Blogs about Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare

[Chiesi], [Eddingpharm] form JV, [Chiesi Edding Hong Kong]

[Chiesi Farmaceutici SPA] and [Eddingpharm International Holdings Ltd.] have formed [Chiesi Edding Hong Kong Ltd.], a joint venture which will focus on marketing respiratory therapeutics in China. The JV will be 51% controlled by Eddingpharm, and the...

[Redx] licenses cFMS program from [Pharmascience]

[Redx Pharma Ltd.] (employs a medicinal chemistry platform to improve profiles of existing drugs) has licensed development and commercialization rights to an immune-based cancer program from [Pharmascience Inc.] (Canadian branded and generic drug com...

[Elan] pays $1bn for 21% interest in [Theravance]/[GSK] respiratory drugs

In exchange for $1bn up front in cash, [Elan Corp. PLC] will receive 21% of the future royalty revenues realized by [Theravance Inc.] (small molecules for respiratory, CNS, GI, and infectious diseases) through the latter company’s 2003 alliance wit...

[AbbVie] pays for option to acquire [Alvine] equity or its celiac disease compound

In an effort to strengthen its existing gastroenterology pipeline, [Abbott]’s spin off [AbbVie Inc.] has paid $70mm up front for the exclusive option to acquire either equity in [Alvine Pharmaceuticals Inc.] (developing therapies autoimmune and inf...

[Evotec], [Harvard] ally in antibacterials

[Evotec AG] and [Harvard University] have teamed up to identify and develop a new class of small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial cell wall synthesis.

[RuiYi] enlists the help of [Genor] to develop its RA candidate in China

[RuiYi Inc.] (formerly Anaphore) has signed on fellow antibody firm [Genor Biopharma Co. Ltd.] to help develop and exclusively commercialize in China its preclinical anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) monoclonal antibody RYI008 for rheumatoid arthritis.

[Vivus] nets $213mm from notes offering to seven buyers

[Vivus Inc.] (developing therapies for sleep apnea and diabetes and markets products for erectile dysfunction and weight loss) netted $213mm through the sale of $220mm aggregate amount of its 4.5% convertible senior unsecured notes due May 1, 2020. F...

Public offering nets $18.8mm for [Cyclacel]

[Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc.] (mainly cancer therapies; also has projects for kidney disease, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS) netted $18.8mm through public offering of 6.67mm common shares at $3 each. Proceeds will fund a Phase III trial of Cyclacel's sapa...

FOPO nets $13.4mm for [Discovery Laboratories]

[Discovery Laboratories Inc.] (respiratory therapeutics) has netted $13.4mm through the follow-on public offering of 9.5mm common shares at $1.50. The company will use the funds to commercialize FDA-approved {Surfaxin} to prevent respiratory distress...

Ysios and Axis provide [STAT-Diagnostica & Innovation] with €2mm Series A financing

[STAT-Diagnostica & Innovation SL] (near-patient testing systems that integrate molecular diagnostics and immunoassays to provide rapid results in acute care settings) raised €2mm ($3mm) in its Series A financing. Ysios Capital Partners and Institu...

[Cardio3 BioSciences] brings in €7mm through its Series C venture round

Heart therapy developer [Cardio3 BioSciences SA] grossed €7mm ($9.2mm) through what is believed to be its Series C venture round in which returning shareholders participated. The company concurrently raised €12mm through the conversion of existin...

[STAT-Diagnostica] raises €17mm in Series B round

Kurma Life Sciences Partners has led a €17mm ($22.1mm) Series B financing for Spanish point-of-care testing company [STAT-Diagnostica & Innovation SL]. Other first-time investors Idinvest, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, and Caixa Capital Risc (...

[Rockwell Medical] nets $38mm through FOPO

[Rockwell Medical Inc.] (end-stage renal and chronic kidney disease treatments) has netted $38mm through the follow-on public offering of 13.2mm common shares (including the overallotment) at $3.05. The money will be used for ongoing Phase III clinic...

[Ambit] gets $25.1mm through private placement concurrent with IPO close

[Ambit Biosciences Corp.] (kinase inhibitors for cancer, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases) raised $25.1mm through the private sale of 3.1mm common shares at $8 to existing shareholders. The placement was made concurrent with the closing of Ambit...

Deals Of The Week Is Keeping Score – Valeant Wants Actavis, Which Covets Warner Chilcott …

Whether the pastime is baseball, Broadway or the daytime soaps, the old adage is that you can’t keep track of the players without a scorecard. The M&A front involving specialty pharma and generic drug makers has become similarly frenzied, as Ca...

Wellspring — the health of private biotech

For nonsubscribers, we’ve made our annual feature on the health of the private biotech space freely available.  Much of the data are supplied by Dow Jones VentureSource, tailored to our requests and definitions of biotech, and highlight what many already know: venture capital funding for early stage innnovative companies continues to dwindle. The article also investigates start-up activity from...

BioLife Has More Room To Run

By Brian Marckx:BioLife Solutions, Inc. (BLFS.OB), headquartered in Bothell, Washington, has a main focus on the development and manufacture of biopreservation media products for cells, tissues and organs. Biopreservation media are solutions used to maintain the viability of biological material such as cells (including stem cells), whole blood, and tissues following removal from the body, during s...

Advanced Cell Technology (OTCBB: ACTC) Q1/13 Results, how many shares doesn’t it take to light a beacon – 2.39 billion?

      Net loss of $6.4 M or $0.00 per share   A net loss of $6.4 M or $0.00 per share, compared to a loss in Q1/12 of $5.7 M or $(0.00) per share. ACTC reported a loss from operations of $5.8 M compared to a loss from operations of $5.4 M in...

Roche Teams With QB3 To Incubate Life-Science Start-Ups In Bay Area

The pharma and the incubator’s venture arm will provide seed funding for start-ups emerging from their collaborative efforts. Later, Roche may participate in Series A funding or even opt in to buy programs or whole companies.

New IVF method uses time-lapse snapshots to boost live births

Diversify Into Singapore Dollars And Get 4% Yields With High Quality Baa3 Rated Bonds

By Randy Durig:We have long searched for a good fixed income investment opportunity in what is considered by some of financial industry's pundits to be one of the world's best currencies, the Singapore dollar. This week we target a medium term investment grade note denominated in Singapore dollars from IndianOil Corporation (IOC.NS), which appears to be yielding over 4%. While this yield may not i...

What can leaders within the NHS learn from the voluntary sector?

Lisa Weaks Last night we announced the winners of this year’s GSK IMPACT Awards. The awards, funded by GlaxoSmithKline and run in partnership with The King’s Fund, reward innovative charities that are improving health and wellbeing in their communities. What can leaders in the NHS learn from these...

Patent “Silent Disclaimers” Established Under Rituxan Ruling, Biogen Worries

Biogen Idec and Genentech petition the Federal Circuit to rehear en banc a ruling that Biogen’s Rituxan patent claim does not cover GlaxoSmithKline’s Arzerra; they say that failing to expressly object to an examiner’s views does not imply they...

Every day is an investment

The 6 W’s: Who, what, where, when, why and what of it RegMed equities and investors take note – the investor is not lucky to have you in their portfolio, but rather you’re lucky to have their dollars… Every day, you invest a little more of yo...

Financings Of The Fortnight: Bluebird IPO Could Provide Validation For Gene Therapy As A Modality

During a year in which biotech IPOs have taken off, the bluebird bio issue calls for special attention. Plus news on recent financings by Quintiles, Portola, Isis and Lumena.