Company News

Sanofi-Aventis SA has entered into a licensing agreement with Metabolex Inc of the US to develop a novel treatment for Type 2 diabetes that targets the G protein-coupled receptor 119. The deal could be valued at $375 million if a product is commercialised.

Location

Crucell NV has announced the start of a project to discover a universal prophylactic vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a cause of serious respiratory illnesses in infants and children. It will be working with a unit of Johnson & Johnson.

Location

The Pharming Group NV said that its recombinant human C1 inhibitor for hereditary angioedema, Rhucin, has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency. This ends a three-year effort to gain regulatory approval for the drug.

Location

SkyePharma Plc said it is reviewing all of its options following a meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration during which the agency outlined the work that would be required to meet its approval criteria for Flutiform, an asthma drug.

Location

At the request of the US Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer Inc has suspended the clinical development programme for its investigational compound for osteoarthritis, tanezumab. The clinical hold follows reports of adverse events.

Diamyd Medical AB has partnered its lead antigen-based therapy for the treatment and prevention of Type1 diabetes with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc (OMJPI), a unit of Johnson & Johnson.

Location

Sanofi-Aventis SA and Regulus Therapeutics Inc have formed a global alliance to develop and commercialise medicines based on microRNA, a class of small ribonucleic acid molecules that regulate gene expression.

Location

The US Food and Drug Administration said that it has approved the first diagnostic assay to detect both antigen and antibodies to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Most current tests detect HIV antibodies only.

Location

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc of California and Bayer Schering Pharma AG of Berlin have entered into a global alliance to develop therapies that attack cancer stem cells.

Location

An initial public offering for Carmat SAS, which makes artificial hearts, is under way on the Alternext section of the NYSE-Euronext exchange in Paris.

Location