News

Silence secures commitments for up to £5.7 million

Country
United Kingdom

Silence Therapeutics Plc has secured commitments from existing and new shareholders to raise up to £5.7 million (gross), extending its cash runway and enabling it to complete a second clinical trial of an RNAi treatment for solid tumours.

Interview: New money for Genkyotex

Country
Switzerland

Genkyotex SA has raised CHF25 million (€20.8 million) in new money from its venture capital backers after showing promising data from a Phase 1 trial of a new class of molecules that inhibit enzymes implicated in oxidative stress. The funding was announced on 9 July.

FDA approves genetic test for colorectal cancer

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first genetic test that will detect whether patients with colorectal cancer are eligible for treatment with the antibody drug, Erbitux (cetuximab). The test was developed by Qiagen NV.

Wilex elects to receive cash payment from Prometheus

Country
Germany

Wilex AG has elected to receive a final cash payment from Prometheus Laboratories Inc (Nestle SA) in connection with the out-licensing in 2011 of its cancer product Rencarex (girentuximab). The product is in a Phase 3 registration trial.

Interview: Oxford BioMedica extends cash runway

Country
United Kingdom

Oxford BioMedica Plc is about to extend its cash runway thanks to a decision by its pharmaceutical partner, Sanofi SA, to in-license two gene-based ophthalmology products. The decision enabled the company to ask its institutional investors for more support. And they have responded with a commitment to provide £11 million for additional working capital.

FDA approves new DNA test

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first DNA test to help healthcare professionals evaluate the progress of anti-viral treatment in solid organ transplant patients undergoing cytomegalovirus (CMV) antiviral therapy.

Prosonix to advance delivery technology

Country
United Kingdom

Venture-capital backed Prosonix Ltd has entered into a research agreement with Imperial College London to accelerate development of technology that is intended to improve the delivery of respiratory medicines. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

FDA approves first home-use HIV test

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter, self-administered test to detect the presence of antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2).

GSK to pay $3 billion to US to settle litigation

Country
United Kingdom

GlaxoSmithKline Plc said that it will pay $3 billion to settle several criminal and civil cases brought against it by the US government, several states and the District of Columbia relating to past sales and marketing practices, including sales of Avandia.

EFPIA Meeting: Pharma raises concern over drug price erosion

Country
Belgium

The steep rise in pharmaceutical prices over recent decades has finally come to a halt and prices are now showing signs of declining at an accelerating pace. As a result, Big Pharma is asking European policy makers to do something about it.