February 2012 Volume 8, Issue 2
Volume 8, Issue 2 | February 2012
February 2012
In this Issue
Research & Development
Seeking a rare and precious prize
Alexion to acquire Enobia and gain first potential treatment for patients with ultra- rare disease hypophosphatasiaBMS and Gladstone combat Alzheimer’s disease ‘tsunami’
Pharma funds research institute’s work on Tau dysfunctionFollow the leaders
Baxter, Momenta partner on follow-on biologicsBetting on biosimilars
Amgen and Watson announce collaboration to develop and commercialize oncology biosimilarsADC from A to Z
ImmunoGen and Lilly in $200 million-plus deal for antibody drug conjugatesSigma-Aldrich looks to buy BioReliance Corp. for $350 million in cash
With Sigma-Aldrich Corp. offering a purchase price of $350 million to be financed through a combination of cash on hand and credit facilities, BioReliance Corp., a provider of global biopharmaceutical testing services, has agreed to be acquired, with majority owner Avista Capital Partners giving the nod.Omics & Systems Biology
Abbott and Reata AIM high
Companies explore potential of next-generation antioxidant inflammation modulators in multiple therapeutic areasNo inhibitions about drug discovery
Ipsen, Oncodesign to develop therapeutic agents that inhibit mutations that cause Parkinson’s diseaseArecor adds Lilly
Eli Lilly & Co. becomes latest partner to work with U.K. company on advanced formulations of protein therapeutics(Anti)sense and sensibility
Biogen Idec, Isis ink agreement to target spinal muscular atrophyGene therapy at UCL, St. Jude’s infuses hemophiliacs with hope
Study offers hope for men born with disabling blood disorderGlobal News
Pfizer, Karo Bio go nuclear
Collaboration to target RORgamma modulators for autoimmune therapiesA leg up for oncology
Takeda acquires Intellikine for $310 million, adding two novel programs to cancer pipelineChina experiences diabetes epidemic
Hua Medicine licenses new diabetes drug from Roche as China’s population grows ever largerA trio of leads for a hopeful future
Collaboration between Compugen and BioLineRx begins with three peptides but could lead to much moreThe role of CD40L in ALS
ALS Therapy Development Institute announces research agreement with Biogen Idec and UCB to investigate promising therapeutic approachContract Services
CROs form Asia Alliance
Five companies band together to enhance clinical research across continentAZ pursues targeted cancer therapy
AstraZeneca pays $20 million to Chi-Med to co-develop and commercialize new cancer drug VolitinibGetting to know the locals
New Quintiles CRO to offer services for China’s local trial marketHealthymagination alliance
GE Healthcare and M+W Group to help emerging nations manufacture their own essential biopharmaceuticals, reducing reliance on importsBiologics down under
DSM Biologics, AIBN partner developing biologics facility in QueenslandCommentary
Pay for delay: Right or wrong?
With market pressures from generic drug manufacturers at an all-time high, firms have turned to what’s known as “pay for delay,” a stalling tactic employed by originator pharmaceutical manufacturers to maintain market share after a pharmaceutical patent has expired or has been found to be invalid in court.Stuck between evidence and policy
Policy, like medical decisions, should be based on evidence, not magic. Evidence to support policy should not be selected from a menu; policy should be derived from evidence. In 2012, we need to get this right.Editor's Focus
Leave Paula Deen alone, y’all
Have a seat and pass the mashed potatoes, y’all: It’s time for a chat about celebrity chef and Food Network television host Paula Deen and the brouhaha surrounding her recent announcement that she suffers from type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease whose primary cause is obesity.Special Reports
A perfect match
Cancer companion diagnostics gain groundTools & Technology
Adding to Pall’s appeal
Pall Corp. acquires ForteBio via mergerAccelrys on a quest
California-based company acquires VelQuest Corp. for $35 millionData warehouse for translational research
Long-term collaboration between Windber Research Institute and IDBS has implications for breast cancer researchA wish to advance ISH
Ventana and ACD to co-promote in-situ hybridization assay system that will be automated on Ventana’s DISCOVERY platformsUCSD uses RainDance technology for solid-tumor detection
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) recently announced that it has published data that validates RainDance Technology Inc.’s approach for detecting low-prevalence somatic mutations in heterogeneous tumor samples.Diagnostics
OPKO Health acquires FineTech Pharmaceutical
Deal provides OPKO with in-house capabilities for difficult syntheses of diagnostic and pharmaceutical productsMaking their Metamark
Metamark Genetics to provide novel cancer therapeutic targets to Janssen BiotechLining up with Lineagen
Sponsored research agreement to target blood-based MS assay
