It started out business as usual at the Personalized Medicine Coalition’s East Coast reception at The Broad Institute last week. People were touting the big steps that have been taken to advance the vision of personalized medicine, in which the best treatments are chosen for each patient based on molecular tests, imaging tools, software, and … Continue reading “What’s Ailing Personalized Medicine? Mark Levin Calls for Leadership at the Highest Level”
Author: Malorye Allison
Folkman Leaves Behind an Inspiring Legacy of Science, Learning, and Startups
Back when I was starting out in some lowly jobs at the Longwood Medical area, I was constantly reminded of the greatness of certain of the people around me. But one of those people—Judah Folkman—stood out, not only because of his contagious delight and fascination with science, but because of his kindness and unassuming manner. … Continue reading “Folkman Leaves Behind an Inspiring Legacy of Science, Learning, and Startups”
ArQule CEO Hill to Leave Post, Remains Mum on Next Step as Firm Hunts for Replacement
It wasn’t apparent, but when I spoke to him just before Christmas, Stephen A. Hill might have been mentally packing his suitcase. In any event, Woburn, MA-based biotech ArQule (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ARQL]]) announced today that Hill will soon be leaving his CEO position for an as-yet-undisclosed destination. Hill “can’t reveal where he’s going yet, but it will … Continue reading “ArQule CEO Hill to Leave Post, Remains Mum on Next Step as Firm Hunts for Replacement”
Alnylam’s John Maraganore Anticipates More RNAi Deals and Startups in “Unparalleled” Environment for Biotech
Massachusetts became even more firmly established as the preeminent center of commercial RNAi activity last year when two more such companies were founded here—Worcester-based RXi (a spinout of CytRx) and Boston-based startup Dicerna. The study of RNAi—a natural mechanism for blocking, or silencing, genes—is a relatively young field in scientific terms. But the process is … Continue reading “Alnylam’s John Maraganore Anticipates More RNAi Deals and Startups in “Unparalleled” Environment for Biotech”
InCytu’s Betting that On-the-Spot Body Repair Will Succeed Where Traditional Tissue Engineering Has Not
With its aim of growing replacements for injured or ailing body parts, tissue engineering is a field that at first seemed spectacularly promising. (Anyone remember the mouse with a human ear growing on its back?) But it has ended up being a bit of a boondoggle. Although researchers have made important scientific advances in areas … Continue reading “InCytu’s Betting that On-the-Spot Body Repair Will Succeed Where Traditional Tissue Engineering Has Not”
Idera Pharmaceuticals Inks Potential $400 Million-Plus Deal with Germany’s Merck
Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:IDRA]]) has netted its third major deal in about as many years. This one, potentially worth upwards of $400 million to the Cambridge, MA-based biotech, is a collaboration with Germany’s Merck KGaA around cancer-fighting compounds that might boost the body’s ability to fight tumors. This type of immune-based therapy has pretty much been … Continue reading “Idera Pharmaceuticals Inks Potential $400 Million-Plus Deal with Germany’s Merck”
Harvard’s Brock Reeve Sizes up the Prospects for Stem Cells in 2008 and Beyond
2007 has been an outstanding year for stem cells—those much-ballyhooed cells with the ability to develop into numerous tissues in the body and ultimately, researchers hope, repair the damage in ailments such as Parkinson’s disease or spinal cord injury. Scientific papers have been flying fast and furious, but which of the year’s developments are the … Continue reading “Harvard’s Brock Reeve Sizes up the Prospects for Stem Cells in 2008 and Beyond”
Millennium Presents Positive Data for Velcade
At a conference yesterday, Millennium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MLNM]]) presented positive clinical data that could boost the Cambridge, MA-based company’s chances of gaining a broadened approval for cancer-drug Velcade, Millennium’s only marketed product. Velcade’s rival, Celgene’s Revlimid, also did well, but analysts seemed more impressed with Velcade. Shares of Millennium rose yesterday to a high of … Continue reading “Millennium Presents Positive Data for Velcade”
Inverness Strikes Again
Waltham, MA-based Inverness Medical Innovations (AMEX: [[ticker:IMA]]) has agreed to pay $170 million in stock for BBI Holdings, a UK company that specializes in lateral-flow tests, such as those used for fertility monitoring or pregnancy tests. Inverness has been on buying spree, which appears likely to continue.
Haseltine’s DNA Repair Company Steps Out
As I wrote in Wednesday’s post on Aveo’s deal with Eli Lilly, the biomarker business is finally having a growth spurt, at least in oncology. Another intriguing company trying to cash in on this trend is The DNA Repair Company (or DNAR), a Boston-based startup co-founded by Human Genome Sciences’ founder and former CEO Bill … Continue reading “Haseltine’s DNA Repair Company Steps Out”
Riding the Biomarker Wave: Aveo Snags Eli Lilly Deal
Until recently it seemed like the only thing big pharmaceutical companies wanted from the little guys was their drugs—as many of them as the pharmas could get their hands on. Things have changed, however, as yesterday’s deal between Cambridge, MA-based Aveo Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly demonstrates. Now, there is something else those pharmas desperately want … Continue reading “Riding the Biomarker Wave: Aveo Snags Eli Lilly Deal”
Meeting Offers Vision of Future U.S. Personalized Healthcare System
What if within the next decade or so the U.S. healthcare system was completely transformed? Hospitals like Boston’s Beth Israel were all replaced by retail clinics and medical centers specializing in specific procedures, such as hernia repair or hip replacement. Diagnostics companies finally started reaping the big profits while pharmaceutical companies, biotechs, and device makers … Continue reading “Meeting Offers Vision of Future U.S. Personalized Healthcare System”
NitroMed is Feeling the Pressure but Still Betting on Marketing to Save BiDil
One of the most controversial drugs ever made could disappear if a new marketing plan can’t save it. Widely known as the “race-based” medicine, BiDil (isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine hydrochloride) was launched in July 2005 by Lexington, MA-based NitroMed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTMD]]) for treatment of heart failure in black patients. The wording of that approval caused … Continue reading “NitroMed is Feeling the Pressure but Still Betting on Marketing to Save BiDil”
Ariad Staffs Up In Anticipation of Growth
Cambridge, MA-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) has made three key new appointments in anticipation of the launch of its first product and the growth of its pipeline. Matthew E. Ros is vice president, oncology marketing, Virginia R. Dean is vice president, human resources, and Frank G. Haluska is senior medical director. Ariad’s deforolimus is in … Continue reading “Ariad Staffs Up In Anticipation of Growth”
Inverness Nets $806.4M in Stock Sale
Waltham, MA-based Inverness Medical Innovations (AMEX: [[ticker:IMA]]) netted a tidy $806.4 million by selling 13,634,302 shares at $61.49 in a public offering that closed yesterday. All told the deal—which included an over-allotment of 1.8 million shares that was exercised in full—wound up being about twice the size as originally planned. Inverness will likely use the … Continue reading “Inverness Nets $806.4M in Stock Sale”
Vertex Faces Setback in Targeted Cancer Drug Program
Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: [[ticker:VRTX]]) yesterday announced a potentially serious setback in its program to develop novel cancer drugs aimed at a family of enzymes called the Aurora kinases. Vertex and its partner Merck have one of the most advanced drug candidates (MK-0457) in this category, which is part of an emerging “targeted” approach … Continue reading “Vertex Faces Setback in Targeted Cancer Drug Program”
Pfizer Snaps Up Coley for Vaccine Boost
It’s not the Massachusetts deal everyone was waiting for—as all eyes have been on Biogen Idec and, more recently, Genzyme. But Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) finally pounced again today, announcing it’s buying former partner Coley Pharmaceutical Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:COLY]]) of Wellesley for $164 million in a move aimed at bolstering the pharma giant’s position in vaccine … Continue reading “Pfizer Snaps Up Coley for Vaccine Boost”
Molecular Insight Aims for Straight Shot to Market with $150M Bond Financing
With a fast-tracked drug in one hand and too little money in the other, Cambridge, MA-based Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MIPI]]) recently settled on a bond financing to get one last big cash infusion before that final dash to market. The company has been around since 1997 and is working on about half a dozen … Continue reading “Molecular Insight Aims for Straight Shot to Market with $150M Bond Financing”
Dicerna Officially Founded
Boston-based RNAi therapeutics startup Dicerna is finally officially out of the gates with a finalized $13M Series A financing led by Oxford Bioscience Partners and Skyline Ventures. (I profiled Dicerna last week.) Co-founder Doug Fambrough of Oxford Bioscience Partners is Chairman and Skyline Ventures’ Stephen Hoffman is also joining the board. Dicerna’s CEO is James … Continue reading “Dicerna Officially Founded”
Amid Buying Spree, Inverness to Sell More Stock—But Some Observers Skeptical
It’s been buy, buy, buy, for the last couple of years. Then last Thursday, Waltham, MA-based Inverness Medical Innovations (AMEX: [[ticker:IMA]]) announced it plans to sell 7 million new shares—the second such offering the company has made this year. (In January, Inverness sold 6.9 million shares at $39.65 apiece.) It’s all part of a plan … Continue reading “Amid Buying Spree, Inverness to Sell More Stock—But Some Observers Skeptical”
Acusphere Passes Latest Stress Test, But is Time Running Out?
It was finally good news for Watertown-based Acusphere (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACUS]]) this week, as the company reported positive clinical trial results for its lead product, called Imagify, at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting. But the burning question is whether that news comes in time. Acusphere is 14 years old and running out of cash. … Continue reading “Acusphere Passes Latest Stress Test, But is Time Running Out?”
Will it Rain RNAi Companies? Dicerna Co-Founder John Rossi Says New IP Opens Avenues
If all goes as planned, Cambridge-based RNAi pioneer Alnylam (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) will be celebrating Thanksgiving with a new competitor in its backyard, in the form of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a brand-new startup fueled by about $13 million from Oxford Biosciences. Dicerna capitalizes on a new approach to making gene-silencing medicines that sprang from the laboratory of … Continue reading “Will it Rain RNAi Companies? Dicerna Co-Founder John Rossi Says New IP Opens Avenues”
Local Companies Push to Save GINA and Advance Personalized Medicine
It passed the House by a vote of 420 to 3, President Bush is for it, and it has fervent supporters on both sides of the political aisle—but even that didn’t save the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA or S. 358) from unexpectedly stalling in the Senate last spring. Now, to try and get it … Continue reading “Local Companies Push to Save GINA and Advance Personalized Medicine”
Genzyme Forges Chinese Connection to Speed Gene Therapy to World Market
Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) and China are probably the world’s biggest players in gene therapy, and now the two are working together, thanks to a deal announced last Friday around Genzyme’s lead gene therapy candidate. The deal—with Shanghai Sunway Biotech—should put Genzyme’s gene therapy program on the fast track, but also into the midst of some … Continue reading “Genzyme Forges Chinese Connection to Speed Gene Therapy to World Market”
Avant and Celldex to Merge
A new company focused on products that harness the immune system will be formed through the merger of Needham, MA-based Avant Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ: AVAN) and privately held, Phillipsburg, NJ-based Celldex Therapeutics. The resulting firm, to be called Avant, will be worth some $115 million, according to a press release. Both Avant Immunotherapeutics and Celldex have … Continue reading “Avant and Celldex to Merge”
Predictive Biosciences: A Small Startup With a Big Pedigree is Out to Personalize Cancer Care
It’s got advisors like Bob Langer and Judah Folkman, a particularly innovative strategy, and more than 15 years of research behind it. But Lexington, MA-based Predictive Biosciences is starting out by trying to be as small as it possibly can be. With just $10 million in initial financing, and that all tied to strict milestones, … Continue reading “Predictive Biosciences: A Small Startup With a Big Pedigree is Out to Personalize Cancer Care”
Shareholders Approve Hologic’s $6.2 Billion Acquisition of Cytyc
In a move that will create one of the largest life sciences companies in Massachusetts, shareholders of both Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) and Cytyc (NASDAQ: CYTC) today approved Bedford, MA-based Hologic’s $6.2 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of the Marlborough diagnostics and device maker. The match seems a good one. When it was announced in May, analysts were … Continue reading “Shareholders Approve Hologic’s $6.2 Billion Acquisition of Cytyc”
FDA Letter Warns Exact “That’s a Medical Device You’re Selling”
Ouch. After years of waiting for the good news that would push its test into the mainstream, Exact Sciences instead just got a warning letter from the FDA. It could just be a temporary setback, but it means Marlborough, MA-based Exact (NASDAQ: EXAS) needs to have its ducks in a row to negotiate this critical … Continue reading “FDA Letter Warns Exact “That’s a Medical Device You’re Selling””
SeraCare Rebuilding Image and a Brand New Milford Headquarters Too
Talk about a colorful past. Spun out of a blood-collection business shortly after 9/11, SeraCare Life Sciences saw its fortunes skyrocket and then crash spectacularly. Now, just a few months after emerging from bankruptcy, things are a lot quieter. The biggest change at the company is a new “emphasis on quality and integrity” says CFO … Continue reading “SeraCare Rebuilding Image and a Brand New Milford Headquarters Too”
Glaxo Grabs Synta Melanoma Drug in Deal Worth up to $1.1 Billion
Yes, that’s $1.1 billion. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) leapt at STA-4783 just a couple of weeks after Lexington, MA-based Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SNTA) presented some promising news about the experimental drug at a European cancer meeting. Adding STA-4783 to standard chemotherapy more than doubled the survival time in a Phase 2b trial in patients with metastatic … Continue reading “Glaxo Grabs Synta Melanoma Drug in Deal Worth up to $1.1 Billion”
Eye-Popping $37M Financing Fuels Great Start for Optherion
The market for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatments is expected to balloon over the next few years as the population gets older, and plenty of people think there’s room for some billion dollar drugs there. After all, the disease is one of the main causes of blindness in older adults. That fact helped New Haven-based … Continue reading “Eye-Popping $37M Financing Fuels Great Start for Optherion”
RNAi Firms Find a New Rival (and Partner) in an Old Technology
What? Can antisense possibly be hot again? Many people wondered if the decades-old RNA-targeting approach to drug development was even still alive. But look again. Recent events show antisense isn’t just hanging in there; its products might actually beat their much-ballyhooed RNAi-based rivals (from the likes of firms like Cambridge’s Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Worcester’s RXi … Continue reading “RNAi Firms Find a New Rival (and Partner) in an Old Technology”