Questcor buys U.S. rights to Novartis autoimmune/inflammatory drug

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June 12, 2013 Reduce your company's energy expenses through the BIO Business Solutions program's newest initiative. BIO has aligned with APPI Energy, an energy consulting firm, to assist its member companies save on electrical and natural gas costs. 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  Questcor buys U.S. rights to Novartis autoimmune/inflammatory drug Novartis granted Questcor Pharmaceuticals rights to develop and market Synacthen, or tetracosactide, and the formulation Synacthen Depot in the U.S. The drug is approved for the treatment of a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in Europe. The deal includes a $60 million upfront payment and at least $75 million more plus potential milestone fees and sales royalties. Bloomberg (6/11), Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (6/11), The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (6/11)        Health Care & Policy  U.K. seeks help of other G-8 nations to fight superbugs The U.K. government will press leading industrial nations to combat the spread of drug-resistant bacteria amid warnings that global coordination is necessary to prevent a health catastrophe. Measures will be proposed by Science Minister David Willetts to address the excessive use of antibiotics by health care providers and by agricultural producers. "Across the G8, we should regard the spread of antibiotic resistance as a global challenge ... and there are genuine policy consequences that follow from that," Willetts said. The Guardian (London) (6/11)      FDA OKs pneumonia test from Meridian Bioscience The FDA has cleared Meridian Bioscience to market its molecular test for diagnosing the Mycoplasma pneumonia bacterium, which is most frequently linked to atypical pneumonia and has been tied to as much as 40% of community-acquired pneumonia. The assay is the fourth test that runs on the firm's illumigene platform to obtain FDA clearance. GenomeWeb Daily News (free registration) (6/10)      Stemline's hematologic malignancy drug wins orphan status from FDA The FDA granted orphan-drug status to Stemline Therapeutics' SL-401, an experimental drug for aggressive hematologic malignancy blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm. The drug, which also holds an orphan designation for acute myeloid leukemia, targets the interleukin-3 receptor on cancerous cells. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (6/11)      Exact finalizes PMA application for colorectal cancer test Exact Sciences has filed with the FDA the final module of its premarket approval application for Cologuard, an assay for diagnosing colorectal cancer. The module includes data from the company's DeeP-C clinical study, which examined information on about 10,000 patients from 90 clinical sites who were at average risk for colorectal cancer. GenomeWeb Daily News (free registration) (6/10)      EU grants orphan status to ViroPharma's cytomegaloviral disease drug ViroPharma's maribavir, an experimental drug, won orphan-drug designation from the European Commission as a potential treatment for cytomegaloviral disease in patients with compromised immune systems. The drug, which is in Phase II trials, was granted a similar designation in the U.S. Bloomberg Businessweek/The Associated Press (6/11), American City Business Journals/Philadelphia (6/11)        Company & Financial News  U.S. biopharma hopes to raise up to $86M from IPO Agios Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in developing drugs for cancer and inborn metabolic conditions, hopes to obtain as much as $86 million in an initial public offering. The firm plans to use the proceeds to support clinical development of its lead drug candidates. Reuters (6/11)      Calif. biotech gets $35M funding boost A Series B funding round and related transactions brought in $35 million for Dermira, a development-stage biotech firm specializing in treatments for skin conditions. American City Business Journals/San Francisco/Bay Area BizTalk blog (6/11)        Food & Agriculture    Maine House moves forward on biotech food labels Lawmakers in the Maine House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill that would require labels indicating if food contains biotech ingredients. The bill becomes law if four neighboring states approve similar measures. Bangor Daily News (Maine) (free registration) (6/11), Morning Sentinel (Waterville, Maine) (6/12)      Webcast: A Conversation with The Johns Hopkins Hospital on Lowering the Cost of Healthcare from Inside Out Learn how The Johns Hopkins Hospital uses its Integrated Asset and Service Management solution to improve uptime to support patient care; control costs for procurement, maintenance, labor and materials; support regulatory compliance activities; and use workflow capabilities for internal controls. Watch the webcast.   Industrial & Environmental  Fungus offers clues to cost-effective biomass-to-fuel conversion A fungus found in certain animals could provide clues to more cost-effective production of biomass-based fuels, according to an initial analysis by Oklahoma State University researchers. The fungus efficiently digests a variety of noncrop plant materials, making it a promising candidate for biomass-to-fuel processes, the scientists said. WFTV-TV (Orlando, Fla.)/The Associated Press (6/8)        News from BIO  April 2013 BIO therapeutic newsletters The BIO Emerging Companies Section Policy Team has compiled the latest news to keep you informed on the action in Washington with respect to the disease category on which your company is focused. Topics covered comprise: Allergy/Infectious Disease/Antiviral; Cardiology/Pulmonology/Blood; Nephrology/Endocrinology/Metabolism/Gastroenterology; Neurology/CNS; Oncology; and Rheumatology/Anesthesia/Inflammation/Pain. BIO has attempted to include updates from biotech stakeholders around Washington, including Congress, FDA, NIH and patient organizations. Access our April 2013 Therapeutic Newsletters. Should you have any comments or questions, please contact Charles Crain.      Learn more about BIO -> Conferences  |  Join BIO  |  Media  |  Issues  |  Industry   SmartQuote  Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. 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