A Phase 4 post-marketing trial of the Type 2 diabetes drug Onglyza (saxagliptin) in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease met the primary safety objective of non-inferiority, but did not show superiority versus placebo, the sponsors said.
A lawsuit has been filed in the US by a patient with Type 2 diabetes who was prescribed Byetta and Janumet and later developed pancreatic cancer. The suit was announced by Rheingold, Valet, Rheingold, McCartney & Giuffra LLP in New York.
Johnson & Johnson Inc is set to pay up to $1 billion to acquire privately-held Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc of the US which has a product in Phase 2 development for castration resistant prostate cancer. The upfront payment is $650 million.
Index Ventures is launching a virtual, single-product company that is developing a monoclonal antibody with the potential, it says, to prevent heart attack and stroke without causing bleeding. The antibody targets the clotting enzyme thrombin. The funding was announced on 17 June.
Eli Lilly and Company has stopped a Phase 2 study of a beta secretase inhibitor being investigated in Alzheimer’s disease as a result of abnormal liver tests in patients. The decision doesn’t affect other compounds in development, the company said.
Using a unique carbon-dating technique, an international research team has reported that human adults generate about 700 new neurons in each half of their brains per day, and that this capacity declines only modestly with age.
AstraZeneca Plc is to pay up to $1.15 billion to acquire privately-held Pearl Therapeutics Inc of the US which has a Phase 3 product in development for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as inhaler and formulation technology with potential application in future combination products.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and health technology experts in Europe have extended a collaboration under which they are examining ways to bridge the gap between how drugs are approved for marketing, and later assessed for reimbursement.
AstraZeneca Plc has said it will not seek to register fostamatinib, a spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor for rheumatoid arthritis, following disappointing results from a Phase 3 programme. It will return rights to its partner, Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Cardio3 BioSciences SA of Belgium has announced plans to raise new funds through an initial public offering of its shares on the NYSE Euronext exchanges in both Brussels and Paris. The company has a cell therapy for heart repair in Phase 3.