December 2013 Volume 9, Issue 12
Volume 9, Issue 12 | December 2013
December 2013
In this Issue
Clinical Trials
Considering co-funding
In light of R&D refocus, Merck looks into private equity for trial fundingThird time’s the charm
Fall brings good news from Sanofi and Regeneron on Phase III studies for two different compoundsCannaboids in mind
UK’s GW Pharmaceuticals begins clinical trial for cannabis treatment of brain tumorsCuris and Debiopharm test new drug combination
Phase I study will determine the maximum tolerated dose of Debio 0932 in combination with everolimusDiagnostics
Predictable personalization
PDI and Transgenomic collaborate on MDx test to predict patient response to cardio drugsThe spitting image of non-invasive diagnostics
Researchers at UCLA School of Dentistry envision creation of simple saliva test to detect pancreatic cancerProtein expression blood test targets lung nodules
Test could provide physicians with objective molecular data to be used with traditional lung cancer assessment factorsLooking for answers
Despite growing numbers of orphan drugs, patients with rare disorders still face diagnosis challengeGlobal News
When one door closes, another opens
Roche bolsters biologics production while quietly closing 454 Life SciencesAsia-bound
Cytori licenses various Asia-Pacific markets to Lorem Vascular for up to $531 millionGame changer
Novogen and Yale collaborate on screening stem cells for ovarian cancer therapyFrench Connection
Imaxio sells genomics division to Hybrigenics; bolsters its IMX313 antigen re- engineering technologyA strong finish
Europe sees nearly $6B in deals as 2013 winds to a closeOmics & Systems Biology
Easy as ADC?
AstraZeneca gets oncology boost as Medimmune acquires SpirogenHeavy 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 platformNarrowing in on nanopore
License deal grants Illumina access to new sequencing technologyResearch & Development
Gut-check time
Salix to acquire Santarus for $2.6 billion and strengthen gastrointestinal leadershipSilver-lining deal
PDL BioPharma pays Depomed $240.5 million for royalties, milestones on type 2 diabetes productsUnder arrest
Medical Research Council scientists discover compound that arrests neurodegeneration in miceTeaming up for efficiency
Novozymes and Almac ink combined service deal to provide customers with drug development efficienciesUnlocking the value
PAREXEL seeks to better understand the state of clinical development outsourcing and strategic partnershipsTools & Technology
Illumina illuminates informatics
New leadership, NextBio acquisition will usher in company’s focus on building an enterprise informatics solutions businessPerkinElmer extends TIBCO Spotfire deal
Strategic alliance covers data visualization and discovery in certain scientific R&D marketsPutting a new agreement on the map
OpGen, Hitachi High-Tech to develop chromosome mapping serviceJohns Hopkins, Imec put lab on a chip
University, Belgian company to expand healthcare applications for silicon nanotechnologyBeing SMART in the cloud
The tranSMART Foundation and BT collaborate on life-science cloud applications for translational research initiativesEditor'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 pipelineCommentary
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 dataFeature
