April 2013- Volume 9, Issue 4
April 2013
In this Issue
Diagnostics
FISHing for success
FISHing for success
New leukemia CDx deal unites Abbott, Janssen, Pharmacyclics
Order out of chaos
Order out of chaos
AMA and McKesson collaborate on coding for molecular diagnostic testing
DELETED STORY--Stopping RA before it starts
DELETED STORY--Stopping RA before it starts
Research partnership seeks high-value biomarkers and diagnostic test for rheumatoid arthritis
SynapDx Corp., Illumina join hands
SynapDx Corp., Illumina join hands
Partners to develop early diagnostic tests for autism
Developing a solid BACE
Developing a solid BACE
Merck and Luminex team up to develop companion diagnostic in support of BACE inhibitor program for Alzheimer’s disease
Feature
BIO 2013 show preview: Twenty years strong
BIO 2013 show preview: Twenty years strong
Highlights of BIO convention’s big anniversary year include return of orphan diseases forum and new Alzheimer’s forum
BIO 2013: Additonal coverage of the show, BIO news and more photos
BIO 2013: Additonal coverage of the show, BIO news and more photos
More on the BIO 2013 show to be held in Chicago
Top 3 reasons the Supreme Court is sure to be a hot topic at BIO 2013
Top 3 reasons the Supreme Court is sure to be a hot topic at BIO 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide two cases this term that are expected to have broad implications for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries; implications that will surely be discussed at the BIO 2013 conference in Chicago
SPECIAL REPORT: An aside on side effects
SPECIAL REPORT: An aside on side effects
Are we really making things better for cancer patients?
Global News
The new apple of Shire’s eye
The new apple of Shire’s eye
Acquisition of Premacure provides Shire with Phase II compound for rare eye disorder
Six biosimilars for 70 emerging markets
Six biosimilars for 70 emerging markets
Oncobiologics and Viropro sign collaboration deal around manufacture of monoclonal antibody products
Takeda and Resolve pair up on autoimmunity
Takeda and Resolve pair up on autoimmunity
Partnership is aimed at developing novel nuclease proteins for treating lupus
RAR-alpha for AD
RAR-alpha for AD
CoCo Therapeutics created to progress retinoic acid receptor alpha agonist for Alzheimer’s disease
OPKO completes Latin American acquisition
OPKO completes Latin American acquisition
The purchase allows OPKO to expand its Latin American presence, in addition to complementing its business units in Chile and Mexico, and will enable commercialization of the OPKO 4Kscore prostate cancer test in Brazil as a reference laboratory test
Riboxx, CNBG unite in collaboration
Riboxx, CNBG unite in collaboration
A research collaboration has been announced between Riboxx Pharmaceuticals GmbH and China National Biotec Group Co. Ltd. to evaluate Riboxxim, Riboxx’s TLR3 agonist, with an antigen from CNBG against an undisclosed infectious disease target
A powerful injection
A powerful injection
Already one of the world’s top generic drugmakers, Mylan bolsters off-patent injectable medicines portfolio with $1.6 billion acquisition of India’s Agila Specialties
Omics & Systems Biology
HD biomarkers in CSF
HD biomarkers in CSF
Huntington’s disease therapeutic and companion biomarker collaboration forged by KineMed, Isis Pharmaceuticals and CHDI Foundation
Clean and mean cells
Clean and mean cells
Cellectis and Stemgent partner on custom genome-engineered iPS cells
Gaining ground with GPCRs
Gaining ground with GPCRs
UCB, ConfometRx partner on novel neuroscience medicines
Four-stranded anticancer DNA
Four-stranded anticancer DNA
Cylene Pharmaceuticals licenses Quarfloxin and related anticancer quadruplex technologies to TetraGene
Research & Development
In-vivo investigators
In-vivo investigators
Presage and Celgene investigate microdoses of drug combos to tackle solid tumors
Natural neighbors
Natural neighbors
OSU, Biosortia link up to identify natural products for potential cancer treatments
High-profile oncology partnership
High-profile oncology partnership
Araxes Pharma and Janssen Biotech ink oncology drug development deal
Sick and tired of being sick and tired
Sick and tired of being sick and tired
Weill Cornell, Mount Sinai and Beth Israel researchers set sights on biomarkers for chronic fatigue syndrome
Bonded by blood
Bonded by blood
Global Blood Therapeutics, Array BioPharma form drug discovery collaboration focused on treating blood-based diseases
Commentary
Revolutionizing and personalizing global health
Revolutionizing and personalizing global health
As the complexity and volume of data continue to rise, bioinformatics is emerging as one of the cornerstones of personalized medicine, from enabling discovery and development of novel treatments and diagnostics to facilitating collection, analysis and interpretation of data that ultimately helps an individual patient.
Keeping up is hard to do
Keeping up is hard to do
In our day, “keeping up with the literature” was an obligation and badge of honor. As our theme, we’ve modified the title of a Neil Sedaka rock tune written at a time when there were only two commercial trade publications devoted to analytical chemistry and no more than six peer-reviewed journals in the field with global significance.
Contract Services
East meets West Coast
East meets West Coast
Japan’s Ajinomoto acquires San Diego- based Althea Technologies for $175 million
Covance, M2Gen play matchmaker
Covance, M2Gen play matchmaker
Partnership creates ‘one-stop shop’ for matching patients with biomarker-driven oncology trials
The best of both worlds
The best of both worlds
Crystal Pharmatech, Particle Sciences to combine drug development expertise
CROs with global aspirations
CROs with global aspirations
Synteract and Harrison Clinical Research close M&A deal to form multinational CRO
Editor's Focus
Pharma industry pow-wows: Waiting on the smoke signal
Pharma industry pow-wows: Waiting on the smoke signal
Once cross-industry pharma consortiums announce their presence and pledge to continue meeting, we don’t hear much from them. We sit, waiting for the plume of white smoke to emerge, but the skies are still clear for now.
Tools & Technology
In like a laminin, out like a lion
In like a laminin, out like a lion
Roche and BioLamina enter laminin-based collaboration to develop novel cell culture systems
Driving stem cells to the clinic
Driving stem cells to the clinic
Collaboration enhances characterization of pluripotent stem cells
NEP explores the exosome
NEP explores the exosome
New England Peptide acquires next-generation exosome and microvesicle affinity technology for potential detection of cancer and other diseases
A new PREMIER tool
A new PREMIER tool
PREMIER Biosoft acquires protein validation and quantification tool
