Cadence Pharmaceuticals can now start turning even more of its energy toward doing what it takes to become a commercial drug company. The San Diego-based biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]) said yesterday it passed all three clinical trials it says it needs to satisfy FDA requirements so a new intravenous form of an old standby pain reliever … Continue reading “Cadence Turns Attention to Marketplace, as IV Pain Reliever Reaches Goals in Clinical Trials”
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.
State Tobacco Moneyman, John DesRosier, Aims to Push Biotech Ideas Beyond “Valley of Death”
A new batch of research grants, worth $19 million, was announced earlier this week by the state Life Sciences Discovery Fund. It’s the quasi-public agency charged with running a 10-year, $350 million program to invest the state’s tobacco settlement money in biomedical research and development. This round, grants were given to develop new vaccines, improve … Continue reading “State Tobacco Moneyman, John DesRosier, Aims to Push Biotech Ideas Beyond “Valley of Death””
Ventures West “Sells High” After Positive Prostate Cancer News From OncoGenex
Wonder why OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals stock suddenly dropped after it was the best performer on the Nasdaq last week? Here’s a clue: One of its largest shareholders, Vancouver, BC-based Ventures West Capital, sold almost half of its stake in OncoGenex after the company said its experimental drug could prolong the lives of terminal ill patients with … Continue reading “Ventures West “Sells High” After Positive Prostate Cancer News From OncoGenex”
Amgen Tries to “Personalize” Drug, VLST Snags Deal, Tobacco Money Backs Research, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Many life sciences shut down operations between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so obviously they need to cram a lot of work into weeks like the last one. Here’s a rundown of the big news. —Amgen, the giant biotech with about 1,000 employees in Washington, went before an FDA advisory panel to make an unusual … Continue reading “Amgen Tries to “Personalize” Drug, VLST Snags Deal, Tobacco Money Backs Research, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Cadence Shares Boom as IV Pain Reliever Reaches Goal in Study
San Diego-based Cadence Pharmaceuticals shares shot up about 30 percent this morning after the company announced it had success in a clinical trial with a new version of an old pain reliever. Cadence (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]) says its version of acetaminophen, the pain reliever marketed in tablets by Johnson & Johnson as Tylenol, succeeded in a … Continue reading “Cadence Shares Boom as IV Pain Reliever Reaches Goal in Study”
Xconomy, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Form Partnership to Share Online News, Features
Xconomy’s growing audience in the Seattle area just got even bigger. Today, my colleague Greg Huang and I are thrilled to announce that our company has formed a partnership with one of the heavyweights of the Northwest news business, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Under this deal, the P-I readers will get access to Xconomy news and … Continue reading “Xconomy, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Form Partnership to Share Online News, Features”
Abbott Labs Acquires Isis Diagnostics Unit for $215M
Good news for shareholders of Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals. Abbott Laboratories, the diversified health products giant, is exercising its right to acquire Isis’ diagnostics spinoff, Ibis Biosciences, for a total of $215 million plus some future payments tied to sales of the instruments. Abbott Park, IL-based Abbott (NYSE: [[ticker:ABT]]) will pay Isis shareholders $175 million … Continue reading “Abbott Labs Acquires Isis Diagnostics Unit for $215M”
VLST Snags Partnership with Novo Nordisk to Develop New Drugs for Autoimmunity
VLST has nailed down its first partnership with a major pharmaceutical company. The Seattle biotech is announcing today it has formed an exclusive, worldwide collaboration that will allow Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk to develop drugs against cell targets VLST has discovered for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It’s a pretty big deal for VLST. The collaboration … Continue reading “VLST Snags Partnership with Novo Nordisk to Develop New Drugs for Autoimmunity”
Amgen’s Bid to Make Cancer Drug “Personalized” Lacks Data, FDA Panel Says
Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, with operations in Seattle and Cambridge, MA, came up short in its bid to make its colorectal cancer drug personalized today in front of a panel of expert advisers to the FDA. The panel said Amgen and Eli Lilly will have to run more clinical trials to gather enough … Continue reading “Amgen’s Bid to Make Cancer Drug “Personalized” Lacks Data, FDA Panel Says”
State Tobacco Cash Funneled Into Vaccines, Biotech Drug Delivery, Cardiac Arrest, and Mental Health Research
(Update: This story has added information on the six finalists that fell short in their bid for state grants.) Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund just made a bunch of biomedical researchers either very happy, or highly disappointed. The 10-year, $350 million initiative, which takes money from the state tobacco settlement, chose to pump almost $19 … Continue reading “State Tobacco Cash Funneled Into Vaccines, Biotech Drug Delivery, Cardiac Arrest, and Mental Health Research”
Luck, Curiosity, Naivete: The Essential Ingredients of Innovation
It’s cold outside, so I was a little bummed there was no actual fire at an event last night billed as a “fireside chat.” This get-together actually took some time to warm up (pun intended). But once it got rolling, three of the most experienced life sciences entrepreneurs in the region shed some light on … Continue reading “Luck, Curiosity, Naivete: The Essential Ingredients of Innovation”
Prostate Cancer Drug Vaults OncoGenex Onto Investor Radar Screens
The best-performing stock on the Nasdaq last week was a little biotech company from the Pacific Northwest that few people had heard of before. The company was OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, a cancer drug developer based in Vancouver, BC and Bothell, WA, with technology licensed from Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals. Before last week, OncoGenex appeared to be … Continue reading “Prostate Cancer Drug Vaults OncoGenex Onto Investor Radar Screens”
Genzyme Wins FDA Approval of Mozobil
Genzyme won FDA approval today of a new drug for patients with blood cancers. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) said it has gotten clearance to sell plerixafor (Mozobil) as an injectable drug for patients with a pair of deadly blood malignancies, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma, who need transplants of blood-forming stem cells. … Continue reading “Genzyme Wins FDA Approval of Mozobil”
Boston Hedge Fund Lashes Northstar Neuroscience, Urges Liquidation
Pressure is mounting once again on Northstar Neuroscience to fold up its tent and go home. The Seattle-based medical device company got hit today with an angry letter from one of its largest shareholders, Boston-based RA Capital, which urges the board to shut down the company and distribute all of its remaining cash and assets … Continue reading “Boston Hedge Fund Lashes Northstar Neuroscience, Urges Liquidation”
Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Considers Selling Cancer Drugs
Adventrx Pharmaceuticals issued one of those press releases this morning that suggests the end is near. The San Diego-based cancer drug developer said today it is “exploring strategic options” that include a sale of one or more of its product candidates, or what it calls a “strategic business merger.” When your stock is trading at … Continue reading “Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Considers Selling Cancer Drugs”
Uptake Medical Raises $3M in Venture Capital
Uptake Medical, a Seattle-based medical device company, has raised $3 million to carry out a pair of small clinical trials that could show it has a viable technique for treating emphysema, and other deadly lung-obstructing diseases. The company got the cash as a “bridge” financing to carry out trials in Australia and Germany, which should … Continue reading “Uptake Medical Raises $3M in Venture Capital”
MDRNA Gets Tentative FDA Approval
MDRNA (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRNA]]), a Bothell, WA-based biotech company, said today it received tentative FDA approval of a generic version of calcitonin nasal spray for osteoporosis. The company can get full FDA approval in June, when a 180-day exclusivity period expires for Apotex, another generic maker. MDRNA now focuses on developing RNA interference drugs, not nasal … Continue reading “MDRNA Gets Tentative FDA Approval”
Tysabri Patient Diagnosed With PML
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) said today that a patient has been diagnosed with a rare, and often fatal brain infection called PML while taking natalizumab (Tysabri). The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, which markets the drug along with its partner, Ireland-based Elan, said the patient was in Europe, has a history of taking other immune-suppressors for … Continue reading “Tysabri Patient Diagnosed With PML”
Amgen Cancer Drug Getting Personal, Which May Be a Good Thing for Patients—and Sales
Amgen is preparing to make an unusual argument to an FDA advisory panel tomorrow. The world’s largest biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]), with research operations in Seattle and Cambridge, MA, plans to make a case that one of its drugs should be used by just a subgroup of patients with colorectal cancer who appear to be … Continue reading “Amgen Cancer Drug Getting Personal, Which May Be a Good Thing for Patients—and Sales”
Brain Cells Inc., No Dummy, Raised $50M Before Recession Got Really Ugly
At least in the world of finance, Brain Cells Inc. can make a credible claim that it has a little more going on upstairs than your average biotech company. The San Diego-based startup had flawless timing, by completing a $50 million Series B financing back in April, before venture capital became really hard to come … Continue reading “Brain Cells Inc., No Dummy, Raised $50M Before Recession Got Really Ugly”
Momenta Raises $24.1M From Select Investors
Momenta Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of generic versions of complex drugs, said today it has received commitments from investors to bet another $24.1 million on the company. The investors are buying 2.8 million shares at $9 a share. The money will be used for manufacturing, clinical trial costs, and potential acquisitions of companies and … Continue reading “Momenta Raises $24.1M From Select Investors”
Vaccines Force Their Way off Pharma’s Back Burner, as Price Increases Help Fuel New Wave of Innovation
A newfound energy is coalescing around the science and business of vaccines, and much of it is happening right here in Seattle. We explored the trend yesterday evening in our first Xconomy Forum in Seattle. The event, held at The Institute for Systems Biology, attracted more than 85 people for an hour of panel discussion … Continue reading “Vaccines Force Their Way off Pharma’s Back Burner, as Price Increases Help Fuel New Wave of Innovation”
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Gets Back Full Rights to Cancer Drugs From AstraZeneca
Infinity Pharmaceuticals is regaining full commercial rights to develop cancer drugs that block a target called heat shock protein 90. The biotech company’s partner, London-based drugmaker AstraZeneca, decided to hand back its 50 percent stake in the program to its partner Cambridge, MA-based Infinity (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) This news could be spun a couple ways. It … Continue reading “Infinity Pharmaceuticals Gets Back Full Rights to Cancer Drugs From AstraZeneca”
Gates Gives $1.4M to Local Food Banks
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropy, said today it is giving $1.4 million to provide emergency food supplies to hungry people in the Pacific Northwest. The money is going to Food Lifeline, Oregon Food Bank, and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest. The money will be able to provide … Continue reading “Gates Gives $1.4M to Local Food Banks”
Amylin Shares Soar as Diabetes Drug Catches a Break From FDA
Amylin Pharmaceuticals stock shot up this morning after the company said it had some good fortune in dealings with the FDA. The San Diego biotech said it will be able file an application to market its diabetes drug, the once-weekly version of exenatide, in the first half of 2009 after all. That’s despite a warning … Continue reading “Amylin Shares Soar as Diabetes Drug Catches a Break From FDA”
Healionics Scores $2.6M Angel Backing to Promote Healing Around Medical Devices
Good news this morning from Redmond, WA-based Healionics. The company, which develops technology to promote healing around implantable medical devices, has raised $2.6 million in a second round of angel financing. The cash comes from some of the Northwest’s biggest angel networks, including the Alliance of Angels, Bellingham Angels, Keiretsu, Tacoma Angel Network, and Zino … Continue reading “Healionics Scores $2.6M Angel Backing to Promote Healing Around Medical Devices”
Seattle Genetics Drug Fights Hodgkin’s, Frazier Sounds Off on Biotech Ventures, SBRI Pushes Malaria Vaccine, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Maybe everybody’s rushing to scratch things off the to-do list before the holidays, but this was one of the busiest weeks of the year we’ve seen in Seattle biotech news. Here are the highlights. —Seattle Genetics had a big week. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said follow-up data in a clinical trial of … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Drug Fights Hodgkin’s, Frazier Sounds Off on Biotech Ventures, SBRI Pushes Malaria Vaccine, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Seattle Genetics Drug Passes Safety Test, Trial Continues
Seattle Genetics said today its experimental drug for acute myeloid leukemia passed an interim safety review. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said an independent monitoring committee recommended the study continue of lintuzumab (SGN-33). Full results from the trial, which is two-thirds of the way to its enrollment goal of 210 patients, should be … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Drug Passes Safety Test, Trial Continues”
Who’s Hiring in Seattle Biotech? It’s Not All Layoffs, All the Time
(UPDATE: This story has added information at the end about openings at the Institute for Systems Biology.) Mass firings dominate the news almost every day now, yet some companies are still hiring. Since a lot of highly-skilled and experienced people have been thrown out of work lately, I thought I’d check around to see where … Continue reading “Who’s Hiring in Seattle Biotech? It’s Not All Layoffs, All the Time”
Zacharon Aspires to Create a New Class of Drugs, Glycan-Blockers
Most drugs act by interfering with signaling proteins in cells or receptors on cell surfaces. San Diego-based Zacharon Pharmaceuticals has a different idea, by trying to interrupt the complex carbohydrates known as glycans, that can alter the function of proteins. This concept has been around the biotech industry a number of years, without a whole … Continue reading “Zacharon Aspires to Create a New Class of Drugs, Glycan-Blockers”
Arena Insomnia Pill Fails in Clinical Trial, Halts Development of Drug
Arena Pharmaceuticals is scrapping development of its experimental insomnia medicine, after it failed to reach its primary and secondary goals in a clinical trial of more than 700 patients. The San Diego-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) didn’t have much more to say than that, other than it’s in a hurry to turn the page and … Continue reading “Arena Insomnia Pill Fails in Clinical Trial, Halts Development of Drug”
Novocell Teams with Japanese Stem Cell Star
San Diego-based Novocell, a developer of embryonic stem cell therapies for diabetes, said today it has formed a partnership with one of the world leaders in stem cell biology, Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University. Yamanaka dominated headlines a year ago when his team, along with James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin, showed they could … Continue reading “Novocell Teams with Japanese Stem Cell Star”
Seattle-based Kineta, New Biotech Startup, Unveils Plan to Trigger Innate Immunity
Two veterans of Illumigen Biosciences, the Seattle-based company that was acquired a year ago by Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals, have resurfaced in a new biotech venture in Seattle called Kineta. Shawn Iadonato and Charles Magness co-founded the company to develop new classes of therapies to enhance the innate immune system to fight viral infections and … Continue reading “Seattle-based Kineta, New Biotech Startup, Unveils Plan to Trigger Innate Immunity”
Calistoga Drug Shrinks Tumors in Lab Studies
Seattle-based Calistoga Pharmaceuticals said that its lead experimental drug, CAL-101, killed cancer cells in lab studies of multiple blood malignancies. The drug is designed to block a marker inside cells called the PI3 kinase pathway, that is thought to play a key role in tumor cell growth, survival, and migration. The findings were delivered in … Continue reading “Calistoga Drug Shrinks Tumors in Lab Studies”
Blood News: A Quick Rundown of Headlines From the American Society of Hematology
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is one of those scientific meetings that usually flies below the radar of the wire services and big newspapers. Still, this year’s event in San Francisco has drawn more than 21,000 physicians, scientists, and intensely interested folks from biotech companies and Wall Street. They are all scouting new treatments … Continue reading “Blood News: A Quick Rundown of Headlines From the American Society of Hematology”
The Quest for a Malaria Vaccine: SBRI’s Stefan Kappe Stares Down a Leading Candidate
If everything breaks right for Stefan Kappe‘s research, he’ll be able to tell the grandkids he played a leading role in wiping out malaria. It will probably take 10 years, if not longer. But this guy is clearly undaunted. On a Friday afternoon at his office at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI), the German … Continue reading “The Quest for a Malaria Vaccine: SBRI’s Stefan Kappe Stares Down a Leading Candidate”
Millennium’s Velcade, As Time Wears On, Shows Durable Ability to Prolong Lives
Millennium Pharmaceuticals may not be the breakout performer at this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting like it was a year ago, but another 12 months of follow-up data is strengthening the case that its cancer drug is no fluke. Cambridge, MA-based Millennium, now a unit of Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceuticals, presented follow-up data today … Continue reading “Millennium’s Velcade, As Time Wears On, Shows Durable Ability to Prolong Lives”
ZymoGenetics Drug For Surgical Bleeding Demonstrates Safety in Trial
Seattle-based ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) said today that its sole marketed product was able to be safely given to patients with excess surgical bleeding, without provoking an immune system reaction. The study was of 205 patients who were at increased risk for having reactions against the standard product derived from cow blood, marketed by King Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Drug For Surgical Bleeding Demonstrates Safety in Trial”
Cypress Bioscience Drug Succeeds in Fibromyalgia Study
San Diego-based Cypress Bioscience and its partner, New York-based Forest Laboratories, said today they got positive results from a final-stage study of 1,025 patients with fibromyalgia. The patients took either milnacipran or a placebo, and a greater proportion of patients on the drug experienced at least a 30 percent reduction in pain from when they … Continue reading “Cypress Bioscience Drug Succeeds in Fibromyalgia Study”
‘Hutch’ Raises $2.2M at Holiday Gala
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center raised more than $2.2 million in donations for its research programs at its annual Hutch Holiday Gala on Saturday night at the Seattle Sheraton. More than half of the money, $1.2 million, was directed toward immunotherapy research, in which scientists try to “teach” the immune system to fight cancer … Continue reading “‘Hutch’ Raises $2.2M at Holiday Gala”
Gloucester Drug Shrinks Tumors in Lymphoma Study
Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held biotech company in Cambridge, MA, said today that its experimental drug romidepsin reached its goal in a Phase II clinical trial of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Researchers at Stanford Cancer Center found 30 of 72 patients (42 percent) had their tumors completely or partially go away, according to research presented … Continue reading “Gloucester Drug Shrinks Tumors in Lymphoma Study”
Ascent Inks Deal With Novartis For Pepducin Drugs
Ascent Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech startup, said today it has signed a deal with Novartis that gives the larger company the right to co-develop a new class of therapies called “pepducins.” The deal is worth as much as $200 million to Ascent in the form of an upfront fee and milestone payments based on … Continue reading “Ascent Inks Deal With Novartis For Pepducin Drugs”
Alnylam Buys More RNAi Patents From Nucleonics
Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) said today it has acquired a load of intellectual property that includes more than 100 active patent applications and 16 issued patents worldwide from Langhorne, PA-based Nucleonics. The intellectual property is meant to strengthen Alnylam’s grip on its right to develop drugs using RNA Interference technology, or gene silencing. … Continue reading “Alnylam Buys More RNAi Patents From Nucleonics”
Zevalin Causes Long-Lasting Remissions, Researchers Say
Follow-up data from a trial of 409 patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma shows that treatment with Zevalin is long lasting, said the drug’s marketer, Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]). Researchers found that patients who had their tumors completely wiped out after taking Zevalin remained in remission for at least 67 months, compared with 31 months for … Continue reading “Zevalin Causes Long-Lasting Remissions, Researchers Say”
Ariad CEO Fires Back at Resigning Directors and Their “False and Misleading” Attacks
Ariad Pharmaceuticals Chairman and CEO Harvey Berger defended himself this morning in a conference call with investors, after a nasty boardroom dispute spilled out into plain view and four directors accused him of “grossly inappropriate” conduct. The controversy emerged late Friday when Ariad disclosed in a regulatory filing that four of its nine directors resigned … Continue reading “Ariad CEO Fires Back at Resigning Directors and Their “False and Misleading” Attacks”
Curis Gets $3M From Genentech For Ovarian Cancer Trial Initiation
Cambridge, MA-based Curis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRIS]]) said today it will receive a $3 million cash payment from its partner, Genentech (NYSE: [[ticker:DNA]]). The payment is due because Genentech is starting a clinical trial among patients with ovarian cancer. Researchers will look at 100 patients with the disease, taking either a placebo or GDC-0449, an oral pill … Continue reading “Curis Gets $3M From Genentech For Ovarian Cancer Trial Initiation”
Alder Gets Early Christmas Present: FDA Slaps Down Its Rival, Roche
Alder Biopharmaceuticals caught a lucky break last week. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company saw its biggest competitor, Swiss drug giant Roche, get kneecapped by the FDA. The U.S. drug regulator delayed Roche’s application to sell a new rheumatoid arthritis drug, asking it to do more animal studies, which will probably keep the drug off the … Continue reading “Alder Gets Early Christmas Present: FDA Slaps Down Its Rival, Roche”
Avila Comes Out of Stealth to Talk Bonds, Covalent Bonds
Remember that 10th grade chemistry lesson on the difference between covalent and ionic bonds? Me neither. But I got a refresher on the topic last week from Avila Therapeutics, a Waltham, MA-based startup that thinks this chemistry is crucial to creating a new class of more effective drugs. Avila has kept a pretty low profile … Continue reading “Avila Comes Out of Stealth to Talk Bonds, Covalent Bonds”
Ambrx Aims to Create New Breed of Custom-Built Biotech Drugs
One thing I love about our new Xconomy San Diego office: I could practically shout out the window and get the attention of one of the fastest-growing private biotech companies in the region, Ambrx. (Although I bet the landlord, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, wouldn’t take too kindly.) I actually scheduled a meeting with Ambrx CEO … Continue reading “Ambrx Aims to Create New Breed of Custom-Built Biotech Drugs”
Seattle Genetics “Empowered Antibody” Shines at Blood Disease Meeting
The longer Seattle Genetics keeps following cancer patients who took its lead drug candidate, the better the data looks. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company released some stellar (albeit preliminary and without a control group) clinical trial results today that show its “empowered antibody” is able to wipe out aggressive forms of Hodgkin’s disease with minimal … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics “Empowered Antibody” Shines at Blood Disease Meeting”