Company News

Cytos reduces cash burn, but further financing necessary

Country
Switzerland

Cytos Biotechnology AG, the Swiss developer of therapeutic vaccines, said that it reduced its cash burn in 2010 but it will need to raise further financing in the future in order to repay outstanding convertible bonds.

Sanofi-Aventis wins Genzyme with higher offer

Country
France

Sanofi-Aventis SA has won the agreement of Genzyme Corp’s management to acquire the US company for $74 per share in cash, plus special milestone payments if certain product goals are met. The offer is an increase from $69 per share.

E-Therapeutics raising funds on the London share market

Country
United Kingdom

E-Therapeutics Plc, which is a service company and a drug developer, is proposing to raise £17.6 million gross through a primary share offering arranged by Panmure Gordon, which is also overseeing a £3.4 million secondary offering of E-Therapeutics shares.

Co-development agreement for new malaria agent

Country
Germany

The non-profit Medicines for Malaria Venture and Jomaa Pharma GmbH of Germany have entered into an agreement to co-develop fosmidomycin as a component of a non-artemisinin based combination therapy for acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Renovo Group shares plunge on trial failure

Country
United Kingdom

Shares of the Renovo Group Plc plunged by 75% on the London Stock Exchange on 11 February 2011 after the company announced that its first Phase 3 trial for Juvista (avotermin) for use in scare revision surgery failed to meet all clinical endpoints.

Shire’s product sales exceed $3 billion in 2010

Country
Ireland

Shire Plc said sales of its pharmaceutical products exceeded $3 billion in 2010, driven by growth of its attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) franchise and demand for an orphan drug product where a competitor drug was in short supply.

Pronova reports weaker 2010 results

Country
Norway

Pronova BioPharma ASA, the Norwegian omega-3 specialist, reported a decline in revenue and a loss for the quarter ended 31 December 2010 mainly because of flagging shipments to the US where inventories of Lovaza were run down.

Philogen reopens biotech IPO market

Country
Italy

Philogen SpA, an Italian biotech company that is developing advanced antibodies for cancer treatments, has become the first European biotechnology company to offer its shares to the public in 2011. The company is developing products for the treatment of angiogenesis-related disorders.

NEJM reports on everolimus in pancreatic NET

Country
Switzerland

Data from a Phase 3 study of the Novartis candidate drug for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours, everolimus, have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine.The data show that the drug extends progression-free survival, the company said.