News

Bavarian Nordic considers rights issue

Country
Denmark

Bavarian Nordic A/S is considering a rights issue to help finance a Phase 3 trial of its therapeutic vaccine for prostate cancer, Prostvac. The Danish company earlier reached an agreement with the FDA on the design and endpoints for a pivotal study.

Evotec in diabetes research deal

Country
Germany

Evotec AG has announced the establishment of a research collaboration with Harvard University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the US to discover and develop new treatments for diabetes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FDA approves Benlysta for lupus

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has announced the approval of Benlysta (belimumab) to treat patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. It is the first new drug to be approved for this disease since 1955. The developers are GSK and Human Genome Sciences.

FDA panel recommends Novartis’s bronchodilator

Country
United States

An advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended approval of Novartis’s indacaterol as the first once-daily, long-term maintenance bronchodilator treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Topotarget substantially increased revenue in 2010

Country
Denmark

Topotarget A/S of Denmark reported revenue of DKK 129 million (€17.3 million) in 2010, up from DKK 44 million a year earlier, boosted by an upfront payment from its co-development partner for its lead cancer drug, belinostat.

UCB raises €300 million in bond issue

Country
Belgium

UCB SA of Belgium has completed the placement of €300 million in perpetual subordinated bonds as part of an ongoing effort to restructure its balance sheet. The new bonds will qualify as equity, the company said.

ECJ strikes down proposed patent court

Country
Belgium

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has struck down a proposal from member states of the European Union to create a new, unified jurisdiction for the litigation of patent disputes saying the proposal is incompatible with the EU treaties.

Symphogen receives US patent on cancer compound

Country
Denmark

The US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded a patent to the privately-owned Symphogen A/S of Denmark for an oncology compound that is based on a mixture of two anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies.