threw the company’s stock price into … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gates, Orexigen, Medivation & More”
An Intriguing Program Takes on Tropical Diseases—But Not Ebola
[Updated and corrected 9/10/14, 10:05 am. See below.] On August 28, Anthony Fauci, the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s top infectious disease specialist, announced a major trial in concert with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) to test new Ebola vaccines in humans. Fauci called it an “all-hands-on-deck response” to the growing global health emergency in which more … Continue reading “An Intriguing Program Takes on Tropical Diseases—But Not Ebola”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Mapp Bio, Calico, Alder, VentiRx & More
The past seven days have seen breakthroughs and heartbreaks for West Coast biotech companies. Mapp Biopharmaceutical of San Diego got promising preclinical news about its Ebola drug, then almost immediately got millions of dollars of federal funding to push it quickly into human trials. Up the coast near San Francisco, though, Exelixis’s flagship product returned … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Mapp Bio, Calico, Alder, VentiRx & More”