September 2011 Volume 7, Issue 9
Volume 7, Issue 9 | September 2011
September 2011
In this Issue
Research & Development
Getting fired up for fibrotics
Acquisition of Amira nets BMS fibrosis, inflammation candidatesUnwilling to deal
AMAG rejects MSMB acquisition bid, sticks with plans for Allos mergerACE in the hole
Acceleron Pharma launches global collaboration with Celgene on ACE-536 drug to treat anemiaBuying pains
Pfizer proposes to acquire pain-treatment collaborator Icagen in transaction valued around $56 millionA cure for the common cold?
MIT team crafts drug that could treat broad spectrum of viral infectionsGoing more than skin deep
Gladstone scientists transform adult skin cells into brain cellsGovernment Watch
Stem cell case is dismissed
Court throws out Sherley case; government funding of hESC research continuesPatents prevail in Myriad case
ACLU disputes Federal Circuit decision allowing patents on breast cancer genes, other human genesWith biosimilars, close counts
But getting close will require a new, more vigorous review processLeft hand, meet right hand
Democratic Congressional reps urge United States not to propose limiting international trade language; Republicans counter with their own missive to the presidentNIH finalizes financial conflict of interest rules
In late August, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finalized rules to reduce financial conflicts of interests among federally funded researchers who also receive payments or stock from drug and medical device companies.Omics & Systems Biology
Double-down with ChK-1
Array and Genentech announce new oncology deal that will explore both companies\' checkpoint kinase 1 candidatesSequencing 500 human genomes—just like that
Illumina and University of Oxford collaborate in search for genetic basis of rare diseasesA matter of expression
Covance, Broad Institute to collaborate on sequencing genome studiesAll in the delivery
Alnylam and MIT discover novel ‘core-shell’ nanoparticles for systemic delivery of RNAi therapeuticsSay ‘ah’ and become part of history
Kaiser, UC San Francisco working on gene catalog of healthcare membersDiagnostics
Not a done deal
Alere acquires stake in Axis-Shield, but the Dx test developer rejects possible takeoverGoing with the flow
Oral fluid diagnostics provider DNA Genotek scooped up by OraSureExosomes and real life
New England Peptide and Atlantic Cancer Research Institute file joint patent application for new peptides that support targeted diagnosis and therapiesBiomarker-based blood test
BioMarCare Technologies receives $900K grant for joint project with Ariadne to develop colorectal cancer testTo the max
BD, Lab21 partner to develop aspergillus assayQIAGEN and Pfizer partner on companion Dx for lung cancer
QIAGEN announced Aug. 16 that it has entered into a partnership with Pfizer Inc. for the development of a companion molecular diagnostic test for use with an investigational Pfizer compound in global clinical development for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Commentary
Guest Commentary: Every drug deserves a second chance
How drug repositioning could be an industry game changerPatent News
Embryonic stem cell funding suit is dead
The Sherley v. Sebelius lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge after an appeals court found the government-backed research is probably lawful. In a related move, lawmakers in Congress have reintroduced legislation to support hESC research.Editor's Focus
ddn’s ‘summer of stem cells’
From collaborations between the world’s top pharmas and biotechnology companies, to groundbreaking preclinical research, to the development of new tools to be used in stem cell research labs, ddn has become a veritable “Situation Room” for stem cells.Global News
Aiming at a target
Intercept, Servier in deal to develop diabetes drugFar East pharma deal
Dr. Reddy’s acquires JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals prescription business in Russia, other CIS marketsA world divided
Trius Therapeutics and Bayer will collaborate on worldwide development and commercialization of Trius’ anti-infective torezolid phosphate‘Oxford of the East’ meets pharma of the West
Merck and Serum Institute collaborate on pneumococcal conjugate vaccineValeant trumps Paladin's offer for Afexa
Afexa Life Sciences Inc. has learned that sometimes, being picky pays off.Instruments & Informatics
Easing the growing pains
Coriell Institute teams with IBM to advance personalized medicine effortsReverse, then forward
GNS Healthcare to create inflammation disease models for Bristol-Myers SquibbImage is everything
Analysis software for umbilical cord blood focus of new partnershipBrooks buys into biobanking
Automation company announces purchase of Nexus BiosystemsFeature
Staking a claim
Growing stem cell market entices Big Pharma to harness its power for drug screening, toxicity testingBlazing the trail
Backed by strong venture capital funding, biotechs organize around promise of stem cell researchBest in class
A roundup of North America\'s top five academic research institutions in the stem cell arena
