BioSpace News Archive

end of relations(special f/x,made from my images)

Deals

Fresenius Walks Away from Agreement: Shares of Akorn Plummet

Almost one year to the day after Fresenius plunked down $4.3 billion to acquire Illinois-based Akorn Pharmaceuticals, the German company announced it was walking away from the deal.

April 23, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown

Drug Development

Safety Concerns Force Loss of Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Synthetic Biologic’s C. Diff Drug

Shares of Synthetic Biologics are down more than 14 percent this morning after the company announced that SYN-004 (ribaxamase), the company’s treatment for the Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), lost the Breakthrough Therapy Designation awarded by U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year.

April 23, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown

Drug Development

Stocks Dive After Prothena Shutters AL Amyloidosis Program

Prothena Corporation announced it had shuttered its NEOD001 program for AL amyloidosis after the failure of its Phase IIb PRONTO study and Phase III VITAL study. Shares dropped 60 percent in premarket trading at the news.

April 23, 2018

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3 min read

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Mark Terry

Drug Development

The FDA Giveth and Taketh Away: Grants Pfizer’s MenB Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Turns Down a Biosimilar

The FDA granted Pfizer’s Trumenba, a vaccine for meningococcal B disease in children ages one to nine years, Breakthrough Therapy Designation and declined to approve its biosimilar of Roche’s Herceptin for breast cancer.

April 23, 2018

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2 min read

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Mark Terry

Policy

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) Sues NIH Over Gilead CAR-T Patents

A nonprofit organization, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), recently filed a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over Gilead Sciences’ patents for a new chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy.

April 23, 2018

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3 min read

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Mark Terry

Deals

Orexigen Enters into Agreement to Sell Company to Newly Formed Entity Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals

One month after filing for bankruptcy anti-obesity company Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. could be acquired by the newly-formed company Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for $75 million in cash.

April 23, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown

Interview Insider: Tips on How to Get Hired From R

Biotech Bay

Roche and Subsidiaries Ramp Up Treatment Options for Multiple Sclerosis

Earlier this month Roche acquired a regenerative therapy program for MS from Inception Sciences and now today Roche’s Genentech announced new data showcasing the efficacy of Ocrevus in relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS).

April 23, 2018

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3 min read

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Alex Keown

Job Trends

Former Sarepta Chief Garabedian’s Accelerator on the Move

About two years ago, former president and chief executive officer of Sarepta Therapeutics, Chris Garabedian, formed Xontogeny, a biotech accelerator. Xontogeny was founded to support life science technology startups.

April 23, 2018

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2 min read

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Mark Terry

Drug Development

Sage Therapeutics’ Postpartum Depression Drug Heads to the FDA

Sage Therapeutics has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for brexanolone (SAGE-547) to treat postpartum depression (PPD).

April 23, 2018

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3 min read

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Mark Terry

Business

Advaxis Taps Kenneth Berlin as New CEO

After nearly a year without a permanent chief executive officer Advaxis, Inc. has a new hand on the wheel. This morning the company announced Kenneth A. Berlin will take over the helm of the company as president and CEO effective immediately.

April 23, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown