Theraclone signs merger deal with PharmAthene

FDA OKs wider use of Novartis' Menveo vaccine | Aegerion's Lojuxta wins EU approval for hypercholesterolemia | Merck, Bionomics team up to develop chronic pain drug Created for jmabs1@gmail.com |  Web Version   August 2, 2013 SIGN UP | FORWARD | ARCHIVE | ADVERTISE Today's Top Story Sponsored By Theraclone signs merger deal with PharmAthene U.S. biotech firms PharmAthene and Theraclone Sciences entered into a merger agreement to form a new company that specializes in cancer drugs and vaccines for infectious diseases. The combined firm, which will be headed by Theraclone CEO Cliff Stocks, will use PharmAthene's name and will be based in Seattle. The Seattle Times (8/2), Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (8/1) Share:      Getting Ready for the Physician Payment 'Sunshine' Rule Get expert analysis and practical guidance to comply with the Physician Payment 'Sunshine' Rule, which mandates that certain manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) report payments made to physicians, hospitals and other health-care providers. Determine immediate action items for compliance with the rule—11 key suggested steps are outlined. Download Now. Health Care & Policy Sponsored By FDA OKs wider use of Novartis' Menveo vaccine The FDA approved the use of Novartis' meningococcal conjugate vaccine Menveo to include toddlers and infants 2 months and older. The vaccine provides protection against meningococcal disease related to four strains of Neisseria meningitidis. The expanded approval was based on data from three trials involving more than 8,700 infants. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (8/2) Share:      Aegerion's Lojuxta wins EU approval for hypercholesterolemia The European Commission approved Aegerion Pharmaceuticals' Lojuxta, or lomitapide, as an adjunct therapy to low-fat diet and other lipid-lowering drugs in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. The approval was based on data from a late-stage trial. American City Business Journals/Boston/bioflash blog/Mass High Tech (8/1) Share:      Merck, Bionomics team up to develop chronic pain drug Bionomics and Merck & Co. agreed to collaborate in the discovery and development of novel small molecule candidates for treatment of neuropathic pain and other forms of chronic pain using the latter's ionX drug discovery technology and MultiCore chemistry. The deal grants Merck an option for an exclusive license for one compound. Bionomics could get as much as $172 million in option exercise fees and milestone payments plus sales royalties. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (7/31), The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)/Dow Jones Newswires (7/31) Share:      BioWa, Lonza sign deal with Pfizer for antibody development Lonza and BioWa have granted Pfizer the right to use their Potelligent CHOK1SV cell line technology in the research and development of antibodies. The Potelligent CHOK1SV cell line can be used to develop antibodies that function in whole blood and have cytotoxic effects even at low antigen levels. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (8/1) Share:      NIAID-sponsored consortium opens access to trial data The Immune Tolerance Network, a consortium sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has launched the TrialShare portal to give registered researchers access to anonymized patient-level data from clinical trials of immune-tolerance therapies. PharmaTimes (U.K.) (8/1) Share:      Report Track & Traceability Commerce in Motion and JDA, surveyed 130 quality control, supply chain and operations professionals. The goal was to understand their ability to effectively track, trace, and recall products. Per the study financial cost is the greatest risk associated with the inability to trace items. Download the free report now to see where the Life Sciences industry stands on traceability. Company & Financial News Mass. biopharma gets $60M funding boost A Series C funding round has brought in $60 million for Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a Watertown, Mass.-based firm developing novel treatments using its Dicer enzyme and technologies. The firm plans to use the money to take two programs into clinical development and to further develop preclinical candidates. "Over the next two years we will launch several Dicer Substrate pharmaceuticals into clinical development, targeting well-understood orphan diseases as well as classic undruggable targets in oncology," Dicerna CEO Douglas Fambrough said. American City Business Journals/Boston/bioflash blog/Mass High Tech (8/1) Share:      Drugmaker to double number of studies released to researchers GlaxoSmithKline announced plans to release data from 400 studies on approved and abandoned compounds by the end of the year. The transparency initiative can help improve patient care and research, says Dr. Ben Goldacre, author of "Bad Pharma." Bloomberg (7/31) Share:      The Latest From BIO ... Register today for the BIO Investor Forum, Oct. 8-9, in San Francisco Attend the BIO Investor Forum, Oct. 8-9, 2013 in San Francisco. The BIO Investor Forum is an international biotech investor conference focused on early and established private companies and on emerging public companies. Register today. Share:      Food & Agriculture Top court in France rejects moratorium on Monsanto's biotech corn France's top administrative court, Conseil d'Etat, overturned a government ban on the cultivation of Monsanto's biotech corn MON810. The moratorium can be imposed only in case of an emergency or serious risk, the court said. Google/Agence France-Presse (8/1), Reuters (8/1) Share:      Industrial & Environmental Energy Dept. gives $22.5M in grants to biomass-to-fuel ventures Grants amounting to about $22.5 million were handed out by the Department of Energy to projects aimed at producing biofuels from biomass, including algae. Sapphire Energy, Hawaii BioEnergy and New Mexico State University will get $5 million each, FDC Enterprises will receive about $6 million and California Polytechnic State University will get $1.5 million. Bloomberg (8/1) Share:      News from BIO SmartBrief subscribers receive 20% discount off BIO Convention in China registration The BIO Convention in China, Nov. 11-13 in Beijing, is the most targeted global B2B event in China focused on the biotech innovation. Using BIO One-on-One Partnering system, you can schedule meetings with executives from biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies and investment firms from North America, Europe and Asia to meet and explore business opportunities with China's emerging biotech sector. Enter DIS20 in the Promo Code field to get 20% off BIO member and nonmember registration. Share:      SmartQuote Though language forms the preacher, 'Tis good works make the man." -- Eliza Cook, British author Share:      Learn more about BIO -> Conferences | Join Bio | Media | Issues | Industry 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. 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