A pivotal Phase 3 trial of teriflunomide, a new oral medication for multiple sclerosis, has shown that the drug significantly reduced relapse rates and disability progression, compared with placebo, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Vernalis Plc said it set to receive €0.5 million from the privately-owned French pharmaceutical company, Servier, following the achievement of a research milestone in the companies’ oncology drug discovery collaboration.
Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd of Switzerland has announced that its chief executive and chief financial officer will step down from the board of directors of the company, leaving the board to be composed entirely of non-executive directors.
Luxembourg-based Creabilis SA has raised €15 million in a Series B round led by Abbott Biotech Ventures to develop its lead product for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, CT327, to the end of Phase 2. CT327 is a topically applied treatment.
A group of investors led by the venture capital group, Inventages, has raised €7 million in a Series B funding round for Phagenesis Ltd, the developer of a medical device for dysphagia, a condition that affects a patient’s ability to swallow.
A team of European researchers has reported on a new epigenetic approach for the treatment of mixed lineage leukaemia (MLL), an aggressive form of cancer which is thought to account for up to eight out of 10 cases of the disease in children.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd has completed its €9.6 billion acquisition of privately-owned Nycomed A/S of Switzerland giving it cash flow from Nycomed’s €2.8 billion in annual sales as well as a recently launched product for COPD.
Sanofi SA expects to deliver sales growth of at least 5% per year on average from 2012 to 2015 while preparing regulatory files for an estimated 19 new products. Recently-acquired Genzyme will broaden its pipeline with drugs for rare diseases and MS.
Silence Therapeutics Plc has entered a second collaboration in under a month, this time with an unidentified pharmaceutical company to exploit Silence’s RNAi delivery technology. The follows an earlier agreement with a Dutch company in therapeutics.
The European Commission has allocated €30 million to a collaboration of academic institutions and companies to investigate new immunisation technologies for the next generation of vaccines. The project comes under Framework Programme 7 (FP7).