Deals and Data July 2, 2009
Venter Institute gets $8.8 million in stimulus funding.
Halozyme has a second offering. Cytori raised $850,000 in a private offering. Vical received $1.5 million after hitting a milestone.
Accelrys names a new CEO.
After Arena Pharmaceuticals released more positive data on its weight loss drug lorcaserin and announced that it raised $100 million, CEO Jack Leif granted an interview to Voice of San Diego.
In another Voice of San Diego post, a local scientist shares his thoughts on swine flu and what may be in store for this coming flu season.
San Diego News Network interviewed BIOCOM CEO Joe Panetta about the impact the recession is having on biotechnology. Despite the painful cash crunch, several San Diego biotechnology companies continue to thrive. SDNN looked at how three of those companies, Genoptix, Novalar and PhotoThera have thrived despite the recession.
The San Diego Business Journal also took a look at Carlsbad-based Genoptix last week, more specifically CEO Tina Nova.
What’s Joel Martin been up to since leaving Forward Ventures? The Business Journal offers some insight and it involves Altair Therapeutics.
Serial entrepreneur Harry Gruber is at it again with Tocagen.
An official from the Food and Drug Administration, as well as local biotechnology leaders, discussed the current regulatory landscape at a gathering last week in San Diego.
Metabasis (NASDQ: MBRX) will receive a one-time $6 million payment from Merck after the drug giant selected an undisclosed compound to advance to late preclinical development. The companies were working together under a 2005 deal to research, develop and commercialize small molecules that activate AMP-activated protein kinase for Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
Miami-based Opko Health received exclusive rights to use Sorrento Therapeutics’ antibody laboratory for the discovery and development of ophthalmic indications in return for a $2.3 million equity investment in Sorrento, or one-third of the company.
Amira’s Pharmaceutical’s experimental drug for pulmonary fibrosis is looking like a possible therapy for diseases that effect other parts of the body, including the liver and kidneys.
Vical (NASDQ: VICL) seems to be pulling ahead of other companies that are scrambling to develop a vaccine to prevent swine flu.
Xconomy wanted to find out what San Diego entrepreneur Cam Garner has been doing so stealthily. Last week they got some leads in documents filed by a third party.
The business blog also reported the Receptos Pharmaceuticals has acquired San Diego-based Apoptos Inc, which used science out the Burnham Institute to develop new cancer drugs, for an undisclosed sum.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has started investigating reports of employees at Sequenom in San Diego mishandling clinical trial data.
Santarus received good news about the over-the-counter version of its heartburn therapy, Zegerid, which is being developed by Schering-Plough using the San Diego company’s technology it licensed.