News

The European Medicines Agency has recommended that five new medicines be given marketing authorisations. 

Vernalis Plc said that a restructuring of its business in the wake of a regulatory setback for its migraine product, Frova (frovatriptan succinate), is well underway and should produce results during the course of 2008.

A restructuring of its business has put Acambis Plc in a position to raise a net £40 million with a fully underwritten share offering, despite the turbulence of world stock markets. 

GlaxoSmithKline said that it has entered into an alliance with the California-based Regulus Therapeutics LLC to discover and develop microRNA-targeted therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases.

Santo Holding (Deutschland) GmbH, the financing vehicle of the Strüngmann brothers, will have two seats on the supervisory board of 4SC AG, whose shareholders rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from Santo in January 2008.

MTM Laboratories AG, a privately held Germany company that is developing diagnostic devices for detecting cervical cancer, has raised €9.6 million with a private placement of its shares.

Intercytex Group Plc said that it has been asked to participate in a US government-funded institute that will investigate the use of regenerative medicine to develop treatments for injuries sustained by soldiers in battlefields around the world. The London-Stock-Exchange listed company is the only non-US participant in the institute.

In a quarterly business update, Pharming Group NV has confirmed that it plans to re-submit its application for the recombinant C1 inhibitor, Rhucin, to the European Medicines Agency with additional clinical data. In parallel, it will pursue registration for the product in markets outside the European Union.

Eight new investigational medicines have been recommended for orphan designation by a committee of the European Medicines Agency. Sponsors of orphan-designated products may be eligible for grants and regulatory fee reductions.

A closely-held UK company with an early-stage oncology programme has reached agreement to be acquired by Roche for up to $175 million. The deal, which was announced on 15 April 2008, includes an upfront cash payment of $160 million plus a milestone payment of $15 million which is due upon the start of Phase 2 trials of its  oncology programme.