AstraZeneca says it will establish centers for drug research and artificial intelligence development in China. The pharmaceutical giant has also set up a $1 billion fund to foster biotech innovation in that country. The move—which was announced at the China International Import Expo this week—will see AstraZeneca found a global R&D center in Shanghai’s central … Continue reading “AstraZeneca Chooses China for R&D and AI Centers, $1B Biotech Fund”
Category: National
Biogen Adds Two More Biosimilars in $100M Deal with Samsung Bioepis
Biogen is bolstering its strategy of selling biosimilars—lower-cost versions of biological drugs that are losing patent protection—with a $100 million deal for rights to two eye products. The drug maker is also expanding its biosimilar scope to include China. Cambridge, MA-based Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) struck the deal with Samsung Bioepis, its joint venture with Samsung … Continue reading “Biogen Adds Two More Biosimilars in $100M Deal with Samsung Bioepis”
GE Healthcare Opens Startup Labs at Former AstraZeneca UK R&D Site
The doors have opened at a GE Healthcare-supported open-access lab for startups at AstraZeneca’s former global center for oncology research and development at Alderley Park, the largest bioscience research campus in the UK. The AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]) site in Macclesfield, UK, housed 3,500 staff and was instrumental in developing a number of its cancer drugs … Continue reading “GE Healthcare Opens Startup Labs at Former AstraZeneca UK R&D Site”
Why Steve Kafka Left Third Rock Ventures for Up-and-Comer Section 32
Section 32, which invests in healthcare and life sciences companies with a technology component, has added a third managing partner. The small venture capital firm was started in San Diego about two years ago by Bill Maris, who, during his time at Google, founded and led its corporate venture capital arm, now part of parent … Continue reading “Why Steve Kafka Left Third Rock Ventures for Up-and-Comer Section 32”
With $9.5M, Intrepida Bio Launches to Target Pancreatic Cancer & More
Dauntless Pharmaceuticals formed in 2016, and its founders said the Sofinnova Ventures-backed firm planned to take a new approach to building biotechs. Instead of advancing a broad stable of early-stage drug candidates under the same roof, Dauntless aimed to set up each asset within its own company. The idea was that when it came time … Continue reading “With $9.5M, Intrepida Bio Launches to Target Pancreatic Cancer & More”
Stryker Adds to Trauma & Extremities Biz With $4B Wright Medical Deal
Medical device giant Stryker is strengthening its presence in trauma and extremities surgeries with a cash deal to acquire Wright Medical for $4 billion. According to deal terms announced Monday, Kalamazoo, MI-based Stryker (NYSE: [[ticker:SYK]]) will pay $30.75 per share, a nearly 40 percent premium compared to the Friday closing stock price of Wright Medical … Continue reading “Stryker Adds to Trauma & Extremities Biz With $4B Wright Medical Deal”
Halozyme to Restructure After Pancreatic Cancer Drug Fails in Phase 3
An experimental Halozyme Therapeutics treatment for pancreatic cancer has failed a pivotal study, and the company is stopping further development of the drug and closing its oncology operations as part of a corporate restructuring. Halozyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) announced Monday that its drug, PEGPH20, did not meet a Phase 3 study’s main goal of improving how … Continue reading “Halozyme to Restructure After Pancreatic Cancer Drug Fails in Phase 3”
Biotech Roundup: Novartis on Hold, AMAG Vote, Neuro News & More
The brain has stymied many efforts to develop new neuroscience drugs, leading a number of big pharmaceutical companies to pull back on such R&D work. This week, Amgen joined them. Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) is ending its research and early development programs in neuroscience, the company announced during a conference call to discuss third-quarter financial results. … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Novartis on Hold, AMAG Vote, Neuro News & More”
Pinteon Gets $17M to Tackle Tau in Alzheimer’s, Other Brain Diseases
Beta amyloid grabs most of the headlines and research dollars for Alzheimer’s disease, but efforts to develop drugs targeting that brain protein have largely come up short. Pinteon Therapeutics is trying for a better outcome with drugs that block tau, a different protein that, despite also being associated with Alzheimer’s, has garnered much less attention. … Continue reading “Pinteon Gets $17M to Tackle Tau in Alzheimer’s, Other Brain Diseases”
Roche to Pay Dicerna Pharma $200M to Team Up on Hepatitis B Drug
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals’ research on medicines intended to stop a gene from producing a disease-causing protein has caught the eye of Roche, which is paying the company $200 million up front for global rights to its early-stage hepatitis B virus infection drug. According to deal terms announced Thursday, Dicerna (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DRNA]]) could earn up to $1.47 … Continue reading “Roche to Pay Dicerna Pharma $200M to Team Up on Hepatitis B Drug”
FDA Halts Novartis Gene Therapy Study Amid Animal Safety Concerns
Novartis must stop enrollment of a clinical trial testing its gene therapy for a rare, muscular disorder after safety concerns surfaced in data from an animal study. The FDA put a partial clinical hold on a Phase 1/2 study testing the therapy, Zolgensma, Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]) announced Wednesday. The decision doesn’t halt the study entirely; … Continue reading “FDA Halts Novartis Gene Therapy Study Amid Animal Safety Concerns”
Disc Medicine Launches With $50M to Advance New Anemia Treatments
Red blood cells need iron to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, and having too little or too much can lead to serious health problems. When iron levels go awry, the number of healthy red blood cells circulating in the bloodstream shrinks, causing a condition called anemia. Disc Medicine, a … Continue reading “Disc Medicine Launches With $50M to Advance New Anemia Treatments”
With Ex-Medivation Exec Hung at Helm, Nuvation Nabs $275M for Cancer
Nuvation Bio peeked out from stealth mode Monday to reveal $275 million in financing and an executive team stacked with biotech veterans. The cancer drug developer, which has offices in New York and San Francisco, is led by founder, president, and CEO David Hung, the former chief executive who steered Medivation to a $14.3 billion … Continue reading “With Ex-Medivation Exec Hung at Helm, Nuvation Nabs $275M for Cancer”
Venture Investors Bets on Healthcare, and Milwaukee, With $75M Fund
Venture Investors is going all-in on healthcare with its latest venture fund. Launched in 1982, Venture Investors (VI) is the oldest venture firm in Wisconsin, and one of the older VCs in the US. Historically, early-stage life sciences and healthcare startups have made up the majority of its investments, but it has also backed young … Continue reading “Venture Investors Bets on Healthcare, and Milwaukee, With $75M Fund”
UK Regulator Has “Competition Concerns” Over Illumina-PacBio Tie-Up
Nearly one year after DNA sequencing machine maker Illumina announced plans to acquire smaller rival Pacific Biosciences, antitrust regulators in the UK say the merger could stifle competition in the region and reduce industry innovation. The Competition and Markets Authority has been eying the proposed $1.2 billion tie-up since April. The regulator’s in-depth review, which … Continue reading “UK Regulator Has “Competition Concerns” Over Illumina-PacBio Tie-Up”
Bio Roundup: Biogen’s Reversal, FDA Moves Fast, a CF Cocktail & More
Earlier this year, it seemed that companies testing Alzheimer’s disease treatments based on a long-held hypothesis as to its cause—brain deposits of a protein called beta amyloid—were giving up the ghost. Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) was among them. The drug maker had stopped testing of a drug developed to target amyloid plaque after a Phase 3 … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Biogen’s Reversal, FDA Moves Fast, a CF Cocktail & More”
Acorda Cuts Staff 25% and Restructures to Keep Focus on Parkinson’s Drug
Acorda Therapeutics is laying off about one quarter of its staff in order to save money and focus its remaining resources on commercializing a Parkinson’s disease drug that launched earlier this year. Ardsley, NY-based Acorda (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACOR]]) said late Wednesday that it expects the workforce cuts will save $21 million annually. Most of the cuts … Continue reading “Acorda Cuts Staff 25% and Restructures to Keep Focus on Parkinson’s Drug”
Xconomy Awards Boston 2019 Honors Best in Life Sciences: Slideshow
The third annual Xconomy Awards Boston Gala was the biggest and most spectacular yet. More than 450 people from across the life science ecosystem came out to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center last month to celebrate the finalists over dinner and drinks, find out who got to take home the awards, and reconnect with … Continue reading “Xconomy Awards Boston 2019 Honors Best in Life Sciences: Slideshow”
Biogen Reverses Course on Alzheimer’s Drug Analysis, Plans FDA Filing
Six months after Biogen stopped work on a closely watched experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment, the neuroscience drug developer is reviving it with plans to file for FDA approval. Aducanumab’s Phase 3 failure in March was viewed as yet another nail in the coffin for the so-called “amyloid hypothesis”—the theory that by breaking up or clearing … Continue reading “Biogen Reverses Course on Alzheimer’s Drug Analysis, Plans FDA Filing”
Vertex Stock Up on Quick FDA OK For 3-Drug Cystic Fibrosis Therapy
The FDA on Monday approved a Vertex Pharmaceuticals cystic fibrosis treatment that combines three drugs, a decision that comes three months after the company submitted its application and five months before the agency’s deadline to finish its review. The Boston-based company saw its stock price rise 4 percent on the news to $185. The Vertex … Continue reading “Vertex Stock Up on Quick FDA OK For 3-Drug Cystic Fibrosis Therapy”
SeaGen to Seek FDA Nod After Breast Cancer Drug Hits Goals of Key Study
An experimental breast cancer drug from Seattle Genetics is headed for FDA review after the company reported a pivotal clinical trial met its main goals. The company has been testing tucatinib as a treatment for advanced or metastatic breast cancer with abnormally high levels of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), … Continue reading “SeaGen to Seek FDA Nod After Breast Cancer Drug Hits Goals of Key Study”
Backed by $50M, Verseau Launches to Reprogram Immune Cells Against Cancer
Cancer therapies that harness the immune system don’t work for all patients. Verseau Therapeutics aims to bring cancer immunotherapy to more people by targeting a type of immune cell present in the vast majority of tumors and directing it to fight the disease. Verseau launched Monday backed by $50 million in financing. The Bedford, MA-based … Continue reading “Backed by $50M, Verseau Launches to Reprogram Immune Cells Against Cancer”
Bio Roundup: Ichnos Emerges, Beyond CAR-T, BridgeBio Bails & More
New brand-name drugs typically grab the life science headlines. A venture capital firm will invest tens of millions to develop one and a pharmaceutical company hopes to recoup hundreds of millions by selling it. But a shortage of one particular chemotherapy is showing the crucial role generic drugs play in healthcare. This week, The New … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Ichnos Emerges, Beyond CAR-T, BridgeBio Bails & More”
Plexium Debuts With $28M and a New Take on Protein Degradation Drugs
Even as researchers discover more links between specific proteins and human disease, it’s still hard to find small molecules or antibodies that can bind to those drug targets. San Diego biotech Plexium is the latest addition to the growing number of startups aiming to use technology to devise new drugs that can target those currently … Continue reading “Plexium Debuts With $28M and a New Take on Protein Degradation Drugs”
Healx Bags $56M to Advance Affordable, AI-Based Orphan Drugs
Atomico, a European venture capital firm, has helped persuade Cambridge, UK-based Healx to return to the capital market a year earlier than anticipated. The biotech has just raised $56 million in Series B funding to bankroll its mission to use AI and machine learning to create affordable rare disease treatments. It is not surprising that … Continue reading “Healx Bags $56M to Advance Affordable, AI-Based Orphan Drugs”
Nuance & Microsoft Team Up on Conversational AI for Doctors’ Offices
Nuance Communications’ plan to lighten the clerical burden on physicians is coming into focus, and it involves an assist from tech giant Microsoft. Nuance (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), the 27-year-old speech recognition technology pioneer, in February revealed it’s developing a device that would sit in exam rooms and listen to conversations between doctors and patients. The system’s … Continue reading “Nuance & Microsoft Team Up on Conversational AI for Doctors’ Offices”
ArsenalBio Launches With $85M for “Programmable” T Cell Therapies
Cell therapies are made by tinkering with a patient’s immune cells so that they can better recognize and destroy cancer cells. These drugs give patients another treatment option for certain cancers that haven’t responded to anything else. ArsenalBio CEO Ken Drazan aims to take cell therapy even further. Arsenal is developing technology that adds capabilities … Continue reading “ArsenalBio Launches With $85M for “Programmable” T Cell Therapies”
Eli Lilly Drug Acquired in Armo Deal Fails Pancreatic Cancer Test
An experimental drug that was the centerpiece of a $1.6 billion Eli Lilly acquisition last year has now failed a pivotal test in pancreatic cancer. Eli Lilly (NYSE: [[ticker:LLY]]) said Wednesday that patients treated with its drug candidate pegilodecakin, plus chemotherapy, did not live longer than patients treated with chemotherapy alone, falling short of the … Continue reading “Eli Lilly Drug Acquired in Armo Deal Fails Pancreatic Cancer Test”
Alexion to Buy Achillion in $930M Marriage of Rare Disease Drug Firms
Alexion Pharmaceuticals is acquiring Achillion Pharmaceuticals for $930 million, a deal that could strengthen its position providing treatments for a rare blood disorder. According to financial terms announced Wednesday, Boston-based Alexion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALXN]]) will pay $6.30 per share of Achillion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACHN]]) stock, which is an 80 percent premium to Achillion’s closing stock price on … Continue reading “Alexion to Buy Achillion in $930M Marriage of Rare Disease Drug Firms”
Led by Gilead Veteran Riva, Glenmark’s Ichnos Steps Out on Its Own
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, which has made generic drugs for about four decades, on Tuesday formally spun off its drug R&D unit as an independent business aiming to advance a handful of novel molecules the Indian company has developed in recent years. The new company, called Ichnos Sciences, emerges with a clinical-stage pipeline that has experimental treatments … Continue reading “Led by Gilead Veteran Riva, Glenmark’s Ichnos Steps Out on Its Own”
Cyteir Adds $40M for Clinical Test of “Synthetically Lethal” Cancer Drug
Cyteir Therapeutics has $40.2 million more in cash to support early-stage tests of a drug intended to treat cancer by targeting a tumor repair mechanism. The new cash that Cyteir announced Tuesday adds to a Series B round of funding it raised last year. The Lexington, MA-based company says the amount invested in the round … Continue reading “Cyteir Adds $40M for Clinical Test of “Synthetically Lethal” Cancer Drug”
FDA OKs Lilly’s Lasmiditan, First New Acute Migraine Drug in Decades
Eli Lilly won FDA approval for a migraine drug on Friday, giving the pharmaceutical giant a second medication that addresses the condition that causes millions of people to experience severe headaches and other debilitating symptoms. The FDA approved the drug, lasmiditan (Reyvow), as a treatment for acute migraine; it’s meant to be taken after the … Continue reading “FDA OKs Lilly’s Lasmiditan, First New Acute Migraine Drug in Decades”
Vir Bio’s IPO Brings In $143M for Tests of Hepatitis B Drug and More
Vir Biotechnology has joined the public markets, raising $142.9 million to support clinical tests of its infectious disease drugs. The San Francisco firm offered 7.1 million shares priced at $20 each, which was the low end of the $20 to $22 range that it had planned. Vir shares are expected to start trading later today … Continue reading “Vir Bio’s IPO Brings In $143M for Tests of Hepatitis B Drug and More”
Bio Roundup: Nobel Prizes, Placebo Effect Rises, ICER’s Fire & More
Congrats to this year’s Nobel Prize winners in medicine… although, we have to ask: For the US researchers who are honored, isn’t there something crushing about a call in the middle of the night from Sweden, interrupting a dream about the perfect protein-protein interaction? Wouldn’t it be more logical for the committee to wait until … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Nobel Prizes, Placebo Effect Rises, ICER’s Fire & More”
UCB Stakes Out Autoimmune Territory With $2.1B Deal for Ra Pharma
Ra Pharmaceuticals, whose lead autoimmune disease drug candidate is viewed as a potential alternative to one of the most expensive medicines in the world, is being acquired by Belgian pharmaceuticals giant UCB in a $2.1 billion deal. According to terms announced Thursday, UCB will pay $48 in cash for each Ra Pharma share. That’s a … Continue reading “UCB Stakes Out Autoimmune Territory With $2.1B Deal for Ra Pharma”
The Placebo Effect Is Hobbling New Psychiatric Drugs. What Can Stop It?
Sixteen years ago, Kim Witczak’s husband died by his own hand, turning her world upside down. He had just begun taking an antidepressant off-label for insomnia, and she believes an undisclosed side effect of the drug drove him to suicide. Compelled to act, she became an advocate for tougher safety standards. Witczak now sits on … Continue reading “The Placebo Effect Is Hobbling New Psychiatric Drugs. What Can Stop It?”
WI Watchlist: Epic, Shine, Venture Investors, Stratatech & More
It’s time to catch up on some of the latest happenings across Wisconsin’s innovation communities: —Shine Medical Technologies said it struck a deal to receive $50 million in financing from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. The money will support the ongoing construction of Shine’s medical isotope production facility in Janesville, as well as Shine’s … Continue reading “WI Watchlist: Epic, Shine, Venture Investors, Stratatech & More”
Five Years After Y Combinator First Admits Biotechs, They’re Dug In
Five years ago, the big tech incubator Y Combinator started to welcome life sciences companies into its sizable startup classes, which had previously nurtured entrepreneurs in information technology almost exclusively. That opening to biotech startups in 2014 was controversial at the time. Some observers simply wondered what kind of guidance a deeply tech-focused accelerator could … Continue reading “Five Years After Y Combinator First Admits Biotechs, They’re Dug In”
Pharma, Biotech VC Investments Continue Shift to Early Stage Deals
The number of investments that venture capitalists will make this year in pharmaceutical and biotech companies is on pace to match last year’s record—and that money continues to shift into earlier-stage deals. Venture firms invested in 609 drug development deals as of Sept. 30, 2019, compared with 808 deals for all last year, according to … Continue reading “Pharma, Biotech VC Investments Continue Shift to Early Stage Deals”
LabFellows Looks to Become “Operating System” For Life Sciences Cos.
[Updated 7:21 p.m. 10/11. See below.] Scientists, no matter how sexy the research they’re conducting, aren’t immune from the administrative minutiae of office life. Such tasks steal time away from researchers’ main objectives. However, that wasn’t the problem San Diego startup LabFellows was looking to solve when it launched in 2014. Founders Julio de Unamuno … Continue reading “LabFellows Looks to Become “Operating System” For Life Sciences Cos.”
Catch Duchenne Patient Power, Phil Sharp & More Next Week at The Broad
How did Phil Sharp, a kid from a small farm in Kentucky, become a Nobel prize winner and one of the godfathers of the biotech industry? How did Christine McSherry turn her youngest son’s devastating diagnosis into a crusade that aided in the approval of a drug for his disease? Sharp (pictured above) and McSherry … Continue reading “Catch Duchenne Patient Power, Phil Sharp & More Next Week at The Broad”
With $65M, Cygnal Tunes In to Nerve Signals for Drug-Making Clues
The peripheral nervous system traverses the body, connecting the brain and spinal cord to distant organs and limbs similar to the way a fiber optic network connects an Internet provider to a computer user at a far-flung home. But peripheral nerves also communicate with disease cells, according to Cygnal Therapeutics CEO Pearl Huang. Understanding this … Continue reading “With $65M, Cygnal Tunes In to Nerve Signals for Drug-Making Clues”
Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes to 3 Who Showed How Cells Sense Oxygen Levels
Oxygen’s importance in cellular processes has long been known. But the work to understand how cells sense and adapt to changes in oxygen levels has led to medical insights and potential treatments for anemia, cancer, and more—and today, it has turned into the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine. William Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter Ratcliffe, and … Continue reading “Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes to 3 Who Showed How Cells Sense Oxygen Levels”
Akcea, Fresh Off C-Suite Shakeup, Dishes Heart Drug to Pfizer for $250M
Pfizer this morning bought an experimental heart disease drug from Akcea therapeutics, the first move made by the Ionis Pharmaceuticals spinout since the company overhauled its management team last month. Pfizer will pay Akcea (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKCA]]) and parent Ionis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IONS]]) $250 million up front for rights to AKCEA-ANGPTL3-Lrx, an RNA-based medicine currently in a … Continue reading “Akcea, Fresh Off C-Suite Shakeup, Dishes Heart Drug to Pfizer for $250M”
Precision IBD Rebrands as Prometheus and Strikes R&D Deal With Takeda
This summer Nestlé Health Science sold Prometheus Laboratories, a gastrointestinal disease diagnostics unit it had acquired eight years prior, to a low-profile San Diego biotech called Precision IBD. About a month ago, Precision—a drug and diagnostic developer that’s focused, as its name suggests, on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—changed its name to Prometheus Biosciences and tapped … Continue reading “Precision IBD Rebrands as Prometheus and Strikes R&D Deal With Takeda”
Unpack Digital Health’s Progress & Pitfalls at X·CON on Oct. 22
Digital health is having a moment, thanks to a convergence of increasingly sophisticated computing technologies, a more favorable regulatory environment, and growing buy-in from hospitals, insurers, and patients. But plenty of challenges and questions remain. Join Xconomy on Oct. 22 for an elite conference that will help industry stakeholders better understand the most promising opportunities … Continue reading “Unpack Digital Health’s Progress & Pitfalls at X·CON on Oct. 22”
Fetch Rewards Grabs $25M, Plans to Double Staff as Growth Accelerates
Fetch Rewards’ pivot seems to be paying off. The Madison, WI-based mobile app startup has pulled in $25 million from investors to help it capitalize on a surge of new users and business partners. The fresh funding was revealed in a document filed this week with the SEC. The money comes from Greycroft and E.ventures, … Continue reading “Fetch Rewards Grabs $25M, Plans to Double Staff as Growth Accelerates”
Bio Roundup: PARP Progress, A New Commish, IPO-Palooza & More
It’s been a strange up and down ride for PARP inhibitors, a relatively new class of cancer drugs. Named for the tumor protein they target, PARPs rebounded after a big clinical setback in 2011 and have been at the center of many buyouts and big alliances—Pfizer and Medivation, GlaxoSmithKline and Tesaro, AstraZeneca and Merck. Four … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: PARP Progress, A New Commish, IPO-Palooza & More”
After Brain Cancer Drug Fails, Tocagen to Cut More Than Half of Staff
Following the late-stage failure of its lead program, an experimental gene therapy treatment for the most aggressive form of brain cancer, Tocagen will reduce its workforce by 65 percent, the company said Thursday. The layoffs will result in a staff of about 30 people by year’s end, Tocagen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TOCA]]) said in the press release. … Continue reading “After Brain Cancer Drug Fails, Tocagen to Cut More Than Half of Staff”
Three Biotechs Raise $320M in IPOs, Two Others Pass on Wall Street
With five biotech IPOs on the calendar, this week was expected to be a big one. Three companies ended up making Wall Street debuts, raising a combined $320 million, led by Viela Bio. But two other firms didn’t like the market conditions and decided against going public for now. Here’s a recap of the week’s … Continue reading “Three Biotechs Raise $320M in IPOs, Two Others Pass on Wall Street”