December 13th, 2019 Xconomy National — If you’re keeping track, FDA drug approvals have been on a tear in the past month with several decisions coming well ahead of their targeted dates. And then there’s Sarepta Therapeutics. Late Thursday, the FDA announced approval of the Cambridge, MA, biotech’s drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in patients… Continue reading Bio Roundup: Sarepta’s Approval, Merck M&A, Drug Price Bill & More
Author: Xconomy Online News
Amgen’s Osteoporosis Drug Wins European Nod, With a Heart Warning
December 12th, 2019 Xconomy National — An osteoporosis drug developed by Amgen now has marketing approval in Europe, but it carries a warning that the medicine can raise the risk of cardiovascular problems. Romosozumab (Evenity) treats postmenopausal woman who have osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones, making them susceptible to fracture. The antibody drug, given… Continue reading Amgen’s Osteoporosis Drug Wins European Nod, With a Heart Warning
Flagship’s Cellarity Aims to Advance Cell Behavior-Based Therapeutics
December 11th, 2019 Xconomy Boston — The latest startup to emerge from Flagship Pioneering aims to change drug discovery by starting the process with a clear understanding of cell behavior. Cellarity—like many other startups looking to revamp the slow, costly process of developing new medicines—is using machine-learning tools to do so, leveraging computational advances to… Continue reading Flagship’s Cellarity Aims to Advance Cell Behavior-Based Therapeutics
Scripps Research, AbbVie Expand Drug Discovery Deal Beyond Cancer
December 10th, 2019 Xconomy San Diego — The Scripps Research Institute and AbbVie have agreed to broaden an existing drug discovery agreement focused on cancer cell therapies to now encompass treatments for other kinds of disease. Scripps’s early-stage drug discovery division, Calibr, last year inked a big partnership with North Chicago, IL-based AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV)… Continue reading Scripps Research, AbbVie Expand Drug Discovery Deal Beyond Cancer
Perceptive Unveils New $210M Fund to Invest in Early-Stage Biotechs
December 10th, 2019 Xconomy New York — Perceptive Advisors, an investment firm with a long track record of life science investing across all points of development, is now stepping up to pump money into companies at the earliest stages with a new $210 million venture capital fund. The Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund (PXV) is led… Continue reading Perceptive Unveils New $210M Fund to Invest in Early-Stage Biotechs
Aurinia Plans FDA Filing After Lupus Nephritis Drug Hits Phase 3 Goals
December 9th, 2019 Xconomy National — Aurinia shares spiked last week after voclosporin, an immunosuppressant being tested in patients with lupus nephritis, met its primary and secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 study. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AUPH) is testing its drug, voclosporin, as a treatment for lupus nephritis (LN), which can occur when lupus, an… Continue reading Aurinia Plans FDA Filing After Lupus Nephritis Drug Hits Phase 3 Goals
AstraZeneca Taps Gatehouse Bio to Identify Potential Drug Targets
December 9th, 2019 Xconomy Boston — After joining AstraZeneca’s Boston Bio Hub incubator last year, Gatehouse Bio is now teaming up with the pharma company to identify potential drug targets in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Under the collaboration, expected to last multiple years, Gatehouse will use its sRNAlytics platform to identify small RNA (sRNA) signatures,… Continue reading AstraZeneca Taps Gatehouse Bio to Identify Potential Drug Targets
3 Takeaways From the Resurrection of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug
December 6th, 2019 Xconomy San Diego — The name of the experimental drug was heard so frequently in hotel hallways at the conference that it sounded like an incantation: aducanumab, aducanumab, aducanumab. Regardless of the eventual FDA verdict on Biogen’s once-bagged, now-revived anti-amyloid antibody, data from clinical trials of the treatment have inarguably altered the… Continue reading 3 Takeaways From the Resurrection of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug
Duke’s Jacob Jacobsen Joins Evecxia as Chief Scientific Officer
December 6th, 2019 Xconomy Raleigh-Durham — Evecxia co-founder Jacob Jacobsen has been appointed to serve as the biotech’s chief scientific officer. Jacobsen was most recently a scientist in the Duke University lab of Marc Caron, another co-founder of Research Triangle Park, NC-based Evecxia. His industry experience includes positions at Lundbeck and NeuroSearch. Evecxia’s lead therapeutic… Continue reading Duke’s Jacob Jacobsen Joins Evecxia as Chief Scientific Officer
Acadia Looks to Expand Drug Beyond Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis
December 6th, 2019 Xconomy San Diego — Acadia Pharmaceuticals revealed late-stage clinical data this week that could support bringing its drug for psychosis to a broader group of patients. The Acadia (NASDAQ: ACAD) drug pimavanserin (Nuplazid) is currently approved for treating psychosis associated with Parkinson’s disease. But the San Diego-based company has also been testing… Continue reading Acadia Looks to Expand Drug Beyond Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis