Pharma Marketletter articles from April 2006

Pharma Marketletter archives from April 2006

Bayer tops Merck KGaA's bid for Schering AG to create German drug heavy-weight.
April 3, 2006... Following swiftly on Merck KGaA's 77 euros per share hostile bid for fellow German drugmaker Schering AG, late on March 23, Bayer stepped in with a "friendly" 86-euro-a-share offer. The proposed transaction values the company at 16.3 billion...

Positive responses to UK Budget proposals, concern over who benefits from tax credit.
April 3, 2006... Drug companies have expressed "welcome" to a number of measures contained in the latest UK government budget proposal, outlined in a speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, in London on March 22. A number of proposals are...

After six months, UK's pharmaceuical price regulation scheme in OFT probe extension.(Office of Fair Trading)
April 3, 2006... The UK's pharmaceutical industry has expressed "no par-ticular surprise" at the announcement by the government's Office of Fair Trading, after a six-month investigation, that it intends to extend its study of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation...

US FDA delays approval of Cephalon's Sparlon, firm cuts 2006 sales projections.
April 3, 2006... US drugmaker Cephalon says that a US Food and Drug Administration expert committee has advised against the approval of its drug candidate Sparlon (modafinil) tablets for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and...

Lilly's Cymbalta relieves core GAD symptoms.(Eli Lilly and Co.'s generalized anxiety disorder drug)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US drug major Eli Lilly says that its antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine) showed good safety and efficacy in tackling the core anxiety symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, according to a new study in 500 patients, data from which were...

Czech pharma group MAFS calls for EU action on drug categorization.(International Association of Pharmaceuticals Companies in the Czech Republic)
April 3, 2006... Continuing the fight between drugmakers and health officials, MAFS, the International Association of Pharmaceuticals Companies in the Czech Republic, is amending its complaint to the European Commission over the country's "non-transparent"...

New French biomed center operational.(Eurasante)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... The major Eurasante biomedical center in northern France in the Nord-Pas de Calais, developed over a 10-year incubation period by the Eurasante agency, is now fully operational linking 700 regional companies of which 75 are located on this...

Italian drug agency OKs orphan drug funding.(AIFA)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... - The Italian drug regulatory agency, the AIFA, has approved funding for 54 study protocols into the areas of orphan and neglected disease medicines. The independent work will involve comparative pharmaceutical and pharmacological research. An...

Idenix lowers NM283 dosage after AE reports.(Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(adverse events )(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Idenix Pharmaceuticals, a US biopharmaceutical company focused on viral and other infectious diseases, has modified its ongoing Phase IIb hepatitis C trials of its drug candidate valopicitabine (NM283) due to side effects. Dosing levels...

Encysive delays human studies on TBC3711.(Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Encysive Pharmaceuticals of the USA says that the US Food and Drug Administration has placed TBC3711, its next-generation selective endothelin receptor antagonist entering early clinical studies, on clinical hold after the firm reported an...

GSK donates drug to wipe out elephantiasis.(GlaxoSmithKline PLC)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline has welcomed data published in the March 25 issue of The Lancet which show that one of the world's most disfiguring and disabling parasitic diseases, Lymphatic Filariasis (commonly known as elephantiasis), can be...

GSK submits Flulaval BLA to US FDA.(GlaxoSmithKline PLC)(Biologics License Application)(United States Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... UK-based GlaxoSmithKline, the world's second-largest drugmaker, has submitted a Biologics License Application for FluLaval (influenza virus vaccine) to the US Food and Drug Administration. If licensed, the product will be used for the active...

Enrollment complete in OXiGENE's CA4P trial.(Combretastatin A4P)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... OXiGENE, a USA-based biopharmaceutical firm focused on cancer and ophthalmologic diseases, has completed patient enrollment in a Phase II clinical trial of Combretastatin A4P (CA4P), its lead therapeutic candidate, together with widely-used...

Wyeth loses Philadelphia diet drug trial.(Wyeth Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US pharmaceutical major Wyeth has announced that the jury in the cases of Suzan Talbot versus Wyeth, Sharon Thacker vs Wyeth, Ernestine Vigil vs Wyeth and Jorie Williams vs Wyeth in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas rendered a decision in...

Allergan completes Inamed acquisition.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Allergan has completed its acquisition of fellow USA-based Inamed Corp, a transaction it began last year in a contest for the firm with Medicis (Marketletter December 19, 2005). The $3.1 billion purchase expands Allergan's global position...

Promising results for Samaritan's SP233.(Samaritan Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, a Las Vegas, USA-based drug developer , says that its Alzheimer's disease drug SP233, recently registered as caprospinol, showed no toxic effects in standard preclinical assays used to evaluate its safety. This is an...

Medtronic wins stent patent arbitration.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... An independent arbitration panel has found in favor of Medtronic in a case in which Johnson & Johnson/Cordis alleged that the Medtronic Driver stent and several other of the firm's stents infringed certain patents of its subsidiary Cordis. The...

Development of the French SME biotechs viewed as "strategic" by govt.(small and medium sized enterprise)(Industry overview)
April 3, 2006... France's biotechnology industry developed during the 1990s at a time of rapid growth and intense international competition. Today, with nearly 400 companies, France is the home to the third-largest biotechnology market in Europe. Following a...

Sanofi buys Zentiva stake for 430M euros.(Sanofi-Aventis)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... France-based Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third-largest pharmaceutical group, has bought a stake of nearly 24.9% in the Czech group Zentiva, making it the biggest shareholder in the latter, for a consideration of 430.3 million euros ($523.9...

US law suit launched against Novartis.(unpaid overtime case)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... In the USA, sales staff of the Swiss drug major Novartis have instigated a $225.0 million law suit against the company for unpaid overtime. The class action alleges that Novartis violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the overtime laws of...

Sinclair to acquire French derma group.(Groupe CS Dermatologie)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Sinclair Pharma, a UK-based niche drugmaker, has said it plans to acquire Groupe CS Dermatologie, a privately-held French company focused on the manufacture and distribution of prescription and over-the counter medicines and derma-cosmetic...

Pharming buys Dnage.(Pharming Group NV )(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Leiden-based biotechnology firm Pharming Group NV has signed a heads of agreement to acquire the outstanding share capital of fellow Dutch company DNage, a privately-held group focused on the discovery and development of products for aging...

Sanofi-Aventis' Taxotere approved in the USA for advanced gastric cancer.
April 3, 2006... France-based Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third-largest drugmaker, says that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its drug Taxotere (docetaxel) injection concentrate in combination with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil for the treatment...

Novartis' IBS drug rejected by EU regulators.
April 3, 2006... The European Medicines Agency's (EMEA) review committee has recommended against the approval of Swiss drug major Novartis' Zelnorm (tegaserod) for the treatment of women suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. This...

2006 BioWales conference emphasises the region's expanding bioscience sector.(Event overview)
April 3, 2006... Around 300 delegates attended the 2006 BioWales conference and Biopartnering event, held just outside Cardiff on March 23 and 24. The event was organized by the Welsh Development Agency, a sponsored body of the Welsh Assembly government, and...

Fake drugs in China, govt wants recognition.
April 3, 2006... The Chinese government has appealed to the rest of the world for more time to deal with, as well as more recognition for its efforts to clamp down on, all forms of pirate trading, including pharmaceuticals. The call was made at a press...

India widens options against fake drugs.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... The government of India proposes to introduce the death penalty as the ultimate sanction for the manufacturers and dealers of counterfeit medicines where these cause "grievous harm" to defrauded users. The move follows widespread concern that...

IFPMA portal upgrade adds four languages.(International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Geneva, Switzerland-based trade association the Inter-national Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations has revealed the upgrading of its clinical trials portal, which was launched in May last year (Market-letter May 30,...

Letter to the editor: new influence on the block.(Letter to the editor)
April 3, 2006... For so long, pharmaceutical companies have had to focus their sales efforts on only one sector of the medical profession - the doctor. Now, with the changing emphasis on improving long-term primary care, both nurses and pharmacists are becoming...

Bayer "will not break up Schering AG".(Bayer-Schering-Pharma)
April 3, 2006... The chairman of Bayer AG, Werner Wenning, has said that his company will not proceed to break up Schering AG following the takeover of the Berlin-based drug group (see also story page 3). However, Mr Wenning declined to say where the planned...

J&J still under probe.(Johnson & Johnson)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US drug major Johnson & Johnson has revealed that it is still under investigation by federal and state authorities over the sales and marketing practices of its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica regarding its blockbuster anti-psychotic drug...

Cymbalta performs well in anxiety study.(Eli Lilly and Co.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co says that the results of a trial of its antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine), used in the treatment of patients with generalized anxiety disorder, show that the product significantly reduce core anxiety symptoms. The...

Encysive's Thelin gets FDA approvable letter.(Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US drugmaker Encysive Pharmaceuticals says it has received an "approvable letter" from the Food and Drug Administration for its product Thelin (sitaxsentan sodum), which is under review as a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. ...

CV Thera launches Ranexa in USA.(CV Therapeutics Inc.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... California, USA-based CV Therapeutics says it is promoting Ranexa (ranolazine extended-release tablets) to cardiology specialists in the USA, in addition to making the product available in pharmacies. The drug, which is approved as a...

Cronos and UK Cancer Research collaborate.(Cronos Therapeutics)(Cancer Research Technology Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Cronos Therapeutics, a London, UK-based biopharmaceutical company, and Cancer Research Technology, the specialist oncology development and commercialization firm owned by Cancer Research UK, have entered into an agreement to develop a novel...

Series rise in TB in former Soviet Union countries.(tuberculosis)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... New figures published on the World Tuberculosis Day on 24 March 2006 reveal an alarming rise in tuberculosis in the former Soviet Union (FSU) countries. The 12 nations of the FSU reported 105 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004. The new...

PAION initiates next-gen plasminogen activator program.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... PAION AG, a German company focusing on the development of treatment opportunities for stroke and other thrombotic diseases, has initiated a new plasminogen activator program, which is intended to serve as a long-term life cycle management tool...

PanGenetics closes 13M-euro financing.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... PanGenetics BV, a Dutch company devoted to the clinical development of therapeutic antibodies,has announced the closing of an over-subscribed 13.0 million-euro ($15.8 million) series B round led by ABN AMRO Capital, with participation from...

CancerVax to discuss failed skin cancer vacc.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US biotechnology firm CancerVax Corp says that data from the Phase III clinical trials of its discontinued Canvaxin in the treatment of advanced-stage melanoma will be presented at the Society for Surgical Oncology's Annual Meeting in San...

Confusing Ph III results for Antigenics' Oncophage.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US biotechnology company Antigenics says that top-line results from its Phase III study of Oncophage (vitespen) in kidney cancer patients at high risk of recurrence after surgery has demonstrated contradictory results. The firm noted that...

Encouraging animal data for Onyvax-105.(Onyvax)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Onyvax, a UK biotechnology company focused on cancer therapies, says that two recently-published independent research papers validate the target of its Onyvax-105 vaccine in prostate cancer. The first paper, published in the December 2005...

Acadia's ACP-103 sees positive Ph II data.(Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... USA-based Acadia Pharmaceuticals has reported postitive data from a Phase II clinical trial of its drug candidate ACP-103 in patients with Parkinson's disease suffering from treatment-induced psychosis. In the multicenter, double-blind,...

Japan's MHLW panel recommends checks on drug post-marketing surveillance.(Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
April 3, 2006... The Committee on Drug Safety of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Council on Drugs and Food Sanitation has approved the implementation of a new project for collecting safety data from medical institutions just after the...

PhRMA Japan rep slams health care reform.(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of American)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... "A health care system that focuses purely on reducing direct costs of health care and that addresses only short-term budget objectives does not put patients first and does not serve society and its citizens," said Ira Wolf, the Japan...

Von Eschenbach FDA nomination ball-game kicks off with row over Plan B drug.(Food and Drug Administration)
April 3, 2006... The nomination of the US Food and Drug Administration's Acting Commissioner, Andrew von Eschenbach, to the position on a permanent basis has become embroiled in the federal government agency's decision to refuse Pom-ona, New York-based...

Medicare Part D enrollment numbers pick up as deadline approaches.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... About 1.9 million new voluntary enrollees to Medicare prescription drug benefit plans have been recorded by the US federal government, in the past month, bringing the total number up to 7.2 million since the new year. Including previously...

2nd phase of German reform coming soon.
April 3, 2006... German Health Minister Ulla Schmidt will launch the second major phase of the coalition government's health service reform within a week or so. The situation is now tense, with a broad swathe of the medical profession demanding improved...

Spain's pharma owed 2.2B euros by govt.(Farmaindustria)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Spanish drug federation Farmaindustria has demanded that the government must pay 2.2 billion euros ($2.64 billion) in overdue public-health bills and that it fulfils the legislated 60-day grace period for meeting outstanding payments. In a...

Italy's reimbursable drug spending falls.(Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... The Italian drugs agency, the AIFA, has said that reimbursable drug spending in 2005 fell both in absolute and percentage terms over 2004, while economy measures in the sector enabled savings of some 870.0 million euros ($1.04 billion) to be...

European Medicines Agency's CHMP issues positive opinion on several drugs.(Committee for Medicinal Products )
April 3, 2006... The European Medicines Agency's (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) says it has adopted positive opinions regarding the initial marketing authorization application for two new compounds, submitted to it for...

Roche's Bondronat demonstrates safety.(F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Swiss drug major Roche says that new trial data of its metastatic bone disease treatment Bondronat (ibandronate), show it produces less kidney damage than Novartis' competitor product Zometa (zoledronic acid) in the treatment of multiple...

Pfizer's Lyrica cleared for GAD in EU.(generalized anxiety disorder )(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... World drugs giant Pfizer's neuropathic painkiller Lyrica (pregabalin) has been cleared for generalized anxiety disorder in adults in the European Union, where it is estimated that each year nearly 12 million patients suffer from the condition...

Immtech's PCP drug enters Ph III US trial.(Immtech Pharmaceuticals)(pneumocystis carinii pneumonia)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... USA-based Immtech Pharmaceuticals has initiated a domestic Phase III pivotal trial of its oral drug pafuramidine maleate in the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients with pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), a fungal infection of the lungs that usually...

SGX and Novartis sign $515M drug R&D accord.(research and developnment)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... San Diego, California, USA-based SGX Pharmaceuticals has entered into a license and collaboration deal with Swiss drug major Novartis on the development of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of drug resistant chronic...

Strong patient data for Novartis' Femara.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Swiss drug major Novartis says that women with hormone-sensitive early breast cancer switched to its aromatase inhibitor Femara (letrozole) from placebo experienced "significant improvements in overall survival, disease-free survival and risk...

Korean FDA OKs Crucell's Quinvaxem.(Korea Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Dutch biotechnology company Crucell NV says that the Korea Food and Drug Administration has approved Quinvaxem, a fully-liquid pentavalent vaccine for protection against five important childhood diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis...

Crestor better than Lipitor in Hispanics.(AstraZeneca PLC)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca says that Crestor (rosuvastatin) reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol more than milligram-equivalent doses of Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin) in Hispanic patients with elevated cholesterol. ...

Lilly OKs capreomycin making in China via Hisun as part of TB fight.(Eli Lilly and Co.)(Hisun Pharmaceutical)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US drug major Eli Lilly, as part of World TB Day 2006, has said that the capreomycin active pharmaceutical ingredient validation at Hisun Pharmaceutical, one of China's top drugmakers, has been successfully completed, and all relevant quality...

GSK starts testing new anti-counterfeiting technology.(GlaxoSmithKline PLC)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... In the USA, GlaxoSmithKline has begun distributing a medicine tagged with radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology as part of a pilot project to help protect patient safety. The tags, about the size of a postage stamp, will be...

Galapagos' BioFocus unit in three-year deal with Roche.(Galapagos Genomics N.V.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Belgian genomics-based drug discovery firm Galapagos says that its service division, BioFocus, has entered into a three-year collaboration with Swiss pharmaceutical major Roche, building on the working history of the two. Under the terms of the...

New plant-based pharma firm, SoluCel, sets up in Europe.(Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology)(Gent University)(VTT Technical Research Center of Finland)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Scientists from the Netherlands-based Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) and Gent University, together with VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, have developed technology to increase the production of...

Telbivudine performs well in hep B trial.(Hepatitis B)(Novartis AG)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Swiss drug major Novartis says that the results of a Chinese Phase III trial of its developmental nucleoside analog telbivudine, used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, show superior antiviral and clinical efficacy in the patient group...

Amylin to sell 8.5M shares.(Amylin Pharmaceuticals )(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... San Diego, USA-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals says that it has filed a preliminary prospectus supplement to a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed public offering of 8,500,000 shares of...

Global access to HIV therapy nearly tripled in past two years.(Human Immunodeficiency Virus)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... A new report by the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that the number of people on HIV antiretroviral treatment in low- and middle-income countries more than tripled to 1.3 million in...

Chembio's HIV tests OKed in Kenya; distributor named.(Chembio Diagnostics)(SAI Pharmaceuticals )(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... New York State, USA-based Chembio Diagnostics says that its HIV 1/2 STAT-PAK and HIV 1/2 STAT-PAK Dipstick tests have been evaluated and recommended for use in Kenya. Both tests were evaluated by the National AIDS/STD Control Program of the...

Keryx Biopharm to raise $82.8M.(Keryx Biopharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, a US biotechnology company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel drugs for the treatment of life-threatening diseases including diabetes and cancer, says that it has obtained...

Upstate and Cisbio launch novel kinase assay.(Cisbio International)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Upstate USA, a subsidiary of Serologicals Corp and Cisbio International, a specialist developer of technologies used in assay development, have announced the launch of their co-developed HTRF KinEASE reagent for use in the detection of the...

Cell therapy may provide new approach to MLD treatment.(Journal of Neuroscience)(metachromatic leukodystrophy)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... New study data, published in the March 22 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, may effect the future development of drugs for the treatment of the brain disease metachromatic leukodystrophy. The relatively rare condition is an inherited...

India's Ranbaxy on European buying spree.(acquires Terapia )
April 3, 2006... India's largest drugmaker, Ranbaxy Laboratories went on a buying spree late March, announcing plans to acquire the Romanian firm Terapia and the unbranded generics business of GlaxoSmithKline in Italy. The firm aims to increase its annual sales...

Insatiable Actavis acquires Sindan.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Icelandic pharmaceutical company Actavis has made another foray into the European generic drugs market, saying that it has agreed to acquire Sindan, a Bucharest, Romania-based copy drugmaker specializing in the manufacture and distribution of...

Crucell sells Rhein Biotech to Dynavax.(Rhein Biotech GmbH is acquired by Dynavax Technologies)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Netherlands-based biotechnology group Crucell says it plans to sell its biopharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing business, Rhein Biotech GmbH, in an all-cash transaction of around 10.0 million euros ($12.0 million) to USA company Dynavax...

Akzo's Organon expects one NDA filing a year from its R&D pipeline.(New Drug Application)
April 3, 2006... Dutch drugmaker and chemicals firm Akzo Nobel says that its pharmaceuticals division, Organon, will attempt to complete at least one major regulatory filing per year from its pipeline of developmental products. The announcement was made by Akzo...

Japan stock market week to March 27, 2006.
April 3, 2006... Tokyo saw an extended advance in the week ended March 27 (four trading days because March 21 was a national holiday in Japan) amid see-saw movements. The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2%, to close at the highest level since February 7, while the Topix...

EU approves new alternatives to animal testing of drugs.(Scientific Advisory Committee of the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods)
April 3, 2006... The European Union's Scientific Advisory Committee of the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods has approved six new alternative testing methods that will reduce the need for certain drugs and chemicals to be evaluated on...

Headlines 25 years ago this week....(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US pharma industry tells House health subcommitee that patent life on drugs should be restored because erosion - including that resulting from drug approval delays - will affect innovation and it will be the American public which suffers and...

Sequenon makes $30M private placing.(ComVest Investment Partners II)(Pequot Private Equity Fund IV)(L BI Group)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... San Diego, USA-based Sequenon has announced commitments by ComVest Investment Partners II, Pequot Private Equity Fund IV and L BI Group (an affiliate of Lehman Brothers), for $30.0 million. Under the terms of the transaction, subject to...

Genentech to acquire OrigGener TrueClone Collection.(OriGene Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... OriGene Technologies says that Genentech has purchased its TrueClone Collection of full-length human cDNAs suitable for transfection and direct in vitro expression. Although there are many different efforts to collect every human...

Santarus launches Zegerid caps in USA.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Santarus, a US specialty pharmaceutical company focused on therapies for gastrointestinal diseases and disorders, has launched its of Zegerid (omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate) capsules 40mg/1,100mg and 20mg/1,100mg, an immediate-release proton...

National Stem Cell to merge with Azurel.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... National Stem Cell, a firm focused on the advancement of regenerative medicines, says that it has entered into a letter of intent to merge with fellow New York, USA-based Azurel, a cosmetics firm with proprietary brands including Privilege and...

Strong animal data for SDP-103.(SD Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... The USA's SD Pharmaceuticals says it has completed a battery of preclinical studies on SDP-013, its novel nano-emulsion formulation of the cancer drug paclitaxel, which showed equal or superior efficacy in a mouse model of human ovarian cancer...

Novelos submits IND to US FDA on HCV drug.(Novelos Therapeutics Inc.)(Investigational New Drug Application)(United States Food and Drug Administration)(hepatitis C virus)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... US biotechnology firm Novelos Therapeutics has filed an Investigational New Drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for NOV-205, its second clinical-stage compound to be evaluated as a monotherapy for chronic hepatitis C patients...

Nabi continues StaphVAX despite confusing Ph III data.(Nabi Biopharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... The USA's Nabi Biopharmaceuticals will continue development of its Gram-positive program, led by StaphVAX (Staphylococcus aureus polysaccharide conjugate vaccine) and Altastaph (Staphylococcus aureus immune globulin intravenous human), despite...

Heidelberg's fosalvudine to enter Ph II.(Heidelberg Pharma GmbH)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... German drugmaker Heidelberg Pharma GmbH has successfully completed the first clinical Phase I study of its investigational antiretroviral fosalvudine tidoxil in HIV-1 patients. The open-label, single-dose study investigated the safety,...

Enzymotec launches SharpPS gold.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Israeli bitoechnology group Enzymotec has launched a cognitive health supplement called SharpPS gold, which chemically combines the nutrients phosphatidylserine and docosahexanoic acid. According to the firm, one of the barriers which limit...