| Today's Top Story |  |  | | | Health Care & Policy | | | | - Sanofi licenses 5 drugs to Covis
Switzerland's Covis Pharma agreed to acquire the U.S. commercial rights to five drugs from Sanofi-Aventis and its units. The deal covers the prostate cancer drug Nilandron; Plaquenil, a drug for malaria, lupus and arthritis; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis drug Rilutek; Uroxatral, a drug for enlarged prostate; and high-potassium treatment Kayexalate. Sanofi keeps the products' rights elsewhere in the world. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (4/5), Drug Store News (4/4)       - Vertex, Bristol to conduct midstage trials of hep C combo therapy
Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb signed a non-exclusive deal to initiate two midstage trials of a once-a-day combination therapy for hepatitis C. The trials will test the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and viral cure rates of Vertex's VX-135, a nucleotide analogue hepatitis C virus polymerase inhibitor, in combination with Bristol's daclatasvir, an experimental NS5A replication complex inhibitor. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (4/5) | Company & Financial News | | | | - Funding round brings in $18M for inflammatory drug developer
Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, which develops small-molecule therapies for inflammatory disorders, raised $18 million in a Series C funding round from investors including Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson's venture units. The firm says midstage trials of AQX-1125, its lead drug candidate, could begin within months in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial cystitis. MedCityNews.com (4/5) - Cytomedix gets funding support from Maryland Venture Fund
Cytomedix has secured a $500,000 investment from the Maryland Venture Fund. The regenerative medicine company is working on its AutoloGel System, which uses platelet-rich plasma for wound healing. The company also manufactures the Angel Whole Blood Separation System, which is used in orthopedic and surgical procedures. BeckersASC.com (4/4) | Food & Agriculture | | | | | 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 | | | | - Commentary: Ethanol producers can comply with RFS targets
An oil industry study claiming the Renewable Fuels Standard is "irretrievably broken" is "laughable" because ethanol producers are likely to meet the target of 36 billion gallons of ethanol-equivalent fuels by 2022, writes Jim Lane. The industry is currently capable of producing 26.67 billion gallons of renewable fuels, while facilities under construction are expected to produce 8.35 billion gallons, with more projects on the way, Lane writes. "The conversation in Washington over RFS repeal shows that a 'spirit of national masochism' is alive and well, though it has moved off the streets and into the corridors of power." BiofuelsDigest.com (4/4) | News from BIO | | | | - BIO webinar on reducing your company's energy costs
BIO and APPI Energy, an energy consulting firm with which BIO has recently aligned through its BIO Business Solutions cost-savings program, can help your company reduce its energy expenses. APPI Energy, the preferred energy consultant of 140 trade associations and chambers of commerce nationwide, provides solutions to reduce electricity and natural gas costs at no risk or obligation to member companies. Join the 30-minute webinar, April 10 at 2 p.m. EDT, to learn about strategies to lower your company’s costs on energy.
| SmartQuote | | | |  | If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be bold."
--Louis Brandeis,
U.S. Supreme Court justice  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for jmabs1@gmail.com
| | | Read more at SmartBrief.com | | A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including: | | | | | | | | | | Recent BIO SmartBrief Issues: - Friday, April 05, 2013
- Thursday, April 04, 2013
- Wednesday, April 03, 2013
- Tuesday, April 02, 2013
- Monday, April 01, 2013
| | | Lead Editor: Tom Parks
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | | | | | | © 1999-2013 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
Asking lawmakers to develop public policies based largely on feelings that biotech foods and crops are harmful to health is illogical, according to this editorial. Legislators should make science-based decisions, and no peer-reviewed studies show biotech food poses any health problems. 
No comments:
Post a Comment