Scientists from the University of Luxembourg have developed a new tool that can accurately replicate the human microbiome thereby enabling a more detailed analysis of the interaction between this ecosystem and human disease.
H. Lundbeck A/S has raised its guidance for 2016 after experiencing strong sales in the first quarter for its schizophrenia, depression, and hypotension drugs. This follows a major restructuring programme that resulted in significant redundancies in Europe.
Up to 15% of applications for new medicines to the European Medicines Agency come from companies that employ fewer than 250 people and in 2015, three quarters of these applications were granted a marketing authorisation.
The $9 billion agreed merger of Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc and IMS Health Holdings Inc is the latest, and one of the most ambitious, attempts by industry to use advances in information technology to bring down the cost of drug development.
The France-based diagnostics company Novacyt SA is poised to complete the acquisition of Primerdesign Ltd of the UK giving it new technology for analysing DNA as well as a commercial presence in more than 100 countries.
Medherant Ltd, a spin out of the University of Warwick, has raised follow-on capital of £250,000 from the investment group Mercia Fund Management to continue development of a transparent adhesive patch that can deliver prolonged doses of a drug directly through the skin.
BTG Ltd, which supplies sophisticated equipment to the hospital market, is acquiring Galil Medical Inc, a vendor of cryoablation equipment for destroying diseased tissue by freezing it. The consideration will be $84.5 million in cash and future milestone and regulatory payments of up to $25.5 million.
A Phase 2b trial of elsiglutide, a peptide drug designed to prevent diarrhoea in patients undergoing chemotherapy, has failed to meet its primary endpoint even though there was some evidence of patient benefit.
Ergomed Plc, a listed UK clinical-trial services organisation, is raising between £9 and £13 million with a share placement that will help finance the takeover of Haemostatix Ltd, which is developing products for inducing rapid blood clotting.
The European Medicines Agency is recommending that the Roche medicine Gazyvaro (obinutuzumab) be used to treat patients with follicular lymphoma, in addition to its approved indication for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).