The French biopharmaceutical company, Transgene SA, is set to acquire a second diagnostic for use with its therapeutic vaccine candidate for non-small cell lung cancer, following an agreement with Beckman Coulter Inc of the US.
Kiadis Pharma BV of the Netherlands has entered into a licensing deal with Hospira Inc of the US to develop and commercialise its haematology product for blood cancer patients who need a bone marrow transplant but can’t find a matched donor.
Actelion Ltd of Switzerland said that Elias Zerhouni, a former director of the US National Institutes of Health, is resigning from its board of directors in order to focus on his new appointment as president of global R&D at Sanofi-Aventis.
H. Lundbeck A/S said it has completed two out of three Phase 3 studies for its candidate drug to treat alcohol dependence paving the way for a regulatory submission in Europe in the 2011 second half. The drug, nalmefene, is an opioid receptor antagonist.
Advanced Cell Technology Inc of the US has entered into an agreement with Roslin Cells Ltd of Scotland to establish a bank for GMP-grade human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines that could be used in future research or in clinical trials.
As Europe gears up to recruit a new top drug regulator, the official who is vacating this position after 10 years has thrown a spotlight on the productivity failures of the pharmaceutical industry.
An autologous stem-cell treatment for patients with damaged heart muscle following an acute myocardial infarction has resulted in improved perfusion, a trend towards improved cardiac function, that was dose dependent, according to US research.
Proximagen Group Plc of the UK has expanded its central nervous system franchise with the purchase of rights to two assets from GlaxoSmithKline Plc that are in development for cognition, neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s disease.
AstraZeneca Plc said it is discontinuing development of the monoclonal antibody, motavizumab, for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus disease. But it will continue work on the antibody as a treatment for RSV, a respiratory tract infection.
Sanofi-Aventis has announced plans to commit up to $800 million to a new chemistry platform that promises to deliver a class of small molecule drugs against cancer that silence disease-causing proteins. Most conventional drugs bind to their protein targets rather than silence, or shut them down entirely.