Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc., of San Rafael, Calif., selected a new drug development candidate, BMN 250, a fusion of alpha-N-acetyglucosaminidase with a peptide derived from insulin-like growth factor 2 for the treatment of Sanfilippo B syndrome or Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB. Read More
Cempra Inc., of Chapel Hill, N.C., said solithromycin demonstrated no QT effects at single intravenous doses of 800 mg in a 48-subject study. Read More
Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., said it completed its initial public offering of 8.05 million shares of common stock at $12 each. Read More
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, reported that total revenues for 2013 increased 56 percent to $49 million compared with $31.4 million for 2012. Read More
LONDON – Venture capital firm Seventure Partners is poised to make two investments from a new €120 million (US$164.1 million) fund established to focus on commercializing emerging research in the workings of the microbiome and its applications in therapeutics, biomarkers and companion diagnostics. Read More
In focusing on individual drug shortages, the FDA is missing opportunities to proactively prevent and mitigate shortages in general, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Read More
Fueled by $45 million in Series A money, gene therapy player Voyager Therapeutics Inc. is expected to make public today the details of its adeno-associated virus (AAV) approach in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Read More
Los Angeles-based Puma Biotechnology Inc. is on a roll. Fresh off receiving a favorable decision from the European Patent Office last week, which upheld the claims related to its licensed European patent that were being opposed by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, the company leveraged its soaring share price by raising $120 million from an underwritten public offering – selling 979,592 shares of its common stock at $122.50 each. Read More
NEW YORK – With capital markets bustling for biopharma, the fact that the number of M&A deals stayed flat in 2013 compared to 2012 isn’t surprising; what is surprising, perhaps, is that big pharma, which had been expected to wow with multiple mega M&A deals, instead, kept a low profile. Read More
The acquisition of Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. by Mallinckrodt plc for $14 per share in cash, or approximately $1.3 billion on a fully diluted basis, demonstrated that a single asset can still beat the drums when it comes to deal terms. Read More