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Other News To Note
(BioWorld Today Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) , of Tel Aviv, Israel, said it signed a collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, of Darmstadt, Germany, acting for its pharmaceutical division Merck Serono, covering CGEN-855, a Compugen-discovered peptide targeting the FPRL1 G-protein coupled receptor. That peptide demonstrated in recently completed initial in vitro and in vivo studies a potential to treat inflammatory diseases, among other indications. Compugen also said CGEN-855 and supporting experimental data are the subject of an article published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
? EpiVax Inc., of Providence, R.I., said it received a $390,000 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to optimize delivery of an HIV vaccine. The funding will be provided over a two-year period and will be used to develop a pro-inflammatory and nontolerogenic HIV vaccine delivery system based on the dendritic cell targeting the anti-CED-205 antibody.
? Exact Sciences Corp., of Marlborough, Mass., was notified by Nasdaq that the company's common stock will be transferred from the Nasdaq Global Market to the Nasdaq Capital Market. The transfer was effective with the open of trading Nov. 28.
? Holzer Holzer & Fistel LLC, of Atlanta, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all purchasers of Dublin, Ireland-based Elan Corp. plc's common stock or American Depository Receipts between May 1 and July 29. The complaint alleges false and misleading public statements concerning the results of a Phase II study of the drug bapineuzumab. Specifically, it claims that the defendants failed to disclose that the efficacy results of the study were not as strong as they characterized them to be and that some of the patients taking bapineuzumab suffered adverse events that might have been related to the drug.
? Isotechnika Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, said partner Lux Biosciences Inc., of Jersey City, N.J., received a positive opinion from the Pediatric Committee of the European Medicines Agency regarding their pediatric investigation plan (PIP) for Luveniq, an oral formulation of Isotechnika's lead drug, voclosporin. The PIP covers a pediatric population between the ages of 2 and 17 years who are affected with uveitis and is designed to facilitate new medicines for children without subjecting them to unnecessary clinical trials. Luveniq is in Phase III development in uveitis.
? NasVax Ltd., of Ness Ziona, Israel, signed an agreement to purchase all the shares of Protea Vaccine Technologies Ltd., of Kiryat Shmona, Israel. Terms were not disclosed. Protea is developing a next-generation vaccine against diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumonia, based on widely conserved pneumococcal proteins.
? Neose Technologies Inc., of Horsham, Pa., said it received an additional staff determination letter from Nasdaq indicating that its recently filed 10-Q form reported stockholders' equity below the $10 million requirement for continued listing. An earlier letter cited that the firm had fallen below the $1 minimum bid requirement. An appeal hearing is set for Dec. 18.
? Pfizer Inc., of New York, said the FDA granted its CCR5 antagonist, Selzentry (maraviroc), full approval in treatment-experienced adult patients with CCR5-tropic HIV-1 in combination with other antiretrovirals. The drug originally received accelerated conditional approval in August 2007, based on 24-week data from pivotal Phase III studies. Full approval was granted based on 48-week data.
? Sigma-Aldrich Corp., of St. Louis, said it entered a research collaboration with D-Finitive Cell Technologies Inc., of Charleston, S.C., to support the development and commercial offering of 14 products from D-Finitive over a two-year span, with a planned launch for many of those products in 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed.
? Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., and Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture, RIT Oncology LLC, to commercialize and develop Zevalin ([90Y]-ibritumomab tiuxetan) in the U.S. Under the terms, both companies will provide equally for the future capital requirements and share equally in the profits and losses. Cell Therapeutics will receive an initial payment of $7.5 million at closing and another $7.5 million in early January, in addition to up to $15 million in product sales milestone payments upon achievement of certain revenue targets. Zevalin, a radioimmunotherapeutic, is approved in relapsed or refractory low-grade or follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), including patients who are refractory to Rituxan (rituximab, Biogen Idec Inc. and Genentech Inc.) CTI submitted a supplemental biologics license application in September to expand the label for use in first-line consolidation therapy in previously untreated patients with follicular NHL.
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