Curetis AG, a molecular diagnostics company specialising in the development of in-vitro diagnostic products for infectious diseases, has raised €4.5 million in an extension of a Series A financing, bringing the total for the round to €24.5 million.
A French company that specialises in biomarkers for cancer, Median Technologies, has raised €10 million in a private placement of its shares with institutional investors. The company is also planning an initial public offering on NYSE Euronext Paris.
Shire Plc has announced an agreement to acquire the privately-held US regenerative medicines company, Advanced BioHealing Inc, for $750 million in cash. The US company has a marketed product for diabetic foot ulcers.
The Roche group and Merck & Co have announced a number of non-exclusive agreements under which they will explore new combinations of investigational and marketed medicines for hepatitis C. This follows FDA approval of the Merck HCV drug, Victrelis.
ArGEN-X NV, a young Dutch antibody company whose technology is based on the llama, has progressed a candidate antibody into preclinical development, its second therapeutic candidate. The compound targets an undisclosed cancer cell receptor.
A monoclonal antibody that targets placental growth factor (PIGF) has been taken to the next stage of clinical development with the start of a Phase 1b/2 study in patients with glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive type of brain cancer.
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced the approval of Victrelis (boceprevir) to treat certain adults with chronic hepatitis C. It has been authorised for use in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin.
Researchers from the Schepens Eye Research Institute in the US have reported regenerating retinal tissue in mice using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from mouse skin. The institute is an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School.
The Roche group has made regulatory submissions in the US and Europe for vemurafenib, a new drug to treat metastatic melanoma, together with a diagnostic test that would identify people with tumours carrying a specific genetic mutation.
Evotec AG reported a 54% increase in its first 2011 quarter revenues to €15.1 million as its discovery alliances continued to generate increased income. Its operating loss for the quarter narrowed to €800,000 from €1.5 million a year earlier.