R&D Trends

Northwestern researchers discover cause of ALS

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 12:26 PM

Researchers at Northwestern University say they have discovered a common cause behind the mysterious and deadly affliction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, that could open the door to an effective treatment, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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Catalent acquires Aptuit’s Clinical Trial Supplies business

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 11:36 AM

Catalent Pharma Solutions has agreed to acquire the Clinical Trial Supplies business of Aptuit for cash consideration of $410 million on a cash and debt free basis. The acquisition will substantially expand Catalent's Development & Clinical Services business, transforming it into the #2 provider globally in clinical supply solutions, and adding important development and clinical manufacturing expertise and capacity. Following the close of the transaction, Aptuit will focus on its market-leading integrated discovery to mid-phase development business.

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Spaulding Clinical Research partners with Clinigene

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 11:04 AM

Spaulding Clinical Research has partnered with Clinigene International, part of the Biocon, based in Bangalore, India, to broaden and globalize its research services offering, according to PharmaTimes.

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Oncobiologics, Fox Chase Cancer Center to create cancer therapy platform

Monday, August 22, 2011 01:41 PM

Oncobiologics and Fox Chase Cancer Center have agreed to co-develop a novel, next-generation bi-specific antibody cancer platform with enhanced therapeutic capabilities against solid tumors. The jointly engineered platform is designed to handle multiple targets, representing a pipeline of promising cancer treatments. This research program is now underway, with preclinical studies expected in Q1-2012 for the first molecule using this platform.

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Roche buys Canadian R&D facility for $190 million

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 12:57 PM

Roche has said it intends to establish a "major global pharmaceutical development site" in Ontario, Canada, creating around 200 skilled jobs, according to PharmaTimes.

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GNS constructs immuno-inflammation model with BMS trial data

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 10:17 AM

A computer model that can support virtual clinical trials in the field of immuno-inflammation is the goal of a new collaboration between Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and US-based healthcare analytics company GNS Healthcare, according to PharmaTimes.

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PRECOS partners with RCT in cancer research

Friday, August 12, 2011 01:16 PM

Preclinical Oncology Services (PRECOS), the oncology-focused research and development provider, has signed a partnership agreement with Swiss non-profit organization Reliable Cancer Therapies (RCT) under which PRECOS will validate existing data on complementary cancer therapies, according to PharmaTimes.

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Intecept inks $163 million agreement with Servier

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 01:22 PM

Intercept Pharmaceuticals and Les Laboratoires Servier have entered into a worldwide agreement for the discovery and development of novel TGR5 agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic indications. The collaboration will leverage Intercept's drug discovery platform based on its proprietary bile acid analog chemistry and expertise targeting TGR5 and other bile receptors.

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Lundbeck cuts R&D as sales continue to rise

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 12:43 PM

Lundbeck saw its sales rise 9% in the second-quarter, continuing a run of revenue growth on the back of gains for Alzheimer's disease treatment Ebixa and a good showing for antidepressant Lexapro in the US, according to PharmaTimes.

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GNS, Bristol-Myers Squibb collaborate

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 12:14 PM

GNS Healthcare, a healthcare analytics company focused on enabling personalized medicine to improve human health, has entered into a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb focused on the discovery of novel disease biology and biomarkers in the area of immuno-inflammation. Utilizing its supercomputer-driven REFS (reverse-engineering and forward-simulation) platform, GNS will use clinical and molecular information from a Bristol-Myers Squibb clinical trial to build computer models in a hypothesis-free, unbiased manner that will be simulated to identify key molecular mechanisms.

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