A Belgian start-up ophthalmology company, Amakem NV, has raised €18 million in a Series A round to progress its lead product for glaucoma into a clinical proof-of-concept study. The round was led by Forbion Capital Partners.
F-Star GmbH of Vienna will discover engineered antibodies for three inflammatory targets supplied by Merck Serono SA of Geneva in a contract that is potentially worth €492 million plus tiered royalties on product sales.
4SC AG of Germany has reported that its lead cancer drug, resminostat, has met its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 trial of patients with refractory Hodgkin’s Lymphoma who had been heavily treated with other therapies prior to the trial.
Evotec AG of Hamburg said it has given an exclusive license to the Roche group for its inhibitor of monoamine oxidase type B (EVT302), which is being tested for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Noxxon Pharma AG has started a Phase 1 study of an oligonucleotide-based drug to treat patients who suffer anaemia from chronic disease. The drug targets the peptide hormone, hepcidin, a regulator of iron metabolism.
A head-to-head study comparing AstraZeneca’s statin, Crestor (rosuvastatin), 40mg, with atorvastatin (Pfizer: Lipitor), 80 mg, failed to meet its primary endpoint in patients with coronary artery disease, according to AstraZeneca.
Scientists from Cancer Research UK have discovered that they could kill bowel cancer cells in the laboratory by targeting a protein complex that regulates energy generation in the cell.
The Roche group has announced European approval of its cancer drug, Tarceva (erlotinib), as a first-line therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer whose tumours express mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have reported the reprogramming of adult mouse skin cells directly into a type of motor neuron by a method which they say is more efficient than the process for creating induced pluripotent stem cells.
Ipsen SA has raised its sales target for sales of speciality pharmaceutical products for 2011 following a robust first-half year when total sales of medicines increased by 5.4% to €567 million, Speciality products were 65% of group consolidated sales.