The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug to show a survival benefit in liposarcoma, a type of soft tissue sarcoma that is difficult to diagnose and treat. The drug, Halaven (eribulin mesylate), is a chemotherapy developed by Eisai Inc.
Two new studies relating to ovarian cancer have yielded information about the genetic background to the disease, as well as evidence that improving a test linked to ultrasound diagnosis can produce a better classification of ovarian tumours. The studies appeared in separate journals on 19 January.
Higher US revenue kept Roche on an even keel in 2015 with a 1% rise in group sales to CHF 48.1 billion (€43.4 billion) and a 2% decline in operating profit. With pharmaceuticals accounting for three-quarters of group sales and nearly half of these sales coming from the US – the performance of the US market continued to be pivotal.
Galapagos NV has stopped clinical development of a candidate drug for ulcerative colitis (UC), a form of inflammatory bowel disease, because it failed to show efficacy in a Phase 2a study. The compound targets the G-coupled protein receptor 84 (GPR84).
Novartis announced significant changes to its operating structure, and new leadership for its Alcon eye division on 27 January as its financial results for 2015 showed declines in both operating and net income.
Two scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia have reported that targeting a signalling protein called HheX stopped the progression of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in mice.
Inivata Ltd, which is developing a blood test for detecting cancer from circulating tumour DNA, has raised £31.5 million in a Series A funding round supported by the investment group Imperial Innovations Group Plc.
A new £40 million fund that will help bring promising UK academic research into commercial development has been set up by AstraZeneca Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Johnson & Johnson Inc and universities in London and Cambridge.
Vasopharm GmbH, a privately held German company focused on cerebrovascular diseases, has raised €20 million from venture capital companies to finance Phase 3 development of its lead product for traumatic brain injury VAS203.
Abingworth LLP, the London-based investment group, has created a new fund to invest in late-stage life science assets that are being developed by two of its portfolio companies under contract with the pharmaceutical industry.