Nothing really buys time for patients with terminal forms of melanoma, a type of skin cancer. Not chemotherapy, not targeted antibody drugs, not genetic-based antisense treatments. But Lexington, MA-based Synta Pharmaceuticals should find out within weeks whether or not it has made a breakthrough with a new approach. Synta (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTA]]) is on pins and … Continue reading “Synta, Developer of New Class of Cancer Drugs, Eagerly Awaits Results From Key Trial”
Author: Luke Timmerman
Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
Pfizer’s Bid For Wyeth Sends Ripples Through Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Seattle Biotechs
Pfizer rocked the business world yesterday with its $68 billion bid to acquire Madison, NJ-based Wyeth (NYSE: [[ticker:WYE]]), and the ripple effect was felt here in the Northwest. Nobody in town has a bigger stake in this deal than Seattle-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRBN]]). Trubion’s lead drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis, TRU-015, has been part … Continue reading “Pfizer’s Bid For Wyeth Sends Ripples Through Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Seattle Biotechs”
Pfizer-Wyeth Combo’s Impact on San Diego Biotech: Bad for Dealmaking, Good for Shareholders
The big story in pharmaceutical-and-biotech land yesterday was New York-based Pfizer’s $68 billion bid to acquire Madison, NJ-based Wyeth (NYSE: [[ticker:WYE]]). Wyeth is known for having more biotech expertise than many of its Big Pharma brethren, generating billions in sales from biotech products like its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar) for infants, as well as its … Continue reading “Pfizer-Wyeth Combo’s Impact on San Diego Biotech: Bad for Dealmaking, Good for Shareholders”
NASA Astronaut Remembrance Weekend: Bonnie Dunbar Special Program
In conjunction with NASA’s Day of Remembrance and the Museum’s exhibit The Berlin Airlift-A Legacy of Friendship, the President and CEO of The Museum of Flight and retired NASA Astronaut, Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar will present a special program at the Museum on Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. The lecture is part of “NASA Astronaut … Continue reading “NASA Astronaut Remembrance Weekend: Bonnie Dunbar Special Program”
Alliance of Angels: 10-Minute Pitch Clinic
Alliance of Angels is hosting its 10 Minute Pitch Clinic, an educational event tailored specifically to entrepreneurs on how to effectively pitch a startup business plan to angel investors. The clinic will include an overview of the Alliance of Angels’ rigorous four-step process, in-depth review of the components of a good pitch, and, an interactive … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels: 10-Minute Pitch Clinic”
Buying Time With Suspended Animation: Dana Miller of the Hutch
Dana L. Miller, a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, will give a talk about “Buying Time with Suspended Animation” as part of the regular Science on Tap lecture series. For more information on Science on Tap, click here.
Sequenom Buys Small Diagnostic Maker
Sequenom, the San Diego-based developer of a non-invasive prenatal test for Down Syndrome, said today it has acquired Ann Arbor, MI-based SensiGen for $8.7 million, plus potential milestones. The deal gives Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) molecular diagnostics for human papillomavirus, lupus, chronic kidney disease, and inflammatory bowel disease. The purchase is part of Sequenom’s strategy to … Continue reading “Sequenom Buys Small Diagnostic Maker”
Bill Gates’s First Annual Letter on Life at the Foundation: “I Love the Work”
Bill Gates says he loves his new job at his charitable foundation. The co-founder of Microsoft says so this morning in his first annual letter, posted online, sizing up his nonprofit work. Gates left his full-time job at Microsoft in June, to devote his full attention to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s … Continue reading “Bill Gates’s First Annual Letter on Life at the Foundation: “I Love the Work””
Altus Cuts 75 Percent of Staff
Altus Pharmaceuticals, a Waltham, MA-based biotech company, said today in a regulatory filing it is eliminating 107 jobs, or 75 percent of its workforce, and halting development of an experimental cystic fibrosis drug to conserve cash. Altus, which will now have 35 employees, is handing back the rights to Trizytek to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. … Continue reading “Altus Cuts 75 Percent of Staff”
Seattle Genetics Gets Orphan Drug Status
Seattle Genetics said its SGN-35 drug candidate for Hodgkin’s disease and anaplastic large cell lymphoma has received orphan drug designation from regulators in Europe. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) has also added the designation for anaplastic large cell lymphoma in the U.S., after previously securing that status for Hodgkin’s in the U.S. The designation is designed … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Gets Orphan Drug Status”
Cardiac Dimensions, Fixer of Leaky Hearts, Edges Toward European Market and Pivotal U.S. Test
Cardiac Dimensions has a dream of developing the first method for tightening up loose heart valves without requiring a surgeon to touch a scalpel. This year, the Kirkland, WA-based medical device company will get a clearer sense of whether it has successfully created such a device, and whether it will become a practical way to … Continue reading “Cardiac Dimensions, Fixer of Leaky Hearts, Edges Toward European Market and Pivotal U.S. Test”
Judy Estrin on “Closing the Innovation Gap”
Innovation drives economic growth, our quality of life and is the only hope of addressing the major challenges we face. But America, a cornerstone of innovation throughout the world, has become increasingly short-sighted. By taking innovation for granted we threaten not only our own strength, but the overall global economy. Judy Estrin, technology and business … Continue reading “Judy Estrin on “Closing the Innovation Gap””
Biogen Idec Rival Succeeds in Trial of Oral Pill for Multiple Sclerosis
One of Biogen Idec’s competitors in the world of multiple sclerosis drugs reported some success today. Germany’s Merck KGaA says its experimental oral pill reached its goal of reducing the rate of MS flare-ups for patients in a two-year study. Merck KGaA said patients on a low dose of its drug, cladribine, had a 58 percent … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Rival Succeeds in Trial of Oral Pill for Multiple Sclerosis”
IDRI Forms Vaccine Deal in Brazil
The Infectious Disease Research Institute, a Seattle-based global health research center, said it has licensed two key components of an experimental leishmaniasis vaccine to research partners at the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Under the deal, IDRI will receive royalty payments on sales if its partners develop a marketable vaccine for leishmaniasis, which affects … Continue reading “IDRI Forms Vaccine Deal in Brazil”
Stromedix Wins Patent For Lead Drug
Stromedix, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, said it has received a U.S. patent that protects its lead drug for fibrosis, STX-100. The patent, U.S. 7,465,449, covers high-affinity monoclonal antibodies and antigen-binding fragments that block a target on cells that is an important regulator of fibrosis and tissue injury. Rebecca described this technology that Stromedix acquired … Continue reading “Stromedix Wins Patent For Lead Drug”
Optimer’s Second Drug, for Traveler’s Diarrhea, Follows Fast Behind Lead “C. Diff” Antibiotic
San Diego’s Optimer Pharmaceuticals had its breakout moment in November, when it showed its experimental drug could wipe out the dreaded C. Diff bacteria, a horrific, sometimes fatal form of diarrhea that people sometimes pick up in the hospital. What fewer people realize is Optimer (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) has another anti-diarrhea drug in the works that’s … Continue reading “Optimer’s Second Drug, for Traveler’s Diarrhea, Follows Fast Behind Lead “C. Diff” Antibiotic”
MDRNA Cuts Executive Pay, Freezes Salaries as Cash Runs Out
MDRNA is running out of cash, and is drastically cutting down payroll expenses, according to a source close to the situation. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRNA]]) has asked executives to work for no pay, and has frozen employee salaries at $1,250 for the final two weeks of January, according to the source. Matt … Continue reading “MDRNA Cuts Executive Pay, Freezes Salaries as Cash Runs Out”
Tracing the Ancestry of Puget Sound’s Technology Cluster
When people try to get a sense of the vibrancy in a regional high-tech cluster, they usually look up reams of data on technology licenses, patents, jobs, and number of startups. This morning, I got to look at a fresh (and important) perspective that traces out where the founding people cut their teeth and got … Continue reading “Tracing the Ancestry of Puget Sound’s Technology Cluster”
Meritage Starts Study of Inflammatory Disease
Meritage Pharma, a San Diego-based drug developer, said today it has started a mid-stage clinical trial of an experimental drug for an inflammatory condition of the esophagus, called eosinophilic esophagitis. The trial will enroll 80 children and young adults on three different doses of the Meritage drug or a placebo. We profiled this company’s technology … Continue reading “Meritage Starts Study of Inflammatory Disease”
Microsoft Cuts 5,000 Jobs, Almost 6 Percent of Workforce
Microsoft’s long-rumored job cuts are now official: 5,000 employees will be losing their jobs. The Redmond, WA-based software giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) said today in its quarterly earnings report that it is eliminating those positions over the next 18 months, which amounts to almost six percent of its workforce of 90,000 employees. About 1,400 people are … Continue reading “Microsoft Cuts 5,000 Jobs, Almost 6 Percent of Workforce”
From Merger of Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems, Life Technologies Plans to Grow From San Diego Base
Companies usually try to say all the right things about win-win situations when they strike merger deals, but it’s always good to check back after a few months to see if the honeymoon is over. So last week I tracked down Mark Stevenson, one of the principals involved in the November merger of Carlsbad, CA-based … Continue reading “From Merger of Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems, Life Technologies Plans to Grow From San Diego Base”
Dendreon Expects Results in April, Seattle Genetics Plans Hodgkin’s Trial, ImaRx Moves to Town & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and a historic inauguration made this week a little light on Seattle biotech news, but we still gathered some interesting nuggets. —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) made news on the last day of the JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco, saying that it now expects to have final results … Continue reading “Dendreon Expects Results in April, Seattle Genetics Plans Hodgkin’s Trial, ImaRx Moves to Town & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Lee Hartwell on “Science and the Arts”
The Friends of the Libraries Annual Meeting features a presentation by Lee Hartwell, Ph.D., the 2001 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine. Following a brief Friends meeting, Hartwell will be speaking on “Science and the Arts.” A reception will follow the talk. For more information about how to register, click here.
SBRI’s Passport to Global Health Celebration: Paul Farmer Keynote
From multidrug-resistant TB to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Paul Farmer, the co-founder of Partners in Health, has taken on some of the most difficult challenges of global health and discovered new ways of making progress. Dr. Farmer will be the keynote speaker at Seattle Biomedical Research Institute’s fifth annual Passport to Global Health Celebration on April … Continue reading “SBRI’s Passport to Global Health Celebration: Paul Farmer Keynote”
Seattle Genetics Unveils Pivotal Trial Plan for “Empowered Antibody”
Seattle Genetics has settled on the design of a clinical trial that could pave the way for its first marketed cancer drug. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today it has reached an agreement with the FDA on the parameters of a pivotal clinical trial of its SGN-35 drug candidate as a treatment … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Unveils Pivotal Trial Plan for “Empowered Antibody””
Five Questions for Seattle Biotech, Medical Device Leaders About the Year Ahead
Last week at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, I did some informal polling of biotech industry leaders in our three Xconomy network hubs of Boston, San Diego, and Seattle. I asked them all the same five questions to get a feel for how they plan to cope with the economic downturn, and … Continue reading “Five Questions for Seattle Biotech, Medical Device Leaders About the Year Ahead”
Regulus, Leading Developer of MicroRNA Drugs, Prepares to Get Independence from Alnylam and Isis
Regulus Therapeutics has shown it can crawl, now it’s ready to walk. The fledgling Carlsbad, CA-based company is taking steps to raise a large round of private investment capital, and become a more independent company developing a new breed of microRNA-based drugs. Regulus plans to raise “a very respectable amount” of capital from private investors, … Continue reading “Regulus, Leading Developer of MicroRNA Drugs, Prepares to Get Independence from Alnylam and Isis”
Five Questions for the Future of Biotech in San Diego, Part 2
Yesterday, we ran a couple of in-depth interviews about the future of biotech with two San Diego CEOs—Optimer Pharmaceuticals CEO Michael Chang and Phenomix CEO Laura Shawver. I asked them the same five questions about the outlook of the industry that I asked leaders in Boston, so you can compare the bi-coastal views of the … Continue reading “Five Questions for the Future of Biotech in San Diego, Part 2”
Alnylam Loses Patent Dispute in Europe
Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a leading developer of drugs using RNA interference technology, said today it lost an oral argument that it should be granted a particular patent in Europe from its Kreutzer-Limmer patent estate. The final decision on the patent, known as ‘945, is still subject to further appeal, Alnylam said in a statement. … Continue reading “Alnylam Loses Patent Dispute in Europe”
Quidel Hires New CEO
Quidel, the San Diego-based maker of diagnostic tests, said today it has hired Douglas Bryant as CEO. Bryant, 51, was chief operating officer of Luminex, where he oversaw its molecular diagnostics business. He will start with a minimum base salary of $450,000, plus an annual bonus worth 80 percent to 120 percent of his salary, … Continue reading “Quidel Hires New CEO”
ImaRx, Led by Former Icos Manager, Comes to Town
ImaRx Therapeutics, a biotech company developing a new ultrasound-based stroke treatment, has moved its headquarters from Tucson, AZ, to Redmond, WA, as it attempts to get back on its feet again after a one-two punch of devastating setbacks. ImaRx (Imm-uh-Rex) is led by CEO Bradford Zakes, who formed his connections with the Seattle area from … Continue reading “ImaRx, Led by Former Icos Manager, Comes to Town”
Five Questions for the Future of Biotech in San Diego, Part 1
Biotech watchers were in a grim mood last week at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, but it didn’t strike me as quite as apocalyptic as advertised. I’ve come to that conclusion after doing some unscientific polling of San Diego biotech leaders (and a few in Boston) last week at the industry’s biggest … Continue reading “Five Questions for the Future of Biotech in San Diego, Part 1”
Hydra Biosciences Raises $22M to Create New Pain Relievers With Fewer Side Effects
Hydra Biosciences has been around a long time for a private biotech company with no experimental drugs in clinical trials. Even so, seven years after its founding, the Cambridge, MA-based company has secured a $22 million Series D round of venture capital to develop experimental pain drugs designed to be as powerful as morphine—without the … Continue reading “Hydra Biosciences Raises $22M to Create New Pain Relievers With Fewer Side Effects”
How to Survive the Downturn: Five Questions With Boston Biotech Leaders, Part 2
Yesterday, we ran highlights from interviews with Alnylam CEO John Maraganore and Vertex Pharmaceuticals CEO Josh Boger, who were asked the same five standard questions about the future of the industry. Today, I’m sharing a second installment from conversations with Sirtris CEO Christoph Westphal, who responded via email, and Alkermes chairman Richard Pops and Jim … Continue reading “How to Survive the Downturn: Five Questions With Boston Biotech Leaders, Part 2”
Vertex Envisions a Single Massachusetts Campus and a Bold Future
Vertex Pharmaceuticals isn’t going to move its labs and offices anywhere, at least in the near future. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company has extended leases at two main buildings in Cambridge until 2015. The leases will keep Vertex’s headquarters at 130 Waverly Street, and in other space at 200 Sidney Street through 2015, according to … Continue reading “Vertex Envisions a Single Massachusetts Campus and a Bold Future”
Vulcan Cuts 50 Jobs, 9 Percent of Workforce, In Response to Downturn
Even Paul Allen isn’t immune to the global economic downturn. Vulcan Inc., the company that oversees the Microsoft co-founder’s business and charitable interests, said today it is eliminating about 50 jobs. Vulcan’s cuts affect about 9 percent of its workforce, leaving it with a staff of about 600 people, says spokesman David Postman. He declined … Continue reading “Vulcan Cuts 50 Jobs, 9 Percent of Workforce, In Response to Downturn”
Dendreon, With Key Milestone Now Reached, Sees Final Results on Immune-Boosting Drug Coming in April
Dendreon-watchers, mark your calendars for April. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said today its study of 500 men with terminal prostate cancer will offer a final answer by April on whether its experimental immune-boosting drug helps patients live longer. The trial, known as Impact, enrolled men with terminal forms of prostate cancer and randomly … Continue reading “Dendreon, With Key Milestone Now Reached, Sees Final Results on Immune-Boosting Drug Coming in April”
Piot Starts at Gates Foundation
Peter Piot, the founding executive director of the Joint United Nations’ Program on HIV/AIDS, has joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a senior fellow. He will advise the foundation on global health strategy, including the fight against HIV and other infectious diseases. The appointment will last only until May, when Piot will start … Continue reading “Piot Starts at Gates Foundation”
How to Survive the Downturn: Five Questions With Boston Biotech Leaders, Part 1
Maybe it’s just that executives feeling misery love to have company, but the mood this week at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco didn’t strike me as quite as apocalyptic as advertised. I’ve been doing some unscientific polling of Boston’s biotech leaders this week at the industry’s biggest investor event, asking a series … Continue reading “How to Survive the Downturn: Five Questions With Boston Biotech Leaders, Part 1”
ZymoGenetics Cuts Big Deal, Pathway Unveils Strategy, Chris Rivera Takes Over at WBBA & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week the biotech industry converged on San Francisco’s Union Square for the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. Plenty of investors were licking their wounds from a rough year, but there was still news to get the juices flowing, including one lucrative partnership out of Seattle. —ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) made the biggest headline of this year’s … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Cuts Big Deal, Pathway Unveils Strategy, Chris Rivera Takes Over at WBBA & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Biogen Idec Parkinson’s Drug Hits Goal in Pair of Mid-Stage Trials
Biogen Idec had some encouraging word for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease this morning. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) said its experimental drug for the disease reached its goal of demonstrating effectiveness in a pair of mid-stage clinical trials, although it didn’t go into detail about how good the data really was. The … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Parkinson’s Drug Hits Goal in Pair of Mid-Stage Trials”
Pathway’s New CEO Carves Out Market in the Legs & Beyond
Tom Clement was the founding engineer who started Kirkland, WA-based Pathway Medical Technologies a decade ago, resurrected it after a setback in treating heart disease, and reinvented it around a modified device to clear out clogged arteries in the legs. Now that it has won FDA approval, task No. 1 at Pathway is to make … Continue reading “Pathway’s New CEO Carves Out Market in the Legs & Beyond”
Burnham Cuts Deal With Johnson & Johnson In First Sweeping Big Pharma Partnership
The San Diego-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research has cut its first institution-wide partnership with a Big Pharma company. Burnham has agreed to a multi-year agreement to let Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical Research and Development unit have access to its highly-efficient screening technologies to help develop new drugs against inflammatory diseases. Financial terms of the … Continue reading “Burnham Cuts Deal With Johnson & Johnson In First Sweeping Big Pharma Partnership”
Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 2
Yesterday, we ran the first part of an extended interview with Chris Rivera, the new president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association. He talked about how his skills are different from those of his predecessor, Jack Faris, and the assets this region has compared to Boston and San Francisco, the two global life sciences … Continue reading “Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 2”
ZymoGenetics Snags $1.1 Billion Partnership With Bristol-Myers For Hepatitis C Drug
Update with detail from regulatory filing at the end: ZymoGenetics has broken out of its slump with a home run. The Seattle-based biotech is announcing today it has signed a global partnership with drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, worth as much as $1.1 billion, to co-develop an experimental treatment for hepatitis C, a chronic liver infection … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Snags $1.1 Billion Partnership With Bristol-Myers For Hepatitis C Drug”
Alnylam Shoots for the Moon in 2009, Predicts Two More Deals To Come
Somebody forgot to tell Alnylam Pharmaceuticals the economy is in the tank. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said it expects to sign two more partnerships this year with big drugmakers to develop its proprietary technology and that it expects to ring in 2010 with a war chest of about $435 million still left in the … Continue reading “Alnylam Shoots for the Moon in 2009, Predicts Two More Deals To Come”
SonoSite Revenue Climbs 19 Percent
SonoSite, the Bothell, WA-based maker of portable ultrasound machines, said today its sales grew by 19 percent worldwide to $243 million in 2008. Revenue in the fourth quarter climbed more slowly, 8 percent, to about $70 million. Customers delayed orders in the fourth quarter that represented about 10 percent of its revenue forecast, although the … Continue reading “SonoSite Revenue Climbs 19 Percent”
Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 1
Washington state’s life sciences trade group has a new boss, Chris Rivera, who has made a career in the high-pressure world of sales and marketing of new biotech drugs. Rivera’s new challenge, starting this month, is to help strengthen this region’s broader industry cluster as president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association. Rivera, 47, … Continue reading “Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 1”
FDA Panel Gives Blessing to First Drug Manufactured in Bioengineered Goats
The first drug ever manufactured in genetically-modified animals is likely coming soon to the U.S. market. A panel of expert advisers to the FDA said today that an experimental anti-clotting product developed by Framingham, MA-based GTC Biotherapeutics looks safe and effective enough to become a marketed product. The advisers essentially agreed with the conclusions reached … Continue reading “FDA Panel Gives Blessing to First Drug Manufactured in Bioengineered Goats”
Sequenom Makes Takeover Bid for MA-Based Exact Sciences, Targets Test for Colorectal Cancer
San Diego-based Sequenom is flexing some of its newfound muscle, by making a takeover bid for Marlborough, MA-based Exact Sciences while it is on the ropes. Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) said today after markets closed it is offering $1.50 worth of its own stock in exchange for each share in Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXAS]]). That values … Continue reading “Sequenom Makes Takeover Bid for MA-Based Exact Sciences, Targets Test for Colorectal Cancer”