News

NovaBiotics gets money for anti-infectives

Country
United Kingdom

NovaBiotics Ltd of Aberdeen, UK has raised £5 million through a private share placement with the Oxford-based Woodford Investment Management LLP in order to support the development of antifungal and antibacterial treatments for respectively nail infections and cystic fibrosis.

IMI launches Ebola projects

Country
Belgium

Eight projects aimed at tackling the health crisis in west Africa caused by the spread of the Ebola virus have been jointly announced by the Innovative Medicines Initiative and the European industry federation, Efpia, in Brussels. 

Roche invests in neuromuscular asset

Country
Switzerland

Roche has reached agreement to acquire Trophos SA, a small French company with a clinical-stage product for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare, genetic neuromuscular disease that is usually diagnosed in children.The same drug is being tested in multiple sclerosis.

Roche acquires early-stage antibiotic

Country
Switzerland

Roche has acquired rights to an early-stage beta-lactamase inhibitor for use in combination with new or existing antibiotics to treat infections resistant to current drugs. In 2013, Roche in-licensed another asset that targets multi-drug resistant pathogens.

FDA approves device to treat obesity

Country
United States

The Food and Drug Administration has approved an electrical implant for the treatment of obesity that is intended to help adults lose weight by regulating a nerve pathway between the stomach and the brain that controls appetite.

Outcomes study supports Brilinta - AZ

Country
United Kingdom

AstraZeneca Plc said that an outcomes study of its cardiovascular drug Brilinta (ticagrelor) has shown the treatment to be effective in preventing a recurrence of disease in patients with a history of heart attack. The trial examined the drug at two different doses with aspirin in 21,000 patients.

Shire to buy NPS Pharma for $5.2 billion

Country
Ireland

Shire Plc is to strengthen its rare-disease franchise with an agreement to acquire NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc of Bedminster, New Jersey for $5.2 billion. The transaction, announced on 11 January, has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Regulating programmed cell death

Country
Germany

Researchers at the Technische Universität München have reported a previously unknown regulator of programmed cell death, an important mechanism for ridding the human body of cancer. The finding was reported in Nature Medicine in late 2014.

New antibiotic found in soil

Country
United States

Researchers in the US have discovered a new antibiotic which appears to be effective against certain bacteria without incurring resistance from the same pathogens. The discovery, by a team from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, was reported on 7 January 2015 in the journal Nature.