Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is set to push farther into men’s health after inking an a potential $300 million deal with Vivus Inc. to market the erectile dysfunction (ED) drug Stendra (avanafil) in the U.S. and Canada. Read More
SHANGHAI – A much-awaited free trade zone in Shanghai may eventually create some opportunities for biotechs, but nothing will happen overnight. Read More
Osiris Therapeutics Inc. will sell its culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cell (ceMSC) business, including Prochymal, to Mesoblast Ltd. for up to $100 million including up-front and milestone payments. Read More
While pundits argue over whether the lately upbeat mood for initial public offerings (IPOs) represents a “bubble” or a “boom,” another two biotech firms took the opportunity to file for their chances at the mild frenzy this year. Read More
When it comes to breast cancer treatment, there’s no shortage of drugs in development. Cortellis, the database run by BioWorld’s new parent Thomson Reuters, shows more than 3,500 drugs in development in the space. Read More
Most people tend to think of gene editing as a way to repair faulty genes. But a team from the University of Minnesota has gained new scientific insights into prostate cancer by taking the opposite tack. Read More
• Endocyte Inc., of West Lafayette, Ind., said an independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) recommended continuation of combination therapy with investigational candidate vintafolide (MK-8109/EC145) and docetaxel as well as docetaxel as monotherapy in the Phase IIb TARGET trial, following a planned review of interim futility. Read More
• Immunogen Inc., of Waltham, Mass., said Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, licensed the exclusive right to use the firm’s antibody-conjugate (ADC) technology to develop cancer therapeutics against an undisclosed target. Read More
• STA Pharmaceutical Hong Kong Ltd. and Shanghai Syn-The-All Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., wholly owned subsidiaries of WuiXi AppTec, of Shanghai, jointly invested in a new production and research center in Changzhou Binjiang Economic Development Zone. Read More