Index appoints Johnson partner
02 September 2010

Index Ventures, the global high tech venture capitalist, has appointed Dr Kevin Johnson as a life sciences partner to enhance its push into developing asset-centric investment strategy. Dr Johnson,...

New investor leads Celator's $20 million series D
02 September 2010

Celator Pharmaceuticals has raised $20 million in a series D round led by new investor Thomas, McNerney & Partners. Alex Zisson , a partner at the venture capital firm, will join Celator's...

Scottish biotech companies combine
02 September 2010

Two Scottish university spin-out companies, ImmunoSolv and Grampian BioConsultants (GBC), have merged to combine their expertise in immunology and immuno-technology to avoid becoming a "one-trick...

Henderson Morley files notice of administration
02 September 2010

The small UK biotechnology firm Henderson Morley has filed a notice of intention to call in the administrators following its failure to secure the divestment of its ICVT (Ionic Contra Viral Therapy)...

Pfizer to bolster rare disease portfolio with FoldRx acquisition
02 September 2010

Pfizer has reiterated its commitment to developing an orphan and rare diseases franchise by acquiring the private US company FoldRx Pharmaceuticals. The two companies did not disclose the financial...

Relief for Dendreon on upcoming US Medicare coverage meeting on Provenge
02 September 2010

The US agency that runs Medicare – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) - has scheduled a 17 November advisory panel meeting to consider on-label and off-label use of Dendreon's...

India throws rule book at 'superbug' scientists
02 September 2010

Indian physicians who were involved in the controversial "superbug" NDM-1 study that was published in Lancet Infectious Diseases last month have been asked to confirm whether they followed various...

Deal with Ono the first for Concordia's novel Ras inhibitor
02 September 2010

Ono Pharmaceutical has acquired exclusive development and commercialisation rights in Japan to Concordia Pharmaceuticals' direct Ras inhibitor salirasib, which it will develop initially for...

Addex makes plans to move mGluR2 antagonist into clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease
02 September 2010

Addex has announced plans to move an mGluR2 antagonist into Phase I trials for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in around a year. "We are currently in late-stage optimisation, and plan to have a clinical...

ThromboGenics' microplasmin positive in second Phase III trial
02 September 2010

ThromboGenic's microplasmin met its primary endpoint – resolution of vitromacular adhesion (VMA) – in patients with the eye disease. The study results, presented at the American Society of Retina...

US appeals court upholds Evista patents through 2014, blocking Teva generic
02 September 2010

A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court ruling that Lilly's method-of-use patents for its osteoporosis drug Evista (raloxifene) are valid until 2014, blocking an attempt by Teva...

BTG grabs back US CroFab and DigiFab rights from Nycomed
02 September 2010

BTG is to regain ahead of schedule the full US marketing rights to the antivenom CroFab (crotalidae polyvalent immune fab (ovine)) and the overdose product DigiFab (digoxin immune fab (ovine)) from...

TiGenix outlines new market-focused strategy
02 September 2010

TiGenix, the Belgium based biotech that spunout its drug discovery activities last week, is focused on becoming a development and marketing company, its CEO Gil Beyen told Scrip. The company spun...

Xeloda filed in Japan for additional gastric cancer use
02 September 2010

Roche's Japanese subsidiary, Chugai , has made an approval filing for Xeloda (capecitabine) for the treatment of advanced or refractory gastric cancer in patients who are not candidates for curative...

New Zealand expects savings following funding decision for Dr Reddy's quetiapine
02 September 2010

New Zealand expects to save NZ$24 million ($17.1 million) over the next five years following price reductions for certain antipsychotic drugs, said Pharmac , the country's pharmaceutical management...