How and why cancer cells are metabolically different from normal cells in many ways has been getting a lot of attention over the past few years. (See BioWorld Today, May 3, 2010.) Read More
Bionovo Inc. priced a public offering of 30,031,200 units at $1 each for gross proceeds of $30 million. Each unit is comprised of one share of common stock (NASDAQ:BNVI) and a warrant to purchase a one-half share of common stock at $1.30 per share. The funds will be primarily funneled into Phase III development of its lead product, Menerba, for postmenopausal vasomotor symptoms, or hot flashes. Read More
Eisai Inc., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., the U.S. pharmaceutical operation of Tokyo-based Eisai Co. Ltd., has pledged as much as $200 million in research funding to start-up H3 Biomedicine, of Cambridge, Mass., which hopes to develop oncology treatments genetically tailored to patients' cancers. Read More
Neuralstem Inc., of Rockville, Md., settled a lawsuit over disputed patents with ReNeuron Ltd., of Guildford, UK. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Read More
Genentech Inc., of South San Francisco, a unit of the Roche Group, and OSI Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deerfield, Ill.-based Astellas U.S. Holding Inc., said an independent data monitoring committee recommended that the Phase III EURTAC (European Randomized Trial of Tarceva vs. Chemotherapy) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) be stopped early because it met its primary endpoint. Read More
Erythropoietin (EPO) stimulates the production of red blood cells and is used to treat cancer-associated anemia. But the EPO receptor also is found on immune system cells. Read More
One of the drugs Sanofi-Aventis SA had hoped would shore up its product pipeline ahead of patent expirations may be out of the picture, but that setback could have little impact in ongoing acquisition negotiations for Genzyme Corp. Read More