News

BioAlliance Pharma SA plans to break into the US market with a treatment for patients who are susceptible to opportunistic infections because their immune systems have been compromised.

DiaGenic ASA said that it has raised NOK 9.35 million ($1.54 million) through the placement of 2.5 million new shares with investors at a price of NOK 3.74 per share. The placement coincides with its plans to launch two diagnostic products in Europe.

An investor in Celsis International Plc, which makes products to detect drug toxicity, is taking the company private with a bid for the shares it does not already own pitched at 14.3% over the closing share price on 31 July 2009.

Crucell NV of the Netherlands said the US government has agreed to fund further clinical studies of its adenovirus-based vaccine technology against the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.

NicOx SA has confirmed its plans to submit regulatory applications in the US and Europe by the end of 2009 for its anti-inflammatory agent, naproxcinod, which has been developed to relieve the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA booked a profit after tax of €2 million in the 2009 first half, after a year-earlier loss of € 0.8 million, as demand for Lialda/Mezavant (mesalazine), its treatment for ulcerative colitis, grew.

A US company that is investigating therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi) has reached agreement with investors to raise $8.3 million in a public offering on Nasdaq. The company, RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp, went public in March 2008.

Sanofi-Aventis said that it is on course to realise savings of  €2 billion by 2013 while promoting a research culture that is flexible and entrepreneurial. The company is predicting that earnings per share will increase by about 10% in 2009.

AstraZeneca Plc achieved higher sales and pre-tax profit in the 2009 second quarter, and at the same time moved three late-stage products into registration. The UK-based multinational has also raised its earnings-per-share guidance for the year.

Addex Pharmaceuticals Ltd has taken steps to expand its discovery platform while keeping costs in check in the first half of 2009. It also expects Phase 2b data from its lead product for GERD in the fourth quarter.