Deals & Data
cera Therapeutics announced that the ASTUTE Study (AST-120 Used to Treat Hepatic Encephalopathy) has completed enrollment for its Phase 2B study ahead of schedule, with data expected mid 2010.
Tioga Pharmaceuticals, a virtual company based in San Diego with just two fulltime employees has raised $18 million in private equity to fund a late-stage clinical trial of asimadoline, its experimental drug for irritable bowel disorder.
Sequenom gained $0.74 (16%) to $5.26 after it launched its SensiGene Fetal(XY) test to determine the sex of the fetus during the first trimester of pregnancy. The test, which detects circulating cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood, runs on Sequenom's MassARRAY platform and will be performed at the company's CLIA-certified lab. Sequenom said this is the second commercial test using its SEQureDx technology.
After low turnout in its most recent shareholder votes, La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. faces the possibility that it will have to dissolve the company rather than capitalize on a proposed merger with Adamis Pharmaceuticals. More than 50 percent of La Jolla's 65 million outstanding shares must approve for the deal to close in the first quarter as planned.
A group of San Diego organizations announced that they will receive $4.95 million in federal stimulus money to support efforts to train and place people in jobs in the biotechnology industry. The three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor will support the “Biotechnology Readiness, Immersion, Certification and Degrees for Gainful Employment” program, or BRIDGE, to be administered through San Diego State University.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceutical announced that they have selected the combination treatment of pramlintide, an analog of the natural hormone amylin, and metreleptin, an analog of the natural hormone leptin, for advancement toward Phase 3 development. The decision to advance the program followed encouraging results from a 52-week blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2 extension study. The pramlintide/metreleptin combination met the key target criteria of sustained and robust weight loss.
Cadence Pharmaceuticals said that regulators observed “deficiencies” during an inspection of a contractor’s manufacturing plant, delaying a potential approval of the company’s drug for pain. The FDA did not cite any issues with the drug’s safety or effectiveness.
The Scripps Research Institute's Board of Trustees unanimously elected Richard A. Gephardt, president and CEO of Gephardt Government Affairs and a former U.S. Congressman and House Majority and Minority Leader, as its new Chairman of the Board.
Millennium Laboratories, a leading provider of therapeutic drug monitoring and education to physicians and staff treating chronic pain patients, announced today a national agreement with Aetna, one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies that serves approximately 36.3 million people. Under the terms of the three-year ancillary services agreement, Millennium Laboratories’ will assist Aetna participating physicians nationwide with state-of-the-art therapeutic drug monitoring services and tools. These will help physicians better manage their patients’ pain while at the same time aiding compliance with pain medication regimens.
Life Technologies purchased the 179,721-square-foot corporate headquarters building located at 5823 Newton Dr.
, Carlsbad 92008, for $14.7 million.
Quidel, a provider of rapid diagnostic tests, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Diagnostic Hybrids Inc. for approximately $130 million in cash.
Gen-Probe reported a 14 percent jump in quarterly net income, led by strong sales of its test kits for influenza and sexually transmitted diseases.
Life Technologies announced it has completed and settled the previously announced offering of $250 million aggregate principal amount of 3.375% Senior Notes due 2013 at an issue price of 99.953 percent; $500 million aggregate principal amount of 4.400% Senior Notes due 2015 at an issue price of 99.668 percent; and $750 million aggregate principal amount of 6.000% Senior Notes due 2020 at an issue price of 99.796 percent. The notes will pay interest on a semi-annual basis.
Genoptix has licensed cancer diagnostic technology from HistoRx Inc. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the multiyear deal. Genoptix said it will gain exclusive U.S. rights to HistoRx's AQUA technology, which is used to evaluate solid tumors. The Carlsbad company also acquired the right to develop and perform three tests for biomarkers in patients with some types of solid tumors.
Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, which fired its namesake founder Richard Hollis last year, is changing its name. The San Diego biotech, which is testing drugs for cancer and diabetes, said it will assume the name Harbor BioSciences Inc. Its stock, which had traded under the symbol HEPH, will immediately begin trading under the ticker HRBR.
Johns Hopkins Medicine has become the latest academic medical center to acquire Naviscan's positron emission mammography (PEM) scanner. The device will be utilized by Richard Wahl, M.D., F.A.C.R, Professor of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in pre-clinical and translational research for the development of novel radiotracers.
Federal regulators are reviewing Arena Pharmaceuticals' application for a weight-loss drug, the biotechnology company said. The company said it does not have a target date for completion of the Food and Drug Administration review.
Joel McComb, who served as senior vice president and general manager of Illumina’s $650 million life sciences unit, has left the San Diego-based genetic sequencing company to join Synthetic Genomics of La Jolla. McComb will serve as COO and will report directly to J. Craig Venter, the genomic pioneer who gained notoriety as the first man to have his DNA fully decoded. SGI, which is developing algae-based biofuels, attracted $300 million in funding from ExxonMobil’s research arm in July. McComb will assume his new duties March 1.
Quidel said it received emergency approval for a test designed to detect the 2009 swine flu. The FDA granted emergency authorization for the D3 Ultra 2009 swine flu detection kit, which is made by Quidel's Diagnostic Hybrids unit. The testing kit is intended to be used on nasal swabs, washes or aspirates taken from people who have tested positive for an influenza A virus and who are showing potential swine flu symptoms.
Pfizer has reported that the FDA has approved an updated version of its best-selling infection vaccine for infants and children. Prevnar 13 is intended to reduce the risk of infection by 13 strains—adding protection against six additional strains of bacterial infection compared with the current vaccine—of pneumococcal disease in children 5 years old and younger. The disease causes ear infections, meningitis and pneumonia. The new vaccine will cost $108 per dose, up 35 percent from $80. With four injections needed to complete the vaccine dosing, uninsured families would have to pay $432 out of pocket for Prevnar 13.
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said that stimulus-package investments in medical research will pay off not only through potential cures but also in jobs. The NIH has already funneled $126 million in stimulus money to researchers in the county, with just under half of the agency’s $10 billion in overall stimulus funds allocated so far.
Irvine-based eye drug maker Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it projects its first profitable year in 2010 with net earnings at least $1 million. Excluding onetime charges, Ista forecast yearly operating income of $8 million to $10 million, versus a projected loss of about $11 million for 2009. The Orange County Business Journal wrote about the company’s positive news and interviewed Ista CEO Vince Anido.