AstraZeneca Plc is to advance into preclinical development, three siRNA programmes stemming from a research collaboration with Silence Therapeutics Plc, a developer of RNA interference technology for use in human therapeutics.
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH has agreed to pay $65 million upfront over four years, plus research funding, to Forma Therapeutics Inc of the US to discover new small molecule drugs for cancer using Forma’s protein-protein interaction technology.
AstraZeneca Plc has decided to further invest in a candidate drug for Alzheimer’s disease arising from a research collaboration with Targacept Inc, according to the US company. The molecule modulates the alpha4beta2 neuronal nicotinic receptor.
Apogenix GmbH has raised €7.5 million from private investors to advance development of its lead product for glioblastoma. The announcement comes shortly after the company said it will investigate a new indication for the same product.
ProFibrix BV of the Netherlands has announced that a Phase 2 US study of its sealant to stop bleeding during and after surgery reached its primary endpoint, confirming the results of an earlier Phase 2 study in the Netherlands.
A new preclinical study has shown that a combination of experimental vaccines can provide partial protection against infection from the simian immunodeficiency virus, a virus similar to HIV. The results were reported online in Nature on 4 January.
Neovacs SA of France has reported promising data from a Phase 2a study of a new immunotherapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have ceased to respond to an anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) monoclonal antibody.
After regaining rights to the broad-spectrum antibiotic, ceftobiprole, Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd has announced plans to file a European marketing authorisation application in the second half. Talks with the FDA are ongoing about a US filing.
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued an order prohibiting the off-label use of cephalosporin antibiotics in food-producing animals in response to concerns about the continuing effectiveness of these drugs in humans.
Essex Woodlands, one of the world’s largest healthcare funds, is to take a controlling 51% interest in a new joint venture that will manage a portfolio of medical technology products currently owned by Smith & Nephew Plc of the UK.