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.

Alnara Pharmaceuticals Aims to Make Biotech Drugs You Can Swallow, And That Go Right Where They Belong

Despite all the red ink in investors’ portfolios, there is still venture money out there for big ideas. Boston-based Alnara Pharmaceuticals has snapped up $20 million in a first-round financing to support a novel, untested concept. The company wants to show it can develop biotech drugs that can be given in an oral pill, and … Continue reading “Alnara Pharmaceuticals Aims to Make Biotech Drugs You Can Swallow, And That Go Right Where They Belong”

ZymoGenetics Trial Halted, Amgen’s Big New Drug, Spiration Gets FDA Nod, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

Seattle biotech had its usual highlights and lowlights this week. One local company won its first FDA approval, of a minimally invasive device for lung disease. Another regional bellwether had a clinical trial failure that sent its stock down 29 percent in a day. Lots of politicians were showing up on the innovation scene this … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Trial Halted, Amgen’s Big New Drug, Spiration Gets FDA Nod, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Biogen Idec, Elan’s Tysabri Linked to First U.S. Case of Brain Infection

Tysabri has been linked to its first U.S. case of an often-deadly brain infection since it was re-introduced to the domestic market two years ago. Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and its partner Elan said today they have notified regulators that a rare brain infection called PML has been diagnosed in a patient with … Continue reading “Biogen Idec, Elan’s Tysabri Linked to First U.S. Case of Brain Infection”

InEnTec Gets $150M For “Gasification” Plant To Turn Chemical Waste Into Fuel

InEnTec, the Bend, OR-based company that uses a high-heat process to turn chemical waste into renewable fuels, has gotten a $150 million equity commitment from Lakeside Energy to build a commercial plant in Michigan. Lakeside, a Chicago investment firm, is providing the cash along with American Securities, a New York-based private equity company. The money … Continue reading “InEnTec Gets $150M For “Gasification” Plant To Turn Chemical Waste Into Fuel”

Vertex Gears up for Big Liver Disease Conference

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is preparing to unveil some long-awaited data that will show just how well its drug is performing for some of toughest-to-treat hepatitis C patients. I spoke with Vertex’s chief commercial officer, Kurt Graves, to do some pre-game reporting for the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease’s annual meeting October 31 through … Continue reading “Vertex Gears up for Big Liver Disease Conference”

Amgen Scientist, After 13-Year Push, Sees Bone Cancer Work Paying Dividends

Amgen had the worst year in its history in 2007, according to CEO Kevin Sharer. If you’re wondering why the world’s largest biotech company has mounted a comeback this year, one good place to look is in the lab of Bill Dougall, an Amgen scientist in Seattle. He’s been pursuing a bone cancer program for … Continue reading “Amgen Scientist, After 13-Year Push, Sees Bone Cancer Work Paying Dividends”

Sequenom Starts 10,000-Patient Study To Diagnose Down Syndrome

Sequenom, the San Diego-based developer of a prenatal genetic test for Down Syndrome, said today it has started a clinical trial of 10,000 pregnant women to compare its DNA blood test to the standard, more invasive tests of amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, in which doctors extract cells from the placenta. Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) stock … Continue reading “Sequenom Starts 10,000-Patient Study To Diagnose Down Syndrome”

Gov. Gregoire Urges Biotechies to “Stay Focused”; UW Makes its Biotech Business Case, And A Host of Startups Debut

The last time Gov. Chris Gregoire spoke at the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association’s annual meeting, she had to share the stage with Republican challenger Dino Rossi during the election campaign of 2004. This morning, she had the podium to herself, and Gregoire used it tout the region’s expertise in biotech and its potential to … Continue reading “Gov. Gregoire Urges Biotechies to “Stay Focused”; UW Makes its Biotech Business Case, And A Host of Startups Debut”

Biosphere Medical Gains Momentum With Fibroid Treatment After Years of Wait-and-See

More than a half-million women every year get a treatment for uterine fibroids, or benign tumors in the uterus. Most of the time they get the same thing they would have gotten in the 1970s—a hysterectomy to remove the whole uterus, or a myomectomy to surgically remove the fibroid growth. Biosphere Medical, a Rockland, MA-based … Continue reading “Biosphere Medical Gains Momentum With Fibroid Treatment After Years of Wait-and-See”

Rep. Jay Inslee’s Fire Lights Up Renewable Energy Conference

U.S. Representative Jay Inslee walked into a room today full of VCs and portfolio managers who have seen a bloodbath in their cleantech portfolios. But he delivered a message that certainly got the crowd to take its anxious eyes off their Blackberries, to think a few months ahead to a new opportunity. “The cavalry is … Continue reading “Rep. Jay Inslee’s Fire Lights Up Renewable Energy Conference”

Ikaria Drug Fails in Big Trial of Babies With Lung Disease

Ikaria has some disappointing news out today on its lead drug development candidate. The Clinton, NJ-based biotech company, which has research and development operations in Seattle, said over the weekend that its inhaled form of nitric oxide didn’t work for premature infants with bronchopulmonary disease. Results from a Phase III study of 800 premature infants … Continue reading “Ikaria Drug Fails in Big Trial of Babies With Lung Disease”

Trubion Shares Leap, Drop, Leap Again After Encouraging Clinical Trial News

(Update: This story has been updated to include Monday’s closing share price, and a description of preliminary Phase II re-treatment results.) Trubion Pharmaceuticals shares shot up 43 percent this morning, saw all the gains vanish within an hour, then finished the day up 12 percent after reporting encouraging news from a clinical trial of its … Continue reading “Trubion Shares Leap, Drop, Leap Again After Encouraging Clinical Trial News”

ZymoGenetics Drug Trial Halted Because of Infection Risk

ZymoGenetics has some bad news out this morning on its atacicept drug candidate. The Seattle biotech company said its partner, Germany-based Merck KGaA, halted a final-stage clinical trial of the drug for 200 patients with lupus of the kidneys because it posed a high risk of severe infections. ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) made the disclosure this … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Drug Trial Halted Because of Infection Risk”

Isis Spinoff Ibis Biosciences, Looking at DNA of Infectious Bugs, Aims to Identify What They Are, Faster

When people walk into the hospital with nasty flu-like symptoms, and doctors don’t know where the bug came from, the custom is to take a fluid sample and grow it in a lab dish for a day or two to get enough material to find out what it is. Then microbiologists use tools to try … Continue reading “Isis Spinoff Ibis Biosciences, Looking at DNA of Infectious Bugs, Aims to Identify What They Are, Faster”

S3 Aspires To Get Biologists Thinking Outside the Styrofoam Box

Anytime a biologist needs a shipment of something that must be kept cold, like a blood sample or biotech drug, it comes in a polystyrene (Styrofoam) box. Usually from the East Coast. Usually two or three days after the order was placed. This all strikes Mickey Blake as pretty wasteful and inefficient. So she’s starting … Continue reading “S3 Aspires To Get Biologists Thinking Outside the Styrofoam Box”

Spiration Wins FDA Approval With Device for Lung Disease

Nine years after its founding, Spiration has gotten its first product cleared by the FDA for sale in the U.S. The Redmond, WA-based medical device maker said U.S. regulators approved its device for patients who suffer from prolonged air leaks after surgery to remove a diseased part of their lungs. This is the first time … Continue reading “Spiration Wins FDA Approval With Device for Lung Disease”

Seattle Needs to Stick to its Vision for Global Health, Recession or Not, Says Sen. Murray

Sen. Patty Murray is one of seven kids. While growing up, her dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It was hard for him to support a family, so Murray’s mother went on food stamps for a time. But no matter how rough times got, the family had a goal that all seven kids would graduate … Continue reading “Seattle Needs to Stick to its Vision for Global Health, Recession or Not, Says Sen. Murray”

Merck Shutdown of Rosetta is Seattle’s Loss, Boston’s Gain As Company Tries to Lure Key Researchers East

Merck is saying goodbye to Seattle, and it’s really trying to entice its people to say hello to Beantown. Following up on Wednesday’s announcement that the Pharma giant is shutting down its Rosetta Inpharmatics research facility here in Seattle, yesterday I got the scoop on what’s happening from Douglas Bassett, Merck’s executive director of molecular … Continue reading “Merck Shutdown of Rosetta is Seattle’s Loss, Boston’s Gain As Company Tries to Lure Key Researchers East”

Alnylam–Isis Venture Regulus, Leader in MicroRNA Drugs, Aspires to Create New Paradigm of Treatments

Within the first five minutes of sitting down for an interview with Kleanthis Xanthopoulos, I could see this guy likes to think big. The idea behind his company, Regulus Therapeutics, is to show that a young technology called microRNA has the same sort of potential that gene-splicing techniques represented in the 1970s and targeted antibody … Continue reading “Alnylam–Isis Venture Regulus, Leader in MicroRNA Drugs, Aspires to Create New Paradigm of Treatments”

Gilead Signs Lease to Grow in Seattle, Despite Aztreonam Delay

Gilead Sciences is going ahead with growth plans in Seattle. The Foster City, CA-based biotech company, which bought Seattle-based Corus Pharma two years ago, has signed a long-term lease on 106,000 square feet at 199 E. Blaine St., according to The Seattle Times. The building, being leased by Alexandria Real Estate Equities in South Lake … Continue reading “Gilead Signs Lease to Grow in Seattle, Despite Aztreonam Delay”

ZymoGenetics Gets $21M From Bristol-Myers To Settle Patent Suit

ZymoGenetics said today it has agreed to accept a $21 million lump sum payment from Bristol-Myers Squibb to settle a patent dispute between the companies over Ig fusion proteins, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) said it dropped its patent lawsuit against the company, originally … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Gets $21M From Bristol-Myers To Settle Patent Suit”

Merck Bails on Seattle, Gates Foundation Backs Far-Out Ideas, Zymo Drug Shows Promise & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

Seattle biotech took an uppercut on the chin this week, as Merck bailed out on the region seven years after it established the first Big Pharma beachhead in the Northwest. Since pharma companies like this play critical roles in providing stability to biotech scene, there’s no other way to slice this than to call it … Continue reading “Merck Bails on Seattle, Gates Foundation Backs Far-Out Ideas, Zymo Drug Shows Promise & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Optimer, Developer of Drug For “C. Diff” Bacteria, Awaits Pivotal Results

Optimer Pharmaceuticals will find out soon whether it has come up with the first new drug for a dangerous bacteria known as “C. difficile” in more than two decades. The San Diego-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) is eagerly awaiting results from a 660-patient clinical trial of its experimental drug, OPT-80. By the end of this year, … Continue reading “Optimer, Developer of Drug For “C. Diff” Bacteria, Awaits Pivotal Results”

Vulcan’s Healey “Disappointed” in Merck Shutdown, But Says Other Tenants May Fill Void

Vulcan’s Ada Healey got a rude awakening this morning with news on the wires that Merck, one of her company’s main tenants in South Lake Union, is shutting down its Seattle research center to cut costs. Regardless, she says Paul Allen’s real estate portfolio isn’t going to take a serious hit in the neighborhood, and … Continue reading “Vulcan’s Healey “Disappointed” in Merck Shutdown, But Says Other Tenants May Fill Void”

Merck Closing Seattle’s Rosetta Research Center, Cutting 300 Jobs

Merck is leaving Seattle, and cutting 300 local jobs. The Whitehouse Station, NJ-based drug giant said today in its third-quarter earnings report that it is shutting down its Rosetta Inpharmatics research site in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood as part of a global cost-cutting plan to eliminate 7,200 jobs and save as much as $4.2 … Continue reading “Merck Closing Seattle’s Rosetta Research Center, Cutting 300 Jobs”

Neuroptix Raises $18.5M For Alzheimer’s Diagnostic Test

Neuroptix has raised $18.5 million in a Series B round of venture capital, to push development of a non-invasive eye test that it thinks may be able to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease at its earliest stages. Inventages led the investment round in the Acton, MA-based company, and Rockport Venture Partners acted as the company’s financial advisor. … Continue reading “Neuroptix Raises $18.5M For Alzheimer’s Diagnostic Test”

Gates Foundation Invests in 104 “Untried, Unproven” Ideas for Global Health

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is doling out smaller chunks of cash to spur bigger thinking. The world’s largest private foundation is announcing today it is awarding 104 grants to scientists—at $100,000 apiece—to support off-the-wall ideas that have potential to shake up the conventional wisdom in global health. The Seattle-based foundation hopes to pump … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Invests in 104 “Untried, Unproven” Ideas for Global Health”

ZymoGenetics’ Kidney Cancer Drug, Taken with Nexavar, Shrinks Tumors in Relapsed Patients

ZymoGenetics has some minor good news coming out today. The Seattle biotech company said that a study showed its genetically-engineered protein drug, IL-21, was able to help shrink and stabilize kidney tumors in combination with another targeted drug, even in patients whose disease relapsed after prior therapy. The preliminary results show that three of 18 … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics’ Kidney Cancer Drug, Taken with Nexavar, Shrinks Tumors in Relapsed Patients”

Antigenics Asks European Regulators to Approve Oncophage for Kidney Cancer

Antigenics, the developer of a personalized treatment to stimulate the immune system to fight tumors, is asking European regulators for permission to sell its vitespen (Oncophage) treatment for kidney cancer. It’s a big step for the New York-based company—which has 90 of its 98 employees in Lexington, MA—on its quest to be the world’s first … Continue reading “Antigenics Asks European Regulators to Approve Oncophage for Kidney Cancer”

Trius Therapeutics Wins $28M Contract From NIH For Bioterror Antibiotics

Trius Therapeutics is on a roll. The San Diego-based biotech company has received a five-year $28 million contract from the National Institutes of Health to develop novel antibiotics against some of the nastiest possible bioterrorism bugs on the planet. Trius will work in a collaboration with researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (folks that know … Continue reading “Trius Therapeutics Wins $28M Contract From NIH For Bioterror Antibiotics”

Bellingham Pioneer of ‘Ultra Rice’ Wins Business Week Innovation Honor—Except They Didn’t Name Him

Duffy Cox isn’t a one-hit wonder with “Ultra Rice.” The Bellingham, WA-based inventor, who has worked to fortify rice with essential nutrients for people in developing countries, has been honored by Business Week for his work to pasteurize eggs while they’re still in the shells. Cox and his company, Bon Dente International, don’t get the … Continue reading “Bellingham Pioneer of ‘Ultra Rice’ Wins Business Week Innovation Honor—Except They Didn’t Name Him”

Amylin Gets $125M from Eli Lilly To Make Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug

Amylin Pharmaceuticals said today it has scored a $125 million cash payment from Eli Lilly to manufacture a once-weekly injectable version of exenatide for diabetes. The San Diego-based biotech company will also get a $165 million line of credit from Lilly, which it can draw upon starting in the fourth quarter of 2009 through the … Continue reading “Amylin Gets $125M from Eli Lilly To Make Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug”

Bayer Buys License to ImmunoGen Cancer Drug Technology

ImmunoGen, a Waltham, MA-based drug developer, said today that Bayer has obtained an exclusive worldwide license to its Tumor-Activated Prodrug technology, which allows a drug to remain safe and stable in the blood, and then release a cell-killing agent when it gets inside tumors. ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]) will get $4 million upfront, plus milestone payments … Continue reading “Bayer Buys License to ImmunoGen Cancer Drug Technology”

Pervasis, Maker of Product to Heal Blood Vessels, Hires Genzyme Exec as First CEO

Pervasis Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based cell therapy company, has hired a veteran businessman from Genzyme as its first CEO. Frederic Chereau, a former vice president and general manager of the cardiovascular business unit of Genzyme, takes over a company that aims to create a cell-based product that will help stop excessive inflammation and promote healing. … Continue reading “Pervasis, Maker of Product to Heal Blood Vessels, Hires Genzyme Exec as First CEO”

Accium Biosciences, Pioneer of Particle Accelerator for Drug Development, Finds Niche

Particle accelerators are used as tools of archaeology that tell you the approximate age of King Tut. But Seattle-based Accium Biosciences has hit upon a way to use these tools to improve everyday prescription drug development. I discovered this enormous cylinder—which weighs a whopping 15 tons—on a tour last week of Swedish Medical Center’s new … Continue reading “Accium Biosciences, Pioneer of Particle Accelerator for Drug Development, Finds Niche”

Sofinnova Ventures’ David Kabakoff, Hybritech Veteran, Sees Promise in San Diego Biotech

One thing I learned on my recent trip to San Diego, is that the local biotech companies usually can’t just drive a couple miles down the road to meet a venture capitalist because they’re clustered to the north in Silicon Valley. So I tracked down Sofinnova Ventures’ David Kabakoff, a prominent VC who actually does … Continue reading “Sofinnova Ventures’ David Kabakoff, Hybritech Veteran, Sees Promise in San Diego Biotech”

Cypress Fibromyalgia Drug Stalled by FDA

Cypress Bioscience will have to wait a while longer before it can start marketing its first drug. The San Diego company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]) and its partner, New York-based Forest Laboratories, said today the FDA wasn’t able to make a final decision by its Oct. 18 deadline on whether to clear milnacipran—already approved outside of the … Continue reading “Cypress Fibromyalgia Drug Stalled by FDA”

Dyax Names Christensen New CEO; Blair Retiring

Dyax, the Cambridge, MA-based drug developer, said today that Gustav Christensen will replace co-founder Henry Blair as president and CEO on Jan. 1. Christensen joined the company as chief business officer in April 2007. Blair, who co-founded the company in 1989, plans to retire as CEO but remain chairman of the board at Dyax.

Ariad Gets $12.5M From Merck For Beginning Cancer Trial

Ariad Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of cancer drugs, said today it will receive a $12.5 million milestone payment from its partner, Merck, for beginning a mid-stage study of deforolimus for patients with advanced prostate cancer. The treatment, an oral pill, is being tested against other forms of cancer through the Merck partnership.

Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Drug Improves Breathing for 28 Days

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has some good news this morning on its experimental drug for cystic fibrosis. The treatment, taken an oral pill, helped patients breathe better for 28 days, at both a high and low dose, than did a placebo. The drug didn’t appear to cause any serious side effects. The findings for VX-770 were from … Continue reading “Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Drug Improves Breathing for 28 Days”

WRF Capital, With Clock Ticking on Expiring Patents, Aims to Build Sustained Venture Fund

Ron Howell’s job forces him to think a lot about the year 2014. Howell, the CEO of the Washington Research Foundation, has no other choice, because that’s the year when the patents run out on an invention that has been his organization’s primary source of cash since the 1980s. It’s a big reason why he’s … Continue reading “WRF Capital, With Clock Ticking on Expiring Patents, Aims to Build Sustained Venture Fund”

Trius Therapeutics, Developer of Antibiotic Against MRSA, Taking On Pfizer’s Zyvox

Whenever headline writers get whipped up about another wave of MRSA or other drug-resistant bacteria sweeping the land, a venture capitalist somewhere starts thinking about creating new antibiotics to stop it. Jeff Stein was in that position a couple years ago at Sofinnova Ventures, and he found an experimental drug he liked so much that … Continue reading “Trius Therapeutics, Developer of Antibiotic Against MRSA, Taking On Pfizer’s Zyvox”

Allozyne Advances Toward Clinic, Sonosite Boots CFO, Leroy Hood’s Common Thread With Tupac, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

It was a volatile week in the stock market, and as usual, in Seattle biotechnology. We got insights into an expansion of a biotech drug factory, the advance of a potentially important new drug for multiple sclerosis, and a warning that cuts are coming at Arch Venture Partners’ portfolio companies. Here are some of the … Continue reading “Allozyne Advances Toward Clinic, Sonosite Boots CFO, Leroy Hood’s Common Thread With Tupac, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Santarus Takes on Marketing Goliaths With Faster-Acting Heartburn Drug

If you own a television, you’ve probably heard of the purple pill. It’s a marketing hit for chronic heartburn, sold under the name Nexium, brought to you by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Calling this a tough market to crack would be an understatement, but the folks at San Diego-based Santarus are willing to play the role … Continue reading “Santarus Takes on Marketing Goliaths With Faster-Acting Heartburn Drug”

Imperium Collects $18M To Pay Down Debts

Imperium Renewables, the Seattle-based biodiesel maker, raised more than $18 million last month from investors to pay down some of its debts, according to this report by The Seattle Times that cites a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Greg reported a couple weeks ago that Imperium’s existing investors provided a cash infusion to … Continue reading “Imperium Collects $18M To Pay Down Debts”

Dying Cancer Patient Gets Tysabri After Biogen Idec’s Earlier Denial

Frederick Baron, the prominent attorney dying of bone marrow cancer, has gotten his wish for a dose of Tysabri after all. The FDA and the Mayo Clinic found a legal basis to give him the drug in an emergency situation, according to a post on Dembot by his son, Andrew. “We have every expectation of … Continue reading “Dying Cancer Patient Gets Tysabri After Biogen Idec’s Earlier Denial”