Exiqon A/S, a Danish supplier of gene-expression analysis products, is acquiring California-based Oncotech Inc, which markets diagnostic tests to optimise drug-treatment selection for cancer patients.
Pronova BioPharma ASA, which was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in October 2007, is likely to benefit from the planned $1.65 billion acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) of Reliant Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Photocure ASA, a Norwegian company that has developed a photosensitive method of killing cancer cells, is ‘de-merging’ its 91.4%-owned subsidiary, PCI Biotech, by distributing shares in the subsidiary to its existing shareholders on a one-for-one basis.
Antisoma Plc said its lead cancer compound, ASA404 will enter Phase 3 for lung cancer in early 2008.
Pronova BioPharma ASA, a Norwegian company that uses fish oil to make omega-3 derived prescription drugs, reported strong third quarter results following an initial public offering of its shares in October 2007.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has reached an agreement with Tolerx Inc to develop and commercialise a candidate biologic for the treatment of type-1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.
TopoTarget A/S of Denmark, whose founders and managers are clinical cancer specialists, has launched its first product on the US market. The product, Totect, is a treatment for patients who experience a specific type of accident during chemotherapy.
Vernalis Plc and its partner Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc have been told by the US Food and Drug Administration that their proposed treatment for the prevention of menstrual migraine has not yet demonstrated a clinically meaningful benefit.
Oxford BioMedica Plc said that it has reached the first development milestone in its collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis to produce a cancer immunotherapy product, leading to a payment of €9 million. The product, TroVax, targets the tumour antigen 5T4 which appears in a wide range of solid tumours.
Vernalis Plc has received a milestone payment of $1.5 million from Novartis in connection with the start of a Phase 1 clinical trial of a compound to treat cancer. The payment stems from a 2004 research collaboration between Vernalis and the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research under which Novartis agreed to fund research into a number of candidate inhibitors of a protein that plays an important role in the proliferation of cancer cells.