December 2012- Volume 8, Issue 12
December 2012
In this Issue
Research & Development
Neurodegeneration dream team
Neurodegeneration dream team
$25 million gift funds ambitious group of experts on quest to unlock Alzheimer’s and other diseases
Give me a ‘C’
Give me a ‘C’
GSK, Vertex Pharmaceuticals to conduct Phase II hepatitis C studies
Macrocycles by the millions
Macrocycles by the millions
Ensemble Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim collaborate on macrocycle drug candidates for BI targets
Forest, Adamas announce licensing agreement for dementia therapy
Forest, Adamas announce licensing agreement for dementia therapy
Forest Laboratories Inc. and Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc. have announced the signing of a licensing agreement
Lots of attention for ADHD
Lots of attention for ADHD
Pfizer acquires NextWave Pharmaceuticals, gains ADHD compounds in deal worth up to $700 million
Amgen, KPCB create new spinout biotech firm
Amgen, KPCB create new spinout biotech firm
Atara Biotherapeutics will focus on cancer, kidney disease
Global News
A harmonious position
A harmonious position
France’s Curie-Cancer, Harmonic Pharma form research collaboration to explore molecular repositioning in fight against cancer
OBT, easy as ADC
OBT, easy as ADC
Oxford BioTherapeutics and Menarini Group co-develop antibody-based cancer drugs
A multinational merger
A multinational merger
EpiCept-Immune Pharma union weds two biopharmaceutical companies with complementary portfolios and facilities
Trio is together again
Trio is together again
Strategic drug discovery alliance between Astex Pharmaceuticals, Cancer Research Technology and Newcastle University builds on long-term relationship
Omics & Systems Biology
Paving the way to personalized medicine
Paving the way to personalized medicine
Foundation Medicine and AstraZeneca collaborate to identify genomic predictors for cancer therapy response
Tennessee titans (of healthcare)
Tennessee titans (of healthcare)
Mid-South healthcare powerhouses join forces to advance personalized medicine and improve access to sophisticated care
GENESIS of gene editing
GENESIS of gene editing
Horizon Discovery and UCL Institute of Neurology collaborate in rAAV-mediated genome editing
bacTRAP, do it again
bacTRAP, do it again
Takeda subsidiary acquires longtime collaborator Envoy Therapeutics for $140 million
An ‘almost perfect match’
An ‘almost perfect match’
Red Glead, SARomics pursue epigenetics partnership
Feature
SLAS2013 preview: Inside inspiration (part 2)
SLAS2013 preview: Inside inspiration (part 2)
Member input and needs strong driver for second annual SLAS meeting
SLAS2013 preview: Inside inspiration (part 1)
SLAS2013 preview: Inside inspiration (part 1)
Member input and needs strong driver for second annual SLAS meeting
Contract Services
Where two Rivers meet
Where two Rivers meet
Charles River gains majority ownership of research model provider Vital River
A la carte
A la carte
French CRO Biotrial buys Bioanalytical Services division of Warnex
Anticancer stem cell therapeutics
Anticancer stem cell therapeutics
Lonza and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals will collaborate on process development and manufacturing of multiple products
Fujifilm, Piramal simplify complexities
Fujifilm, Piramal simplify complexities
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies and Piramal Healthcare pair up to produce ADCs through a simpler supply chain
Oxygen Biotherapeutics engages PPD to execute trial for brain injury therapy
Oxygen Biotherapeutics engages PPD to execute trial for brain injury therapy
Oxygen Biotherapeutics Inc. recently announced that it has tapped Pharmaceutical Product Development LLC (PPD) to resume and complete OBI’s STOP-TBI Phase II-b clinical trial
Diagnostics
QIAGEN for CDx
QIAGEN for CDx
QIAGEN and Bayer HealthCare partner to develop companion diagnostics for targeted cancer therapies
IRIS opens on diagnostics
IRIS opens on diagnostics
Danaher subsidiary acquires diagnostic systems developer IRIS International for $338 million, adding it under Beckman Coulter umbrella
Vive la France
Vive la France
Paris-based Exonhit merges with InGen BioSciences; creating in-vitro diagnostics company
Gaining ground on multiple sclerosis
Gaining ground on multiple sclerosis
Ezose Sciences forms alliance with Fast Forward to discover biomarkers for diagnosing multiple sclerosis
Marked for survival
Marked for survival
Skuldtech and AB Science discover masitinib-associated predictive markers for pancreatic cancer survival
Tools & Technology
Room for IMPROVER
Room for IMPROVER
IBM and Philip Morris team up to create verification process for systems biology data
Life Tech acquires Advanced Microscopy Group
Life Tech acquires Advanced Microscopy Group
Acquisition establishes foundation for new product innovation in fluorescent and brightfield imaging devices
Hide and BioSeek
Hide and BioSeek
DiscoveRx finds phenotypic screening solutions in new acquisition
Bottom-up ‘omics integration
Bottom-up ‘omics integration
Agilent, Spain’s Centre for Omic Sciences in systems biology collaboration
Editor's Focus
A reflection on the old and in with the new
A reflection on the old and in with the new
There’s a facelift for ddn beginning in December, and some new directions for coverage going into 2013. With regard to that and more, the magazine’s chief editor, Amy Swinderman, walks you through some of the highlights of the past year and what’s in store for the future
Commentary
I’ve fallen … and I can’t get up!
I’ve fallen … and I can’t get up!
Some say there is no room for politics in science. That’s wrong. Politics is what distinguishes us from raccoons and is what funds science and medicine, like it or not
An alternative view of drug-like properties
An alternative view of drug-like properties
The terms “drug-like” and “drug-like properties” have gained common currency in the drug discovery community. They usually refer to the values of simple physicochemical and structural compound properties that successful drugs have in common. However, despite the frequency with which these terms are used, “drug-like” means different things to different people and will depend on a project’s specific objective
