December 2014- Volume 10, Issue 12
December 2014
In this Issue
Diagnostics
A mind to predict diabetes
A mind to predict diabetes
Set of molecules found to link insulin resistance in the brain to diabetes
Myriad, AbbVie expand CDx agreement
Myriad, AbbVie expand CDx agreement
Deal comes on heels of positive study data on Myriad’s Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx
Waiting to exhale
Waiting to exhale
MIT finds new diagnostic tool in capnograph analysis of CO2 in patients’ breath
Urine test may prove to be golden
Urine test may prove to be golden
Data published in Cancer Discovery show ability to test tumor status from urine
LabCorp sets $6.1B price tag on Covance
LabCorp sets $6.1B price tag on Covance
Companies say combined unit will be world’s leading healthcare diagnostics company
Research & Development
Protein partnership
Protein partnership
Proteostasis Therapeutics and Astellas partner to modulate the unfolded protein response
Changing the cycle
Changing the cycle
Partnership between Idera and PPMD aims for Duchenne cure
NIH funds study of more than 200 rare diseases
NIH funds study of more than 200 rare diseases
Physician scientists at 22 consortia will collaborate with representatives of 98 patient advocacy groups to advance clinical research and investigate new treatments for patients with rare diseases
Making a difference with microtissue
Making a difference with microtissue
Seahorse Bioscience and Moffitt seek a method of metabolism measurement for cancer treatment
From stem cells to insulin-producing cells
From stem cells to insulin-producing cells
Harvard takes giant step toward new diabetes treatment, producing billions of beta cells from stem cells
Compugen validates cancer immunotherapy prospect
Compugen validates cancer immunotherapy prospect
Company’s immune checkpoint candidate shows potential for development of multiple cancer immunotherapies
Business & Government Policy
Aegerion acquires orphan drug Myalept for $325M
Aegerion acquires orphan drug Myalept for $325M
Commercialization of generalized lipodystrophy drug expected to bring synergy, near-term revenue
Certara awarded $400,000 by FDA
Certara awarded $400,000 by FDA
Three-year grant supports expansion of PBPK modeling platform
PDL BioPharma acquires bulk of Cerdelga royalty interest
PDL BioPharma acquires bulk of Cerdelga royalty interest
The company pays the University of Michigan $65.6 million for Gaucher disease treatment royalties
On the cutting edge
On the cutting edge
A roundup of instrumentation, software and other tools and technology news
Preclinical
Provantis helps increase efficiencies
Provantis helps increase efficiencies
Chinese research institute chooses Provantis’ preclinical software solution for Shanghai headquarters
RNA delivery coming of age?
RNA delivery coming of age?
Data supportive of GEN-2 presented at the miRNA World Conference Workshop on miRNA delivery
Stopping the bleeding
Stopping the bleeding
Synthetic peptide-based device promotes hemostasis and healing
A French connection in oncology
A French connection in oncology
Innate Pharma describes cutaneous T cell lymphoma therapeutic in scientific journal Cancer Research
GVK BIO to acquire Vanta Bioscience
GVK BIO to acquire Vanta Bioscience
Deal provides GVK BIO with GLP toxicology services in several areas, including pharmaceuticals
Discovery
Understanding East vs. West
Understanding East vs. West
Largest genomic study of liver cancer identifies mutations that distinguish Asian and Western disease
Personalized cancer therapeutics
Personalized cancer therapeutics
Felicitex Therapeutics and Selvita initiate strategic collaboration to target cancer quiescence
On the hunt against Huntington’s disease
On the hunt against Huntington’s disease
Charles River rides trending CRO growth, extends CHDI Huntington’s disease collaboration
High-throughput detection for discovery
High-throughput detection for discovery
Molecular Devices partners with Roche to develop custom ruthenium Nano-TRF detection platform
Clinical Trials
Patient perspective
Patient perspective
Conference seeks inclusion of patient-focused endpoints in future brain cancer trials
In like FLINT
In like FLINT
Intercept drug tackles liver disease known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Going after celiac disease
Going after celiac disease
BioLineRx declares Phase 1/2 study for new celiac treatment a success, but it won’t replace a gluten-free diet
A ClinIntel-ligent transaction
A ClinIntel-ligent transaction
PAREXEL boosts clinical RTSM offerings with ClinIntel buy
Celldex presents varlilumab proof-of-concept data
Celldex presents varlilumab proof-of-concept data
Favorable safety profile, clear immunological effects and clinical activity position therapeutic for future studies
Feature
PepTalk welcomes you back to sunny San Diego
PepTalk welcomes you back to sunny San Diego
Conference offers an array of education, innovation and networking programs to help attendees gain new perspectives on the evolution of biologics
Q&A
Q&A: The year that was; the year that will be
Q&A: The year that was; the year that will be
DDNews speaks with two CEOs (Ron Squarer of Array BioPharma Inc. and Dr. Brad Thompson of Oncolytics Biotech) with an eye toward the recent past and near future of cancer therapeutics and life-sciences business trends
Commentary
Publishers' commentary: A decade down and more to come
Publishers' commentary: A decade down and more to come
DDNews’ publishers give you an update on why the magazine continues to thrive and how it serves the needs of you, the reader, as well as letting you know about some of the changes it has undergone over the past year, both in the physical issue and online
Working at science, science at work
Working at science, science at work
How can students best prepare for an actual career in life sciences? DDNews columnist Peter Kissinger attempts to sort out that tricky question.
Guest commentary: Clinical trial data inaccuracies--Challenges for personalized medicine
Guest commentary: Clinical trial data inaccuracies--Challenges for personalized medicine
Recent scrutiny puts trial results in question. How big is the problem, and what can be done to put things back on course?
