May 2013- Volume 9, Issue 5
May 2013
In this Issue
Commentary
Facing the patent cliff head-on
Facing the patent cliff head-on
With the loss of patent protection on so many blockbuster drugs, Big Pharma’s financial outlook is entering a new phase of opportunity.
Out of Order: Attention to detail
Out of Order: Attention to detail
Molecular biological advances have changed our world for the good, and I am the first to jump up and applaud them. But it is equally important that we don’t let the volume of that applause drown out the voices that offer alternative solutions.
Global News
Coordinated TAKTIC
Coordinated TAKTIC
Six-way partnership attempts synergy in inhibiting protein kinases to develop novel drugs
Two ways to look at it
Two ways to look at it
Roche looks to combine Isis’ antisense oligonucleotide program with its own ‘brain shuttle’ program to take down Huntington’s disease
Developing answers for developing nations
Developing answers for developing nations
Five Japanese pharmas form public-private partnership with their government to help developing countries fight infectious diseases
A partnership with some pep(tides)
A partnership with some pep(tides)
Ipsen, PeptiDream team up for therapeutic peptides to treat serious conditions
Getting personal about profiling
Getting personal about profiling
PerkinElmer will team up with China’s National Center for Drug Screening to advance personalized medicine and drug profiling
Tools & Technology
Rockland Immunochemicals acquires antibody line from 21st Century Biochemicals
Rockland Immunochemicals acquires antibody line from 21st Century Biochemicals
Biotechnology company Rockland Immunochemicals Inc. has acquired the Epi-Plus antibody product line from 21st Century Biochemicals Inc.
Life for Thermo
Life for Thermo
Thermo Fisher Scientific acquires Life Technologies for $13.6 billion
Next-gen data dynamic duo
Next-gen data dynamic duo
IBM and CLC bio pair up to deliver combined turnkey genomics sequencing analytics solution
TAPs for Thermo Fisher
TAPs for Thermo Fisher
Company and U.K.’s U of Birmingham become Technology Alliance Partners to advance LC-MS techniques in life-science research
Gaining ground with genomics
Gaining ground with genomics
NextBio, Genophen partner to advance genomics in personalized medicine
Core Informatics and OpenEye Scientific Software forge partnership
Core Informatics and OpenEye Scientific Software forge partnership
Core Informatics and OpenEye Scientific Software announce partnership and their integration of OpenEye cheminformatics software into Core Informatics’ web-based Laboratory Information Management System and Electronic Lab Notebook
Research & Development
Nanomedicine: The next (not-so-) big thing
Nanomedicine: The next (not-so-) big thing
BIND Therapeutics announces collaboration with Pfizer to develop nanoparticle-based therapeutics
MedImmune makes a move
MedImmune makes a move
MedImmune acquires AlphaCore, gains novel compound based on LCAT enzyme
Straight A's with ADCs
Straight A's with ADCs
Astellas, Ambrx to collaborate on ADCs for oncology targets
A pair of model-building aficionados
A pair of model-building aficionados
Crown Bioscience and Horizon Discovery forge two-year deal to offer combined solutions for in-vivo oncology model development
New hope for a cruel disease
New hope for a cruel disease
Israel’s BrainStorm partners with New York’s Dana-Farber in Phase II ALS clinical trial to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease
Government Watch
‘2013: A bad year to have a good idea’
‘2013: A bad year to have a good idea’
Sequestration takes $1.6 billion bite out of NIH-funded research
Patent Docs: Supreme Court’s consideration of IP rights exhaustion impacts pharma, biotech industries
Patent Docs: Supreme Court’s consideration of IP rights exhaustion impacts pharma, biotech industries
The U.S. Supreme Court has been considering exhaustion of intellectual property rights this term, and in one case decided and one pending, these considerations could impact the availability of meaningful patent protection for drugs, vaccines and other biological products
Half a loaf, maybe
Half a loaf, maybe
Supreme Court hears arguments challenging patents on breast, ovarian cancer genes
States beg to differ on biosimilar concerns
States beg to differ on biosimilar concerns
Maryland becomes fourth U.S. state to reject laws restricting biosimilar substitution
Diagnostics
All about antibodies
All about antibodies
OriGene acquires SDIX’s life-science business assets
A firm foundation for Agios
A firm foundation for Agios
Agios Pharmaceuticals partners with Foundation Medicine for IDH1 and IDH2 cancer metabolism programs
The power of prediction
The power of prediction
CvergenX partners with NCI to predict best candidates for radiation therapy
To cancer and beyond
To cancer and beyond
CollabRx Partners with Sengenics for molecular diagnostics, with cancer as initial focus area
Editor's Focus
The many colors of sequestration
The many colors of sequestration
In researching our cover story on the sequestration -- or, put in very stark, black-and-white terms, $85 billion in across-the-board cuts to federal government spending -- and how it is expected to affect biomedical research in every state, I was treated to a slew of colorful comparisons by researchers, trade groups and government leaders, as they grapple to explain the hit they will take when the NIH is forced to cut its budget by 5.1 percent, or $1.6 billion, this fiscal year.
Feature
ISSCR 2013 Show Preview: From stem to stern
ISSCR 2013 Show Preview: From stem to stern
ISSCR meeting keeps up with fast pace of stem cell research by offering increased technology element, expanded poster coverage and more
ISSCR 2013 Show Preview (continued)
ISSCR 2013 Show Preview (continued)
Additional stories relevant to ISSCR 11th Annual Meeting in Boston, plus more photos
Omics & Systems Biology
Soaking up some UVP rays
Soaking up some UVP rays
Analytik Jena acquires imaging systems developer UVP and subsidiary
From lab to clinic in the Sunshine State
From lab to clinic in the Sunshine State
First five projects named to pilot Florida Translational Research Program
A sweet deal
A sweet deal
Agilent Technologies and Chungnam National University collaborate on glycomics research education center
Partners in search of a prognosis
Partners in search of a prognosis
OGT granted prostate cancer biomarker license by the ICR
