Deals and Data
San Diego-based vaccine maker Inovio Biomedical has announced that its electroporation technology for vaccine delivery was successfully used in development partner Tripep's Phase I clinical study of its ChronVac-C hepatitis C virus DNA vaccine.
Millennium Laboratories, a San Diego-based provider of therapeutic drug monitoring and education to physicians and staff treating chronic pain patients, has signed an agreement with Three Rivers Provider Network, a Preferred Provider Organization network in the United States. This news was reported by the San Diego Daily Transcript.
Phenomix and Chiesi Farmaceutici announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to develop and commercialize dutogliptin (PHX1149) in Europe and additional territories including Brazil, Russia and all other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Turkey and Northern Africa. Dutogliptin is Phenomix’ proprietary orally administered, small molecule dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical development in Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, and Nuvo Research, a Canadian drug development company, announced that the FDA has approved the New Drug Application for Pennsaid Topical Solution (diclofenac sodium topical solution).
Santarus, a specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced that the FDA has approved Schering-Plough HealthCare Products New Drug Application for ZEGERID OTC™ Capsules (omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate) with a dosage strength of 20 mg of omeprazole for over-the-counter treatment of frequent heartburn. The OTC heartburn market in the U.S. is estimated at $1.7 billion.
Xconomy reported that Sapphire Energy spokesman Tim Zenk says the company got a $50 million grant and $54-million loan guarantee needed to build a 300-acre integrated algal biorefinery in Southern New Mexico. BioEnergy, a pilot plant of Sapphire, also received a $50 million grant to build a demonstration plant in Lake Providence, LA, that is intended to use sorghum as a replacement for crude oil in the production of succinic acid, a petrochemical feedstock.
After recently abandoning plans to liquidate, La Jolla Pharmaceutical and Del Mar-based Adamis Pharmaceuticals announced a merger deal that will give La Jolla shareholders as much as 30 percent ownership of the combined company, while Adamis gets $2.5 million to $3 million in cash expected to be left over from La Jolla’s operations. This news was reported by the San Diego Union Tribune
The San Diego Union Tribune reported that the San Diego drug development company Somaxon said that government regulators have turned it away for a second time after a review of the company’s insomnia drug, Silenor.
Isis Pharmaceuticals said it reacquired the rights to a cancer drug it had licensed to Eli Lilly & Co., will be reinvigorating its internal cancer program and will make the drug it is reacquiring the first drug in development under the new initiative. It will look at the drug in multiple types of cancer, potentially including breast, lung, prostate, bladder and colon cancers. The Union Tribune reported this news.
Zogenix announced that it has closed a $35 million second tranche of a Series B preferred stock financing. The Series B round was increased from $51 million, previously announced in September, to $71 million. The additional $20 million investment was made by Chicago Growth Partners, which will now be represented on the Zogenix Board of Directors by Dr. Arda Minocherhomjee. All existing Zogenix investors contributed to the total $71 million Series B. Zogenix has determined that the $20 million will fund the anticipated launch next month of their needle-free, drug-and-device delivery system for migraine and cluster headaches.
Life Technologies will use and offer GenVault's DNA storage technology platform, a scalable alternative to traditional freezer storage and transport systems for purified DNA, under a non-exclusive supply and resale agreement, GenVault said. Life Technologies plans to develop future systems to store proteins and to store RNA, the latter of which the firm expects to move to the market in the fourth quarter of 2009. This news was delivered by PR Newswire.
Quidel Corporation, a leader in point-of-care rapid diagnostic tests, announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an extension of the company's current common stock repurchase program. The repurchase plan is intended to increase shareholder value and reduce the dilutive effect of Quidel's equity compensation programs. The extension authorizes the repurchase of up to an additional $25 million in shares of Quidel common stock under the repurchase program.
Nexus Biosystems, a Poway company that provides laboratory testing tools to life sciences companies, will acquire Aurora Biotechnologies of Carlsbad for an undisclosed amount.
Xconomy reported that Idera Pharmaceuticals announced the end of a research partnership with Novartis, but said Merck is extending its work with Idera for another year.
One big question women often have after getting diagnosed with breast cancer is whether their first round of treatment is really going to work, or whether they need more aggressive therapy to prevent a relapse. Another big one is whether aggressive treatment is likely to work. Now a little diagnostic company from San Diego, called bioTheranostics, has built a test that it says can help doctors and patients better answer these questions.
Researchers presented data at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium from several big clinical trials highlighting a new test from bioTheranostics, a San Diego unit of France-based bioMérieux. The bioTheranostics method passed an important test when researchers found that patients who were classified as “low-risk” were, in fact, found to have only a 4 percent chance of recurrence after a decade of follow-up. Another study found that the bioTheranostics test was able to predict which patients had a three-fold greater likelihood of benefitting from a standard aromatase inhibitor therapy from Novartis, called letrozole (Femara).
Since billionaire investor Carl Icahn won a pair of board seats at the contentious shareholder election in June, two other directors have resigned (MIT biologist Phil Sharp and former Biogen R&D head Cecil Pickett) while two more have announced they plan to step down soon: Marijn Dekkers will leave the Biogen board on January 1, while Biogen chairman Bruce Ross plans to retire at the 2010 annual meeting. Xconomy announced this news.
Biogen Idec said that it would run a proxy contest to take a majority of seats on the board of Facet Biotech under two conditions: it can acquire a majority of shares in the company through its tender offer of $17.50 per share of Facet stock before the offer expires and Facet’s board of directors continues to reject its buyout offer. Biogen, which has significant operations in San Diego, is also telling Facet shareholders that it will withdraw its offer to buy their stock for $17.50 per share after the deadline.
San Diego-based BeneChill wants to put temperature-lowering equipment in the hands of emergency medical technicians so hypothermic therapy can begin before patients reach intensive care. Research over the last several years has shown that lowering the temperatures of unconscious cardiac arrest patients improves their odds of survival without brain damage. The company’s portable and easy to use device is inserted into the nose like an oxygen-prong, where it delivers a coolant that lowers the temperature of the brain. This was a profile on Xconomy.
Arena Pharmaceuticals said its weight-loss drug lorcaserin showed little risk of abuse in a trial involving recreational drug users.
Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals will acquire fellow antibiotic drug developer Calixa Therapeutics, of San Diego, for $92.5 million upfront and up to $310 million more in potential payments to Calixa shareholders. Xconomy reports that Cubist hopes to have the deal wrapped up by the end of 2009.
Dow spinout Pfenex, based in San Diego, granted Merck & Co. exclusive, worldwide rights to use Pfenex Expression Technology for the production of proteins to be used in an undisclosed vaccine candidate. Pfenex is eligible to receive about $52 million in upfront and milestone payments plus royalties.
Naviscan, the medical diagnostics company specializes in PET scanner technology that includes advanced photonics and image processing to provide high-resolution images of abnormal tissue in breasts and small body parts, recently received Connect’s Most Innovative Product (MIP) Award in the medical tools and diagnostics category. Xconomy’s Bruce Bigelow wrote about the MIP Awards.
Ambit Biosciences is showing that its third try to build a company looks like a charm. The San Diego-based biotech company said it has secured a partnership with Japan-based Astellas Pharma to co-develop new drugs for cancer and other diseases. Xconomy’s Luke Timmerman covered the news.
Anadys Pharmaceuticals has bet the company on its experimental drug for hepatitis C, and an early peek at clinical trial results show the San Diego company is still in the game.
The three co-founders of San Diego’s Assay Depot started the company in 2006 as a for-hire cancer research outfit, with the big idea of creating a Web-based system that would make it super easy for biomedical researchers to order assays, screening tests, and other lab services. Xconomy’s Bruce Bigelow looks at where the company is headed in a recent profile.