News

The UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates in vitro fertilisation treatment and embryo research, has appointed six new members.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd has decided to start a Phase 3 study in Japan of a new gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor for obesity, cetilistat, which will trigger a $3 million payment to the compound’s developer, Alizyme Plc.

The Scottish specialty pharmaceutical company, ProStrakan Group Plc, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a transdermal patch which can be used to prevent nausea and vomiting associated with the administration of chemotherapy.

A privately-owned US drug discovery company with operations in Cambridge, UK and Heidelberg, Germany has entered into a strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline to discover and develop kinase-targeted therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases.

A new biopharmaceutical company has been created in Switzerland to focus on the development of anti-infectives for women’s health. The company, Lumavita AG, is based in Basle, and is being supported by Atlas Venture, BB Biotech Ventures and BioMedInvest. On 2 September 2008, it announced the successful closing of a Series A financing for €11 million.

Pfizer Inc. has withdrawn its licensing applications in the US and Europe for the skin treatment, dalbavancin, in order to conduct a second Phase 3 trial. The withdrawals were announced on 9 September 2008.

Intercytex Group of the UK has raised £2.75 million before expenses through a placement of new shares with existing institutional shareholders. The money will be used to finance Phase 3 trials of its lead product for chronic wounds, cyzact.

The European Medicines Agency has issued new guidelines on how companies should design trials for Alzheimer’s disease, dementias, and for Parkinson’s disease.

Alizyme Plc, a UK speciality pharmaceutical company, has announced the departure of its finance director, David Campbell, and its non-executive director, Richard Forrest. Both departures coincide with the publication of the company’s 2008 first-half-year results and a statement by the auditors, Deloitte & Touche, about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Ablynx NV of Belgium has secured an upfront cash payment of €10 million and a stake in future profits in a ground-breaking drug discovery and development deal with Merck Serono relating to two undisclosed targets in oncology and immunology.