Bavarian Nordic A/S, which develops vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases, reported a large pick-up in third quarter revenue and said it will reach its full-year target of about DKK 500 million (€67.2 million). For the year, it expects a pretax loss of DKK 350 million.
Geron Corporation, which launched the first human study of an embryonic stem cell therapy in the west, has decided to leave the stem cell field citing the unfavourable financial environment. It is stopping its trial in patients with spinal cord injury.
The US government is to co-fund a four-year vaccine research project that involves technology from three European companies including that from CureVac GmbH which has developed a technology for messenger RNA vaccines.
A sealant that has been developed to stop bleeding during and after surgery has met its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 trial of patients undergoing liver resection surgery, according to the developer, ProFibrix BV of the Netherlands.
SkyePharma Plc is continuing with plans to launch the asthma treatment, Flutiform, in Europe assuming approval is forthcoming from European Union member states which are reviewing the product under the decentralised procedure.
Sanofi SA has reported further positive data for the candidate multiple sclerosis treatment, alemtuzumab, this time from a Phase 3 trial in patients with relapsing-remitting MS who had relapsed while on therapy. The comparator was Rebif.
Using new screening technology, UK researchers have been able to describe how the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, invades human red blood cells. The finding was published online in Nature on 9 November 2011.
H. Lundbeck A/S is to pay $200 million upfront to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd of Japan as part of an alliance that will give it access to two late clinical stage CNS compounds including a new formulation of the antidepressant, aripiprazole.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first haematopoietic progenitor cell-cord cell therapy. Called Hemacord, the product is manufactured by the New York Blood Center Inc of New York.
Evotec has confirmed its guidance that revenue for 2011 will grow by about 40% and revealed for the first time that orders for its drug discovery services look strong going into 2012. The company expects to end the current year with an operating profit.