November 2013 Volume 9, Issue 11
Volume 9, Issue 11 | November 2013
November 2013
In this Issue
Government Watch

Science under siege
Already facing tough decisions caused by the sequestration, the U.S. government shutdown further stymies American biomedical researchers
Supreme Court silences Novartis
High court declines to hear case questioning whether punitive damages should be awarded in product liability lawsuits
The element of surprise
FDA to begin unannounced site inspections at Indian facilities
California governor vetoes controversial biosimilars bill
Similar measures pending in several states before FDA has even issued regulatory guidelinesGlobal News

Seeking to streamline
Workforce reductions common as pharma industry aims to restructure
Collaborators launch clinical trial for cystic fibrosis
Galapagos signs $405 million deal with AbbVie to develop new combination therapies for chronic disease
An oral agreement
Novo Nordisk and Oramed both pour great effort into promise of oral insulin
From iPS to hepatocytes
Japanese researchers develop new, faster method of hepatocyte generation
Long-term vision
Acino anticipates buyout by private equity firms for $439 millionResearch & Development

All together now …
IMPROVER launches new challenge, as other major life-science group efforts also continue their own work
Sealing the deal
After no small amount of controversy, Otsuka reports that it has completed its acquisition of Astex
HμREL liver tissue co-culture to be tested by Sanofi
Goal is to validate HμRELhuman for use in preclinical drug development
Academic institutions partner with Takeda in landmark collaboration
MSKCC, Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell to conduct early-stage drug discovery with pharma
Joslin partners with Pfizer, Lilly on diabetes
Companies will predict, treat kidney failure in type 2 diabetesOmics & Systems Biology

Going GLOBAL
Illumina, G3 team up on massive pan-omic cardiovascular study
Going large with the liver
TGen-led GWAS study identifies genes associated with unhealthy liver function
A messenger with punch
CureVac, Janssen partner to develop mRNA-based influenza vaccine
Finding significant DNA mutations
Dozens of cancer triggers identified and ranked using new tool that scans conserved regions of non-coding DNACommentary

Cell sorting for everyone: From the core lab to your lab
When cell-sorting technology first arrived in the late 1970s, it was used by academics and the medical research community to detect, count and characterize cells from the body and environment. As cell-sorting technology evolved and improved, it also became more complex, unfortunately making it less accessible to many researchers. Fortunately, recent advances in instrumentation have led to the development of much smaller, significantly less expensive and much easier-to-use cell-sorting devices, meaning that even basic researchers can now access this useful technology.
Out of Order: Having words
It can be difficult at times, when discussing various aspects of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, to remember that at the very base of the process is someone who is hurting and afraid. Not a patient population from a clinical trial who act in a statistical manner, but a single individual with his or her own experiences, biases and concerns.Editor's Focus

It's time now to sing out, though the story never ends
2,832 pages: How do you measure, measure five years? This editorial column will be my last in Drug Discovery News, as in a few short weeks, I will be stepping down from my post as chief editor of the news organization and entering a new chapter in my life. As I clean up my office and prepare to pass the baton to Jeff Bouley, who will be your new chief editor in 2014, I am reflecting with great fondness some of the amazing people I have met and the remarkable experiences I have had in the past five and a half years of leading our editorial team in the creation of these pages. Thus, as I exit stage left, I will take inspiration from the song “Seasons of Love” from the hit musical “Rent” (which explains my headline and lead, if you’re not familiar with it) and recall some of the memorable ways in which I will measure my tenure.Diagnostics

Accelerating solutions
Pacific Biosciences-Roche Diagnostics agreement aims to take DNA sequencing-based products to the clinic
Linking lipid metabolism
Researchers to study how lipid metabolism links psychotic disorders, metabolic co-morbidities
Business at light speed
Biosearch Technologies acquires majority stake in LightSpeed Genomics
Epigenomics announces completion of private placement, new partnerships
The proceeds from the offering are slated to finance Epigenomics’ current operations and to build and bolster its distribution capacities for its lead product Epi proColonNews Briefs

Evotec teams with Johnson & Johnson Innovation to identify novel Alzheimer's Disease therapies
Evotec AG announced its second major collaboration in recent weeks, this time with the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center in California to identify new targets for Alzheimer's disease drug discovery and development. Under the terms of the agreement, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, and Evotec will work together to discover and develop novel treatments for Alzheimer's disease.Special Reports

Reinventing medicinal chemistry
New technologies and attitudes offer medicinal chemists an evolving role in drug discoveryFeature

ASCB Annual Meeting Preview: Developing talent
In addition to high-level educational fare, ASCB looks to step up professional development offerings at its annual meetingTools & Technology

Bruker acquires Prairie Technologies
Acquisition strengthens Bruker Nano Surfaces Division's position in life-science markets
A 'model' new research center
Bayer and RWTH Aachen University create center for computer-based modeling
Sad news for cancer
Stanford-led research uses bioinformatics approach to identify antidepressant that could be cancer-fighter
Now hear this
Labcyte teams with AstraZeneca to develop acoustic sample handling for mass spectrometry to advance drug discovery

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