R&D Trends

AB-Biotics, Scienta Farma partner to sell pharmacogenetic test in Mexico

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:18 PM

Spanish biotech company AB-Biotics and Scienta Farma reached an agreement to sell the pharmacogenetic test Neurofarmagen in Mexico. This test, developed by AB-Biotics, identifies the most optimum medication for each individual patient with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or epilepsy by analyzing DNA, extracted from a saliva sample.

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Report: Prescription drug utilization among elderly Americans has reached plateau

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:16 PM

A new white paper from life sciences advisory firm VOI Consulting shows that while a confluence of technical, medical and social factors led to dramatic growth in per capita prescription drug consumption in the U.S. over the past 20 years, long-range forecast suggests consumption levels have reached a saturation point. This means the U.S. pharmaceutical market will not experience a similar wave of sustained, industry-wide growth in the foreseeable future.

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Soligenix awarded NIAID contract

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:14 PM

Soligenix, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat inflammatory diseases and biodefense medical countermeasures (MCMs) for which there remains an unmet medical need, has been awarded a contract valued at up to $6.4 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's NIH (specifically funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases or NIAID).

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HμREL, Sanofi collaborate

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:12 PM

HμREL, a provider of advanced tissue constructs and microfluidic cell-based assay platforms for preclinical drug development, has entered into a multi-phase R&D collaboration with Sanofi U.S.

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National MS Society, GE Healthcare partner

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 01:08 PM

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is collaborating with GE Healthcare through Fast Forward, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to co-fund a clinical study with the GE investigational PET tracer, GE180, in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The clinical study, which will be enrolling patients in the U.K., is aimed to aid in physicians' understanding of whether imaging neuroinflammation in MS patients before and after treatment with natalizumab (Tysabri) can help identify which patients may respond to treatment.

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Xention, Servier collaborate for atrial fibrillation treatment

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 12:59 PM

Xention, a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in discovery and development of ion channel-modulating drugs for atrial fibrillation (AF), and Servier, an independent French pharmaceutical company, have entered  a multi-year agreement for  development and commercialization of XEN-D0103, a selective Kv1.5 modulator discovered and developed by Xention for the treatment of AF.

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Gliknik, Pfizer enter autoimmune disease licensing agreement

Monday, September 30, 2013 02:44 PM

Gliknik, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Pfizer for GL-2045, Gliknik's recombinant stradomer, a drug candidate that is designed to replace and improve on pooled human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). GL-2045 has shown promising results in preclinical tests and is being developed as a potential treatment for a wide variety of autoimmune diseases, including those in which IVIG is clinically used.

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Report: British pharmaceutical market to reach $31.7 billion by 2020

Monday, September 30, 2013 02:39 PM

A growing disease burden, universal coverage and good access to healthcare facilities are boosting the U.K. healthcare market, but increasing use of generics and government cost-cutting measures to reduce expenditure are restricting further growth, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

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Transcept, SNBL partner for acute migraine treatment

Monday, September 30, 2013 02:35 PM

Transcept Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary products to address therapeutic needs in neuroscience, and Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories (SNBL) have entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for a novel, rapidly absorbed treatment for acute migraine incorporating dihydroergotamine (DHE) as the active drug. 

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CureDuchenne Ventures launched to accelerate drug discovery and development

Friday, September 27, 2013 01:24 PM

National nonprofit CureDuchenne has launched CureDuchenne Ventures, a new initiative to identify and develop a robust pipeline of therapies to treat Duchenne, the most common and lethal form of muscular dystrophy. This drug discovery and development initiative is based on CureDuchenne's venture philanthropy model, in which the organization provides early stage funding to biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies and academic investigators to help develop breakthrough therapies to treat Duchenne.

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