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December 2013 Volume 9, Issue 12

Volume 9, Issue 12 | December 2013

In this Issue

Clinical Trials

Considering co-funding

In light of R&D refocus, Merck looks into private equity for trial funding

Third time’s the charm

Fall brings good news from Sanofi and Regeneron on Phase III studies for two different compounds

Cannaboids in mind

UK’s GW Pharmaceuticals begins clinical trial for cannabis treatment of brain tumors

Curis and Debiopharm test new drug combination

Phase I study will determine the maximum tolerated dose of Debio 0932 in combination with everolimus

Diagnostics

Predictable personalization

PDI and Transgenomic collaborate on MDx test to predict patient response to cardio drugs

The spitting image of non-invasive diagnostics

Researchers at UCLA School of Dentistry envision creation of simple saliva test to detect pancreatic cancer

Protein expression blood test targets lung nodules

Test could provide physicians with objective molecular data to be used with traditional lung cancer assessment factors

Looking for answers

Despite growing numbers of orphan drugs, patients with rare disorders still face diagnosis challenge

Global News

When one door closes, another opens

Roche bolsters biologics production while quietly closing 454 Life Sciences

Asia-bound

Cytori licenses various Asia-Pacific markets to Lorem Vascular for up to $531 million

Game changer

Novogen and Yale collaborate on screening stem cells for ovarian cancer therapy

French Connection

Imaxio sells genomics division to Hybrigenics; bolsters its IMX313 antigen re- engineering technology

A strong finish

Europe sees nearly $6B in deals as 2013 winds to a close

Omics & Systems Biology

Easy as ADC?

AstraZeneca gets oncology boost as Medimmune acquires Spirogen

Heavy computational lifting

Collaboration between DNAnexus and Baylor ‘stretches the boundaries of science’

After deCODE, NextCODE

New company launches operations with exclusive license to leverage deCODE’s genomics platform

Narrowing in on nanopore

License deal grants Illumina access to new sequencing technology

Research & Development

Gut-check time

Salix to acquire Santarus for $2.6 billion and strengthen gastrointestinal leadership

Silver-lining deal

PDL BioPharma pays Depomed $240.5 million for royalties, milestones on type 2 diabetes products

Under arrest

Medical Research Council scientists discover compound that arrests neurodegeneration in mice

Teaming up for efficiency

Novozymes and Almac ink combined service deal to provide customers with drug development efficiencies

Unlocking the value

PAREXEL seeks to better understand the state of clinical development outsourcing and strategic partnerships

Tools & Technology

Illumina illuminates informatics

New leadership, NextBio acquisition will usher in company’s focus on building an enterprise informatics solutions business

PerkinElmer extends TIBCO Spotfire deal

Strategic alliance covers data visualization and discovery in certain scientific R&D markets

Putting a new agreement on the map

OpGen, Hitachi High-Tech to develop chromosome mapping service

Johns Hopkins, Imec put lab on a chip

University, Belgian company to expand healthcare applications for silicon nanotechnology

Being SMART in the cloud

The tranSMART Foundation and BT collaborate on life-science cloud applications for translational research initiatives

Editor's Focus

Publishers’ commentary: 10 years and expanding the pipeline

As we prepare to enter into our 10th year here, we want you to know that in January, we will continue the evolutionary changes we started in June, with the expansion of our news coverage throughout the pharma pipeline

Commentary

Let’s talk about stagnovation

Columnist Peter Kissinger has invented a new word, stagnovation, a portmanteau of stagnation and innovation, suggesting a period where innovation is frozen by an uncertain future that disincentivizes success, and he tells you why it's a word that so perfectly fits the past year...and maybe some of the previous years, too.

Customized automation in a highly regulated environment

There are many reasons to introduce automated liquid handling into a laboratory workflow, from increasing productivity or throughput to improving data quality or process security. Unlike most academic or research institutions, drug discovery laboratories need to follow carefully validated protocols, with rigorous quality control measures in place to guarantee the quality and integrity of data

December 2013