| Today's Top Story |  |  | | - Mitsubishi Tanabe buys plant-based vaccine-maker for $357M
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma agreed to pay $357 million, or $1.16 per share to purchase Medicago, a Canada-headquartered firm that specializes in developing plant-based vaccines and therapeutic proteins for a range of infectious diseases. The acquisition, which is expected to be finalized this year, comes less than a month after the two firms announced the successful production of a rotavirus viruslike particle vaccine. Upon closing, Mitsubishi will own 60% of Medicago and the rest will be owned by an investment entity of Philip Morris International. BioWorld (free content) (7/12), Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (7/12)       | Health Care & Policy | | | | - Lilly plans another solanezumab trial for Alzheimer's
Eli Lilly & Co. plans to conduct another late-stage trial of its experimental drug solanezumab in patients with Alzheimer's disease despite disappointing in two previous Phase III studies. The new trial will be larger and will focus on people with mild symptoms, a group that appeared to respond well to the drug in the previous studies. Lilly will use its Amyvid imaging agent to ensure that trial participants have beta amyloid deposits. Patient enrollment for the 2,100-patient trial will begin in September. Reuters (7/12) - Experimental iron deficiency drug hits main goal in study
Rockwell Medical's soluble ferric pyrophosphate elevated the amount of hemoglobin in adults with chronic kidney disease in a late-stage study. The drug achieved the primary goal of the trial. "Pending positive results from the second study, chances of FDA approval are very high," said analyst Andrew McDonald. Reuters (7/11) - Bioengineered HIV treats genetic disease symptoms in studies
Italian researchers reported they effectively eliminated the symptoms of children with two rare genetic diseases using gene therapy that involved a modified HIV-derived virus. The two clinical trials, published in the journal Science, focused on three children who were born with metachromatic leukodystrophy and three others with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. The virus, which was engineered so it could not cause AIDS, was attached with the normal version of the faulty gene found in each disease and delivered to bone marrow stem cells that were then transfused into the patients. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (7/11) | Company & Financial News | | | | - French infectious disease Dx startup obtains $5M
French firm PathoQuest has received $5 million in Series B financing, which will go toward a clinical study of its assay that combines cloud-based analysis with next-generation sequencing. The trial will run in the U.S. and Europe and will compare the test with other diagnostic methods in detecting severe multietiological infections in certain immuno-compromised patients. GenomeWeb Daily News (free registration) (7/11) | Food & Agriculture | | | | - USDA marks $1M to fight coffee berry borer
The Agriculture Department has allotted $1 million for a project that will include genetic research dedicated to finding biological weaknesses in the coffee berry borer, which has infested up to 80% of coffee farms in Hawaii, through genetic research. The project will include the distribution of treatments and disposal of affected plants. GenomeWeb Daily News (free registration) (7/12) | Hot Topics | | | | Top five news stories selected by BIO SmartBrief readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
| Industrial & Environmental | | | | - EPA issues data on barley as a biofuel stock under RFS
The Environmental Protection Agency issued proposed pathways by which barley-based fuel can qualify as conventional or advanced biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Under certain conditions, fuel from barley can achieve up to 50% greenhouse-gas reduction, allowing it to qualify as an advanced biofuel, the EPA said. There will be a 30-day public comment period upon publication of the day in the Federal Register. And 20% reductions allow barley to qualify as a stock for conventional renewable fuel under the RFS. EthanolProducer.com (7/12) | News from BIO | | | | - Register today for the BIO Investor Forum, Oct. 8-9, in San Francisco
The BIO Investor Forum is an international biotech investor conference focused on early and established private companies as well as emerging public companies. The event features plenary sessions, business roundtables and therapeutic workshops, company presentations, and One-on-One partnering meetings. BIO is renowned for its successful business development, partnering and investor meetings in North America, Europe and Asia. Partnering at this conference will be powered by BIO One-on-One Partnering, an interactive environment to intelligently search, contact and schedule private meetings with potential partners and investors. Register today.
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