Member states of the European Union have approved a new research initiative for the life sciences that, for the first time, will bring the European Commission and industry together into a public-private partnership to improve the way new drugs are developed.
The outlook for Pronova BioPharma’s lead product, an omega-3 derived prescription medicine for hypertriglyceridemia (HTG), has improved following GlaxoSmithKline’s $1.65 billion acquisition of Reliant Pharmaceuticals Inc. The takeover was completed on 19 December 2007.
A technology platform developed by Intercell AG to discover candidate vaccines received further validation with the start of a Phase 2 trial by its partner, Merck & Co. The trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a prophylactic vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus infection. S. aureus is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections.
A four-year project aimed at identifying target molecules for the development of new treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases is being launched in the Netherlands,
Two specialty pharma companies, which have licensed-in rights to a new formulation of the opioid, fentanyl, from Orexo AB in Sweden, said interim results from a Phase 3 study of the product were positive.
Pronova BioPharma ASA said it plans to use an alginate-based capsule technology in the future development of its lead product, Omacor/Lovaza, as well as other products in its pipeline in what appears to be a move to protect its patent position.
Pharming Group NV said that it plans to appeal against the European Medicines Agency’s negative opinion for Rhucin, its proposed treatment for patients with acute attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE). The opinion was delivered on 13 December 2007 by the agency’s main scientific committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).
ReNeuron Group Plc expects that its candidate stem cell treatment for stroke will be tested in man for the first time in 2008. This follows the UK-based company’s recent submission of an amended investigational new drug (IND) application to the US Food and Drug Administration.
The founders of Celtic Pharma, a specialised private equity firm, are launching two new funds to invest in products and companies that show promise of addressing unmet medical needs.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced strategic alliances with biotechnology companies in Belgium and the US that will give it access to technology for developing new anti-infective and anti-cancer medicines.