News

The European Commission is asking companies and others involved in clinical trials  in Europe to give their views about whether the rules governing these trials should be changed.

Merck Serono of Geneva, Switzerland plans to invest more than €150 million in a new centre for pharmaceutical research and development in Beijing, China. The new centre will be in addition to R&D centres in Germany, Switzerland and the US.

The European Medicines Agency has rejected an application from Roche to extend the use of its cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) for the new indication of relapsed glioblastoma. It said there was insufficient evidence of the medicine’s benefits.

Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA said that it has raised CHF 7.9 million (€5.2 million) in a private share placement with institutional investors in order to finance its pipeline of new drugs. The company’s lead product is safinamide for Parkinson’s disease.

BioCity Nottingham, a bioscience incubator in Britain’s East Midlands, has entered into collaboration agreements with three US regional science parks to promote better transatlantic opportunities for small biotech businesses.

NicOx SA, a publicly listed French company with a drug for osteoarthritis currently in review at the US Food and Drug Administration, has announced plans to raise fresh capital in a private share placement supported by the French FSI.

One of the world pioneers in genome analysis, deCODE genetics Inc of Iceland, has filed for court-approved protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code. deCODE plans to sell its assets to a venture capital firm.

Geron Corporation of Menlo Park California, US expects to begin its first-in-man study of a new embryonic stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury in the third quarter of 2010. This follows discussions with the Food and Drug Administration during which a strategy was outlined for lifting the trial hold.

Ares Life Sciences, a private equity fund set up by the Bertarelli family, is co-leading a consortium of investors who are taking over the Italian diagnostics company Esaote SpA. The size of the investment was not disclosed.

Bavarian Nordic A/S has secured a new contract from the US government for a freeze-dried version of its smallpox vaccine, Imvamune, which is based on a strain of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara virus.