FDA expands approval of Regeneron's eye drug Eylea

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September 24, 2012 More than 50,000 people die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases. Have you scheduled your flu shot yet? Learn more about the Campaign for Adult Immunization on BIOtechNOW. The news summaries appearing in BIO SmartBrief are based on original information from news organizations and are produced by SmartBrief, Inc., an independent e-mail newsletter publisher. The information is not compiled or summarized by BIO. Questions and comments should be directed to SmartBrief at bio@smartbrief.com.   Today's Top Story    FDA expands approval of Regeneron's eye drug Eylea Regeneron Pharmaceuticals obtained FDA approval of Eylea, or aflibercept, to treat patients with macular edema after central retinal vein occlusion. Eylea previously was approved for wet age-related macular degeneration. Medscape (free registration) (9/21)      MacroGenics 'Serves' DART Deal Worth Potential $1B MacroGenics' DART Technology for generating bi-specific antibodies has attracted a great deal of interest from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In the past couple of years the company has forged alliances with Boehringer Ingelheim, Green Cross (Korea), Pfizer Inc. and Servier. Find out the details.   Health Care & Policy  EU panel backs Roche's Avastin for subset of ovarian cancer patients The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended that the EU approve Roche Holding's cancer drug Avastin, in combination with carboplatin and gemcitabine, for the treatment of recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Avastin was developed by Roche unit Genentech. American City Business Journals/San Francisco/Biotech SF blog (9/21)      MorphoSys RA drug could yield $1B in sales yearly, CEO says MorphoSys expects sales of rheumatoid arthritis drug MOR 103 to exceed $1 billion annually if it is approved, CEO Simon Moroney said. The German biotech plans to collaborate with another company to further develop the drug, which proved effective in a Phase I/IIa trial. Reuters (9/21)      Nanobody drug by Merck Serono and Ablynx enters preclinical testing Merck Serono and Ablynx are conducting a preclinical study of ALX-0751 as a cancer drug that uses a nanobody platform. ALX-0751 is the second preclinical candidate discovered under a collaboration that the firms started in 2008. The drug entitles Ablynx to a milestone fee of about $1.29 million. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (9/21)      Gamida proceeds with study of experimental blood cancer therapy Gamida Cell completed patient enrollment for a Phase I/II trial of the cell graft product NiCord as a substitute experimental therapy for hematological malignancies. Results from the 11-patient trial are expected in six months. NiCord is developed from stem cell-enriched whole umbilical cord blood. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (9/20)      Moon Shots Program takes aim against 8 cancers The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston plans to invest up to $3 billion in the first 10 years of its Moon Shots Program, which will focus on accelerating the translation of research into the clinical setting to reduce cancer mortality. The program, to focus initially on eight cancers, will include drug research and an emphasis on taking experimental treatments into early clinical studies. Houston Chronicle (9/22), BeckersHospitalReview.com (9/21)      Earn 2X rewards points on shipping costs with The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. Designed to earn Membership Rewards® points faster: • 3X points on airfare • 2X points on advertising, gas, and shipping • 1X points on everything else • Limited Time Offer: 50K bonus points when you spend $5K in your first 3 months of Card membership† LEARN MORE AND APPLY                             †Terms & Restrictions Apply.   Company & Financial News  Mass. cancer diagnostics firm raises $42.5M A Series B funding round has brought in $42.5 million for Foundation Medicine, a 2-year-old Cambridge, Mass.-based company specializing in cancer diagnostics. The money will be used to expedite the company's growth in four areas, including increasing its capabilities to conduct more clinical studies, as well as developing and releasing new assays. Mass High Tech (Boston) (9/20)      $4.5M NHGRI grant supports GnuBIO's genome sequencing work The National Human Genome Research Institute awarded GnuBIO a three-year, $4.5 million grant to support development of its desktop genome sequencing system. The goal of the grant program is to lower the cost of genome sequencing to less than $1,000. Mass High Tech (Boston) (9/19)        Featured Content    VC Funding: A Faustian Bargain? Katie Morell How Millennials Are Changing the Food Industry Rieva Lesonsky 7 Reasons Entrepreneurs Don't Meet Their Potential Nellie Akalp 5 Tips for Managing a Remote Team Adam Rich Why the U.S. is Falling Behind Other Countries Anita Campbell   Food & Agriculture  Syngenta pays $522M to buy hybrid seed maker Devgen Syngenta agreed to acquire Belgian hybrid seed maker Devgen for $522 million as part of efforts to solidify its presence in the rice market. The acquisition is "a very important expansion of our rice strategy, one of our eight key crops," said Syngenta spokeswoman Jennifer Gough. Last week, Syngenta announced the purchase of U.S. biotech Pasteuria Bioscience. Reuters (9/21)        Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by BIO SmartBrief readers in the past week. Drugmakers collaborate to overcome obstacles in R&D (The New York Times (tiered subscription model)) Mass. biotech workforce earned $6B in 2011 (American City Business Journals) 83 new Alzheimer's drugs in clinical trials or under review (PharmaTimes (U.K.)) CureVac raises $105M to advance therapeutic cancer vaccines (BioWorld Online) Onconova licenses cancer drug rigosertib to Baxter (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Industrial & Environmental  Italian oil firm to convert refinery into a biofuels plant Italian oil firm Eni could invest about $130 million to retrofit its crude oil refinery in Venice into a biofuels plant by 2014. The changeover is slated to start in the second quarter of next year, with biofuel production projected for Jan. 1, 2014. Bloomberg Businessweek (9/21)        News from BIO  Are you taking full advantage of your membership? 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