| Today's Top Story |  |  | | - 2012 was good, but not great, for biotech VC
Upfront deal values for venture capital-backed biotech mergers and acquisitions totaled about $3.5 billion last year, which is lower than in 2011 but better than 2008 to 2010, according to data from HBM Partners. Total annual VC-backed private acquisitions have held steady since 2005. The time period from founding to trade sale appears to have risen from about five years in 2005 to nine years in 2012, notes Atlas Venture partner Bruce Booth. Forbes (1/30)       | Health Care & Policy | | | | - Combo-drug-makers petition FDA on exclusivity period
Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences have petitioned the FDA to change how market exclusivity is granted for combination drugs. The agency grants five years' exclusivity if all active compounds in a combination drug are new and three years' exclusivity otherwise. The drugmakers say combination drugs are the same as new drugs and should be treated accordingly. Pharmalot.com/Pharma Blog (1/31) - Orphan drug applications skyrocket as Big Pharma carves out niche
Rare diseases are attracting renewed interest as multinational drugmakers seek to take advantage of easier approval pathways and high prices for orphan drugs. Firms including Sanofi, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKlein are working on or have already secured approval for drugs that treat rare conditions. The progress in understanding the molecular base for these diseases has also spurred drugmakers' interest. The Wall Street Journal (1/30) - Companion diagnostics change cancer drug development
Qiagen filed its application for FDA approval of a test for epidermal growth factor receptor in lung tumors simultaneously with Boehringer Ingelheim's request for approval of a drug that targets the gene mutation. Diagnostic tests help clinicians determine whether drugs that target specific gene mutations will work in individual patients, but insurers hesitate to reimburse diagnostics in the absence of proof that they improve drug efficacy. When tests are developed and approved in tandem with drugs, reimbursement is more likely, says Qiagen's Stephen Little. Xconomy/Boston (1/31) | Company & Financial News | | | | | Food & Agriculture | | | | - Biotech crops drive up Burkina Faso's cotton production, producers said
Burkina Faso's cotton output surged by 57.5% for the year ending in January due to increased use of biotech crops, according to the Burkina National Cotton Producers' Union. Burkina Faso cleared Monsanto's biotech cotton in 2008, making it one of the first African countries to do so. "Genetically modified cotton production is experiencing growth every year," UNPCB president Karim Traore said. Reuters (1/31) | Industrial & Environmental | | | | - Court ruling does not weaken RFS, legal experts say
The recent court ruling that vacated the cellulosic portion of the Renewable Fuel Standard's 2012 volumetric targets will not have a major impact on the standard, write Jody M. Endres and A. Bryan Endres, law professors at University of Illinois. Although the court found fault in the Environmental Protection Agency's approach of favoring overestimation of output volumes, "the RFS itself, and EPA's general methodology of establishing both advanced and cellulosic biofuel projections, both survived" the legal challenge, they state. Farmdoc Daily (University of Illinois) (1/30)  | |  | | The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
| |  | |  |
| News from BIO | | | | - Are you taking full advantage of your membership?
BIO's cost-savings program, BIO Business Solutions, is helping 2,700 companies nationwide save on the cost of essential products and services. Members of BIO and 43 state and regional biotech associations are eligible to receive preferential pricing and other benefits at no additional cost beyond their membership dues. VWR International, FedEx, Office Depot and Business Wire are just a few of the industry leading providers that offer special pricing through this members-only program. Learn more or enroll here.
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat."
--F. Scott Fitzgerald,
American writer  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for jmabs1@gmail.com
| | | Read more at SmartBrief.com | | A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including: | | | | | | | | | | Recent BIO SmartBrief Issues: - Thursday, January 31, 2013
- Wednesday, January 30, 2013
- Tuesday, January 29, 2013
- Monday, January 28, 2013
- Friday, January 25, 2013
| | | Lead Editor: Tom Parks
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | | | | | | © 1999-2013 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment