Simon Lowth, the AstraZeneca Plc chief financial officer and interim chief executive until 1 October 2012, is leaving the company at the end of October this year to become CFO of the BG Group Plc, the gas exploration and production company.
The French specialty pharmaceutical company Ipsen SA has reached an agreement to acquire Syntaxin Ltd of the UK in a deal potentially valued at €158 million, while simultaneously announcing an agreement in neurology with Harvard Medical School.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Boehringer Ingelheim’s Gilotrif (afatinib) for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumours express specific epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations.
Using an RNA viral vector, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have created induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from blood cells which they say can be easily differentiated into haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.
Scientists from the UK and China have created induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from adult cells using synthetic transcription factors created in the laboratory. They claim the method is safer and more accurate than other means of creating iPSCs.
Roche has stopped a Phase 3 trial of aleglitazar for patients with Type 2 diabetes who are at risk of cardiovascular disease because of adverse events and a lack of efficacy. This follows a review by an independent data and safety monitoring board.
AstraZeneca Plc’s previously-announced plans to build its oncology portfolio has taken shape with the announcement of three projects: a review of technology to monitor tumour activity and work on therapies for prostate and pancreatic cancers.
Privately-held Immunocore Ltd of the UK has secured its second major licensing deal in less than a month, this time with GlaxoSmithKline Plc to discover bi-specific biological drugs against multipl
The privately-held Swiss biotechnology company OncoEthix SA has raised CHF 18 million ($19 million) from venture capitalists to progress its lead oncology compound into Phase 2 studies. The compound targets a class of bromodomain proteins.
Novartis said that top-line results from a Phase 3 study of its monoclonal antibody secukinumab for psoriasis, have demonstrated superiority in clearing skin compared with the standard of care, Enbrel (etanercept). The antibody targets interleukin-17A.