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October 2008 Volume 4, Issue 10

Volume 4, Issue 10 | October 2008

In this Issue

Research & Development

Genzyme's helping HAND

Genzyme joins Medicines for Malaria Venture and Advinus in malaria research

GSK’s kinase connection

GSK signs potential $1.5B inflammatory disease deal with Cellzome

Restructured, refocused, retooled

Big Pharma’s R&D divisions roll out strategies to combat market challenges

Beta-blocker boon

Duke beta-blocker discovery holds promise for heart failure therapies

Unraveling the MS mystery

Opexa Therapeutics and Myelin Repair Foundation partner on MS program

The eyes have it in Asterand-Allergan deal

Asterand plc announced last month an exclusive licensing agreement with Allergan Inc. to develop and commercialize a series of Asterand’s proprietary compounds with ophthalmic indications.

Global News

Retigabine fits GSK

Valeant gets $800 million for its neuronal potassium channel opener epilepsy candidate

Really out there

NIH’s new T-R01 program seeks to fund projects that go outside the box

Shionogi buys out Sciele for $1.4B

As a summer of blockbuster Japanese-foreign market pharma deals fades away, Shionogi & Co. ended the active season with a bang in early September when it announced its acquisition of Atlanta-based Sciele Pharma Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at $1.4 billion.

Angling for Alzheimer’s

Pfizer Inc. enters development deal for Alzheimer’s drug with Medivation worth as much as $725 million

NIAID program targets drug-resistant TB

SRI International recently began a tuberculosis preclinical drug evaluation program in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Bayer nabs Direvo for $300 million

Bayer HealthCare last week announced its acquisition of Direvo Biotech AG in an all-cash deal at a transaction value of E210 million or approximately $300 million.

Genomics & Proteomics

Permanent fixture

Record endowment gift to the Broad Institute moves it from 'experiment' to permanence

Running with ‘magic scissors’

Sigma-Aldrich unveils new genome-editing tools using zinc finger nucleases

Taking the RNA for a little spin

Scripps Florida spin-off CuRNA focuses on non-coding RNA

A new life

Neurologix licenses Aegera’s XIAP gene

Dangling the carrot

New genomics bill in House offers tax credits for companion diagnostics

Informatics

Tripos reawakens

Tripos acquires Pharsight for $57 million

The revolution cometh

Thermo Fisher and Sage-N Research produce Linux-based proteomics data software

Clinical trial sweet spot

Phase Forward acquires IRT provider Clarix for $40 million

Informatics powerhouse

Biosof, IBM collaborate on software-hardware proteomics research platform

Data analysis on demand

GenomeQuest rolls out next-gen sequencing research platform

Editor's Focus

Emptying the drawer of the editorial mind

Every now and then, I find it is helpful to simply clear my head of random thoughts that are jangling around inside my head that have been suggested by the work I do or simply what I see in my everyday life. As the election rolls around this year, it is apparent of the many things that separate the major candidates, there is very little either Obama or McCain disagree about that will have any kind of profound affect on the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

Patent News

Red or Blue? We’ll likely see biosimilars either way

It appears that no matter who wins the presidential election this November, both Barack Obama and John McCain back expanded use of generic drugs as a way to lower drug costs. According to their advisers, both campaigns have pledged their support to help create a market for generic biotech drugs or biosimilars.

Commentary

DDN takes lead with integrated news

Just as the general public receives its news from many “touch points” like newspapers, TV, radio and the Internet, DDN delivers the news of the pharmaceutical industry through several different sources, both print and online. We offer these multi-vehicle integrated sources to deliver news for our readers—as well as integrated marketing programs for advertisers. Several research studies confirm the value of integrated news and marketing.

October 2008