BioSpace News Archive

Business

VC Tim Draper Blames Fall of Theranos on ‘Hyena’ Reporter

The idea of “fake news” that has become a hallmark of the political landscape has made its way into the biotech world. Venture capitalist Tim Draper, a longtime supporter of medtech company Theranos, blames the slow demise of the company on a “hyena” reporter.

May 14, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown

Heads Up Biotechs: Illumina Ventures Closes $230M

Drug Development

MEI Pharma Grabs $75 Million Private Placement to Drive Registration Study for P13K Inhibitor Program

Shares of MEI Pharma, Inc. are up nearly 9 percent this morning after the company snagged $75 million in a private placement that was led by Vivo Capital and CAM Capital. The funds will be used to treat adults with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma with a P13K inhibitor.

May 14, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown

Deals

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Takeda Pharma’s Takeover of Shire

The ink is still drying on the contracts for Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of Dublin-based Shire for about $62.2 billion, but company executives are sharing some of the “inside baseball” about what went on behind the scenes of the deal.

May 14, 2018

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3 min read

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Mark Terry

Drug Development

Ziopharm Delays Phase III Glioblastoma Trial to Focus on Other IL-12 Studies

Shares of Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. are still sliding after the company announced it was pausing its planned Phase III trial for its lead gene therapy product designed to treat patients with recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) as a monotherapy and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

May 14, 2018

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3 min read

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Alex Keown

BioMidwest

Northwestern University Launches New Biotech Accelerator NewCures

Universities are increasingly recognizing the need to assist academic researchers into clinical and commercial development such as Northwestern University’s NewCures which recently launched.

May 14, 2018

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3 min read

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Mark Terry

Drug Development

Ansun BioPharma Closes $85 Million Series A Financing

Ansun Biopharma closed on a Series A financing round worth $85 million. The company plans to use the funds raised for a Phase III clinical trial of its experimental anti-viral drug, DAS181.

May 14, 2018

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2 min read

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Mark Terry

Broad Institute Embarks on Holy Grail Quest to Harness Old Compounds for Rare Diseases

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is taking bold steps to acquire samples of every drug ever developed in order to test whether or not they could be used off-label to treat other diseases than the ones for which they were manufactured.

May 14, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown

Business

Medigene and Bluebird Bio Expand Cancer Collaboration to $1.5 Billion

Medigene and bluebird bio announced they are expanding a strategic research and development collaboration inked in September 2016.

May 14, 2018

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3 min read

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Mark Terry

Business

With $87 Million in Hand, Beam Therapeutics Launches to Fight Disease with CRISPR Base Editing Technology

Beam Therapeutics, a new precision genetic medicines company, launched this morning with $87 million in a Series A funding round backed by F-Prime Capital Partners and ARCH Venture Partners.

May 14, 2018

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2 min read

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Alex Keown

Deals

On a Roll: Eli Lilly to Buy Aurka that Could Hit $575M

Only days after Eli Lilly and Company agreed to pay $1.6 billion for ARMO BioSciences, the Indianapolis-based drug company is acquiring AurKa Pharma, an oncology company.

May 14, 2018

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2 min read

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Mark Terry