R&D Trends

Department of Defense awards $2 million to spinal cord injury research

Thursday, May 30, 2013 04:11 PM

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and Capstone National Partners announced a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) to further support the expansion of translational research to find treatments for individuals living with spinal cord injury, including servicemen and women.

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AstraZeneca awarded grant by The Michael J. Fox Foundation

Thursday, May 30, 2013 03:50 PM

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) awarded global biopharmaceutical AstraZeneca (AZ) a grant to support research on levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LID), a complication of therapies commonly used to reduce Parkinson's disease symptoms.

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GenVec, Naval Medical Research Center enter $3.5 million contract

Thursday, May 30, 2013 03:19 PM

GenVec, a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapeutics and vaccines, has signed an agreement worth approximately $3.5 million with the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) to support malaria vaccine development. 

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Amgen and Astellas announce Japan alliance

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 02:48 PM

Amgen, an independent biotechnology company, and Astellas Pharma, a Tokyo-based global pharmaceutical company, have entered into an alliance to provide new medicines to help address serious unmet medical needs of Japanese patients.

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GSK acquires Okairos, strengthens vaccines business

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 02:44 PM

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare company, has acquired Okairos, a specialist developer of vaccine platform technologies, for approximately $325 million in cash.

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Luminex, EMD Millipore extend global supply and distribution agreement

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 02:40 PM

Luminex has extended their global supply and distribution agreement with EMD Millipore—the life science division of Merck, of Darmstadt, Germany. Luminex develops, manufactures and markets innovative biological testing technologies with applications throughout the clinical diagnostic and life science industries.

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Ophthotech raises $175M for phase III Fovista anti-PDGF combo therapy in wet AMD

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 02:10 PM

Ophthotech, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, has raised $175 million to finance a global phase III clinical program of its lead compound Fovista, an anti-platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), in combination with anti-VEGF therapy for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). The multi-national phase III trial is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2013 and enroll nearly 1,900 patients in more than 200 centers worldwide.

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BARDA awards Cempra $58M contract to develop antibiotic for pediatric use

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 01:59 PM

BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) has awarded Cempra, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on differentiated antibiotics, with a five year contract valued up to $58 million for the development of solithromycin to treat infections in pediatric populations and for the treatment of infections by bioterror threat pathogens. 

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ThromboGenics, Eleven to develop novel therapeutic for ophthalmic disease

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:30 PM

Eleven Biotherapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company creating novel and differentiated protein-based biotherapeutics for the treatment of ocular diseases, has entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with ThromboGenics, an integrated biopharmaceutical company, to research and develop a protein therapeutic based on a novel biologic target implicated in ophthalmic disease.

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AstraZeneca to acquire Omthera, NDA-ready novel dyslipidemia treatment

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 11:35 AM

Global biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Omthera Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Princeton, N.J., focused on the development and commercialization of new therapies for abnormal levels of lipids in the blood, referred to as dyslipidemia.

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