Pharma Marketletter articles from December 2005

Pharma Marketletter archives from December 2005

Ono's fiscal half-year 2005 sales rise 4.9%.(--------------------------- Microsoft Internet Explorer --------------------------- Cannot find index --------------------------- OK --------------------------- )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Japan's Ono Pharmaceuticals has reported solid growth for the first fiscal half-year period, ending September 2005, following cost controls and double-digit growth for some main products. Total revenues rose 4.9% to 73.9 billion yen ($618.8...

Dainippon Sumitomo: strong fiscal half-year.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Japanese drugmakers Dainippon and Sumitomo, which merged in October (Marketletters passim) and now calle Dainippon Pharma, have reported strong financial results for the first half of the fiscal year, April to September 2005, on the back of...

Tanabe sees 1% sales dip in fiscal half-year.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Japanese drugmaker Tanabe has reported sales of 83.5 billion yen ($699.2 million), a 1.1% decline on the comparable period of the previous year, which did, however, beat its own forecasts of 82.5 billion yen. The slide in revenues was...

IDM to sell non-core assets to Pharmexa.(IDM Pharma )
December 5, 2005... San Diego, USA-based IDM Pharma says that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell specific assets related to its infectious disease programs and certain other assets to Danish group Pharmexa A/S for $12.0 million in cash. This...

Pharma/biotech adopt outsourcing to fight rising costs.
December 5, 2005... Lengthy drug discovery times and the soaring costs of drug development - currently estimated at approximately $800.0 million per compound - are putting pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms under immense pressure, comments a new report from...

25 years ago this week....(drug industry)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Delay in the Japanese [NHI] pharmaceutical price revision is the main reason for better-than-expected mid-term results from drugmakers. Growth rate for drug production was 70% over 1975-79 compared with just 26% for Gross Domestic Product. ...

Report sees "fundamental flaws" in many Rx studies; urges risk-stratified analysis.
December 5, 2005... Merck & Co's COX-2 inhibitor arthritis drug Vioxx (rofecoxib) eased the pain of millions of arthritis patients, but it also greatly increased the risk of heart attack and stroke for some of them, which only came to light through after-the-fact...

French political moves to cut tax on drugmakers' sales.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Despite pressure from the French government, members of the National Assembly and Senators who are members of the joint mixed Commission, the CMP, have cut the projected tax on drug company sales from 1.96% to 1.76% for 2006. Right-wing...

Off-label Rx use: regulatory reform and safety issues.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Successfully managing the lifecycle of molecules within marketed portfolios is an essential capability for the pharmaceutical industry. With R&D productivity stalling, and profit margins increasingly eroded by cost-containment initiatives,...

Russian consumer drug prices in October.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Russia's State Statistics Committee reports that the consumer price of pharmaceuticals in the country in October was 0.3% higher than in September, reports the Interfax agency. In comparison, the monthly increase in Russia's consumer price...

Brazilian drug production in September.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Production of pharmaceuticals in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in September was 8% lower than in the same month last year, reports the National Statistics Institute. However, production in Sao Paulo was 11.3% higher than in September...

GSK's Hycamtin gets positive CHMP feedback.(GlaxoSmithKline AB)(Committee for Human Medicinal Products)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline says that Hycamtin (topotecan powder), the firm's treatment for relapsed small-cell lung cancer, has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Human Medicinal Products. The...

Alizyme to start ATL-104 mucositis trial.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Cambridge,UK-based drug development company Alizyme says it has completed patient recruitment for a Phase IIa clinical evaluation of its development product ATL-104 in the treatment of mucositis. The compound is a recombinant protein which...

Shire submits BLA for Elaprase in MPS.(Biologics License Application )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... UK-based drugmaker Shire Pharmaceuticals says that it has submitted a Biologics License Application to the US Food and Drug Administration covering Elaprase (idursulfase), the first human enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of Hunter...

ExonHit says drug has efficacy as AD therapy.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... ExonHit Therapeutics, a Paris, France-headquartered drug and diagnostic discovery company, says that EHT 0206, its leading drug candidate, has shown promising results in trials examining its use in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease....

Codexis and Matrix expand R&D accord.(Matrix Laboratories )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... California, USA-based Codexis says that it has signed an agreement with India's Matrix Laboratories which will expand the R&D collaboration that has existed between the two firms since June 2005 (Marketletter June 27). The announcement...

Scientists allege US is losing lead in stem cell research.
December 5, 2005... South Korea's World Stem Cell Hub could become the leading center for stem cell and therapeutic cloning research, because of the chilling effect US policy has had on stem cell research, according to Robert Lanza, vice president for medical and...

URCH puts out comprehensive guide to pharma pricing.(URCH Publishing )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... URCH Publishing has announced the publication of its Guide to Pricing & Reimbursement Systems; Western Europe, a straightforward guide to the pricing and reimbursement mechanisms in 16 major European markets. This 230-page report, it says,...

SRI Int sets up Taiwan R&D center and initiate with govt.(SRI International )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... US group SRI International has formed the SRI Taiwan R&D Center in Hsinchu to conduct a diverse range of scientific and technical activities in Taiwan. In addition, SRI and its spin-off company Bridge Pharmaceuticals have announced three...

Correction: Sanofi-Aventis' dronedarone.(Correction Notice)
December 5, 2005... In the Marketletter November 28 issue, we incorrectly gave the brand name of Sanofi-Aventis' dronedarone as Multiq, whereas it should be Multaq. We apologize for this mistake.

Cider Sante sold to Pharmexx for 8M euros.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Cider Sante, a French contract medical representative/visitors company, has been sold to the German group Pharmexx for 8.0 million euros ($9.4 million). Jacques Faggianelli, the company's founder and council president, has sold his 42.6% stake...

Keel Pharma and Organon Research Center collaboration.(Keel Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Keel Pharmaceuticals, a US biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, has entered into a research collaboration with Organon Research Center USA, which is part of Dutch firm Akzo...

Inion expands medical implant product ranges in USA.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Inion, a US company focused on the development of novel biodegradable medical implants, has received FDA 510(k) clearance for the Inion OTPS Distal Radius Plate device for orthopedic trauma applications. This is a bone-fracture repair...

Norway/UK alliance on cancer research.(Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Cancer Research Technology, a UK specialist oncology development and commercialization firm, and the Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation have announced a strategic alliance to co-develop novel cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. ...

New Zealand looks good in six-nation Rx cost study, but Pharmac reform is urged.
December 5, 2005... Cost is less likely to be a barrier to patients' access to medicines in New Zealand than in Australia, Canada, Germany, the UK and the USA, reports the US Commonwealth Fund. The Fund's International Health Policy Survey of Sicker Adults...

New Zealand funds Teva's MS drug Copaxone.
December 5, 2005... From December 1, New Zealand's pharmaceutical management agency, Pharmac, is funding Teva's Copaxone (glatiramer) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. It has fully subsidized Biogen Idec's Avonex (interferon beta-1a) and Berlex'...

Cardiovascular safety of NSAIDS - the debate continues at ACR meeting.
December 5, 2005... The debate over the cardiovascular safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs continues to rumble. A meta-analysis of 41 clinical studies in 44,308 patients, presented at the American College of Rheumatology scientific meeting held in San...

Merck & Co reveals global restructuring program, including 11% job cuts.
December 5, 2005... As had been anticipated in weekend press speculation, on November 28 US drug major Merck & Co announced a massive program of global restructuring. The company, once the giant of the pharmaceutical sector, is facing a raft of law suits relating...

CAT's fiscal year results beat forecasts.(Cambridge Antibody Technology Group PLC)
December 5, 2005... UK-based Cambridge Antibody Technology has beaten analysts' consensus forecasts in reporting its results for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, with sales helped by the rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira (adalimumab). The firm posted...

Tamiflu compulsory license not necessary, Roche tells three Asian nations.
December 5, 2005... Swiss drug major Roche has told the governments of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand that they are free to manufacture generic versions of its anti-influenza drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) becauseit is not patented in their countries. ...

Vietnam pharma: foreign investment falling.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... In Vietnam, a recent Ministry of Health report says the country's pharmaceutical industry continues to be unattractive to foreigners, who are increasingly reluctant to invest in the sector, reports the Vietnamese news agency. Just 35...

Vietnam plans avian flu vaccine production.(Central Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Vietnam is ready to mass-produce a vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu strain, reports the country's Central Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute. Trial results with monkeys have been positive and the Institute now awaits Health Ministry approval...

New Zealand 12-month pharma trade.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... New Zealand exported pharmaceuticals worth NZ$207.0 million ($142.4 million) in the 12 months to end-October 2005, a year-on-year rise of 2.1%, while drug imports rose 18.7% to NZ$939.0 million in the period, reports Statistics New Zealand.

Biogen Idec seeks PD treatment in NgR1.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... US biotechnology firm Biogen Idec says that it has discovered a new receptor that might be involved in the progression of Parkinson's disease. The research, conducted by a team of Biogen Idec-led scientists, is the first to suggest that...

Schering and SMS enter CT scan accord.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Drugmaker Schering AG and fellow German firm Siemens Medical Solutions say they will develop the latter's Somatom Definition, the world's first dual-source CT system, in combination with the former's imaging agent Ultravist (iopramide). ...

Sinovac progresses flu vacc towards trials.(Sinovac Biotech Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Sinovac Biotech, a drugmaker backed by the Chinese government, says that the design of clinical evaluations of Panflu, its pandemic influenza H5N1 vaccine, have been approved by the China State Food and Drug Administration. Given the...

FDA knocks back Novartis' Certican.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration has called for more safety and efficacy data on Swiss drug major Novartis' Certican (everolimus), so delaying its approval as a prophylactic against...

Taisho OTC drug sales fall 8%, Rx rises 3%.
December 5, 2005... Japanese firm Taisho Pharmaceutical has reported a year-on-year decline in sales and earnings for the first half of the fiscal year to March 2006 (April to September 2005), due to a hike in R&D expenses and weak sales on high-margin...

Permacol rhinoplasty trials a success, says TSL.(Tissue Science Laboratories)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Hampshire, UK-based medical technology specialist Tissue Science Laboratories says it has strong new clinical data on Permacol, the firm's porcine-derived collagen sheet, used in surgical rhinoplasty and nose augmentation. The data is obtained...

AorTech's Elast-Eon polymer technology gains FDA approval.(AorTech International PLC)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The UK's AorTech International says that the US Food and Drug Administration has given its approval for a long-term implantable, life-sustaining device that utilizes the firm's Elast-Eon polymer technology. The newly-approved product is...

Actelion's Tracleer of benefit as Eisenmenger's therapy.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... New results, presented at the inaugural British Congenital Cardiac Association meeting, shows that use of Swiss firm Actelion's Tracleer (bosentan) can improve exercise capacity in patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome. The drug is an...

Viragen's Multiferon promising in H5N1 trial.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... USA-based Viragen says that preliminary studies have found that Multiferon (multi-subtype, human natural alpha interferon) shows significant antiviral activity against the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus. The firm, a...

Baxter's IVIg receives European approval.(Baxter Healthcare S.A.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Switzerland-based Baxter Healthcare SA, the principal European subsidiary of Illinois, USA-headquarterd Baxter Healthcare, says that its ready-to-use 10% intravenous immunoglobulin liquid, which is marketed in the USA as Gammagard, has received...

Funding secured for anti-MRSA drugs.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Brighton, UK-based drugmaker Destiny Pharma says it has secured L3.0 million ($5.13 million) of additional funding for the early clinical development of its light-activated XF drug designed to fight hospital superbugs, such as...

UCB's PAR drug Xyza performs well in trials.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Belgian drugs and chemicals firm UCB says that a recent study of Xyzal (levocetirizine), its once-daily antihistamine, both provided relief for perennial allergic rhinitis and improved the quality of sufferers' lives. The study, which took...

Bad news for Solvay as bifeprunox delayed in EU, cilansetron dropped in USA.
December 5, 2005... Belgian pharmaceutical and chemicals company Solvay saw its share price drop 6.5% to 95.20 euros on November 28, after the company simultaneously announced a delay in the European Union filing of its schizophrenia drug candidate bifeprunox and...

Forest Labs and Richter Gedeon expand CNS accord.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The US subsidiary of leading Hungarian drugmaker Richter Gedeon and Forest Laboratories have entered into two new deals involving two novel mechanisms targeted for the treatment of various central nervous system conditions, thus building on the...

UK Law Lords overturn BGSK vs Synthon appeal ruling, define "novel" in patent law.(SmithKline Beecham PLC)
December 5, 2005... The UK's highest court, the House of Lords, has handed down a unanimous ruling ending a four-year battle between UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline and Synthon of the Netherlands for the patent on GSK's antidepressant Seroxat (paroxetine). The...

French industry rejects govt pharma policy.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... France's pharmaceutical industry body the LEEM has rejected the government's drug sector policy and warned of "negative consequences" from proposals to fund the social security system and health service in 2006 (Marketletters passim). ...

Mixed trial results for Actelion's Tracleer.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Swiss drugmaker Actelion says that, in recent trials of Tracleer (bosentan), the firm's dual endothelin receptor antagonist, in patients suffering from either idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (BUILD-1) or pulmonary fibrosis related to systemic...

GlaxoSmithKline to develop AIDS vaccine.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, a Belgian subsidiary of UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline, focused on the development of new, cost-effective vaccines, says it has entered into a public-private-partnership with French researchers at the Institut...

Bayer's Kogenate gets FDA approval.(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The biological products division of Bayer Healthcare, part of the US subsidiary of the German firm Bayer AG, says that Kogenate FS, its recombinant antihemophilic factor formulated with sucrose, has been approved by the US Food and Drug...

Child-friendly HIV/AIDS drugs call to industry.
December 5, 2005... One reason why half of all children with HIV/AIDS die before the age of two is that pharmaceutical companies are not making child-friendly versions of their anti-AIDS drugs, according to the international aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres....

Australia: Rx/consumer relationships guide.
December 5, 2005... Pharmaceutical industry group Medicines Australia and the Consumers' Health Forum of Australia have published what is thought to be the world's first guide to how drugmakers and health consumer organizations can work together. The guide,...

Spanish courts to hear Lipitor law suits.(Ratiopharm GmbH and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. challenge Pfizer's exclusive rights )
December 5, 2005... Generic drugmakers Ratiopharm of Germany and India's Ranbaxy are taking legal action in Spain to challenge Pfizer's exclusive rights on its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), sold in Spain as Zarator. The Lipitor patent does...

American Pharma to buy shareholder.(American BioScience )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... American Pharmaceutical Partners says it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire its biggest shareholder, privately-held American BioScience (which has a 64% stake in the firm), to create a fully-integrated, publicly-held global...

Japan stock market week to Nov 28.
December 5, 2005... Tokyo saw an extended advance in the week ended November 28 (four trading days because November 23 was a national holiday in Japan). The Nikkei 225 rose 2.1% to close at 14,986.94, its highest level in five years, with consecutive daily...

Sinclair Pharma raises L7.4M in placing.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Sinclair Pharma, a UK specialty pharmaceuticals company, says that it has raised around L7.4 million ($12.7 million) before expenses through a placing for cash of 5,922,565 new ordinary shares of 1 pence each. The new shares, which represent...

ViroPharma Ph II maribavir study enrolled.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... ViroPharma of the USA says that it has completed enrollment in its Phase II clinical study for maribavir, an oral antiviral drug that inhibits cytomegalovirus, in allogeneic bone marrow (stem cell) transplant patients. "CMV infection and...

Pharmaxis starts Bronchitol dose-find study in CF.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Australia's Pharmaxis says that a Phase II clinical trial in patients with cystic fibrosis has dosed its first patients. The study is designed to determine the optimal dose of the mucus clearing agent, Bronchitol (mannitol, dry powder...

Adolor completes enrollment of Ph III Entereg study.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... USA-based Adolor Corp says that it has completed enrollment of study 14CL314. This Phase III trial, comprising approximately 660 patients, is evaluating Entereg (alvimopan) for the management of postoperative ileus by acceleration of the time...

ECoJ SPC Opinion a boost for biopharma.(European Court of Justice)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Pharmaceutical manufacturers could qualify for additional patent protection when they change a product's formulation, if the European Court of Justice concurs with an Opinion given on November 24 by Attorney General Philippe Leger. The...

EU Commission adopts flu pandemic plans.
December 5, 2005... Two plans to help prepare the European Union deal with major cross-border health emergencies and a possible influenza pandemic have been adopted by the European Commission. The first is a Communication to strengthen coordinated preparedness...

Vioxx legal aid refusal: end of UK Rx litigation?(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The failure by claimants in the UK to receive legal aid to be able to pursue claims against Merck & Co for compensation for damages relating to their use of its withdrawn COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx (rofecoxib) could spell the end of litigation...

US CMS warns over Rx plan marketing "tactics".(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says the use of aggressive marketing tactics to enrol beneficiaries into Medicare prescription drug plans seems to be growing. The agency says it has received more than 100 complaints about...

22.3M Americans seek on-line info after DTCs.(direct-to-consumer)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Among the 89.4 million US adults who seek additional information after seeing or hearing direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription medicines, more say that they go on-line for information than dial the 800 number, according to a new...

NYC personal Rx spend "up 230% in 1990-2000".(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Personal health care spending in New York State rose 77% during 1990-2000, from $53.50 billion to $964.76 billion, says an analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data conducted by the NYC Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield...

US Patent Office to OK Pfizer Lipitor patent.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The US Patent and Trademark Office says it will confirm the validity of Pfizer's US patent covering the crystalline form of atorvastatin calcium used as the active ingredient in the blockbuster cholesterol-lowerer Lipitor, the firm has said....

Editor's views on SkyePharma sale; Merck & Co's situation.(Innovata bids)(Editorial)
December 5, 2005... Letter from the Editor Shareholders in the UK-based drug-delivery specialist SkyePharma were jubilant when the company announced that it had received an unsolicited takeover offer, and that it had appointed Lehman Brothers as sole advisor...

Novartis divestment.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Swiss pharmaceutical major Novartis has agreed to sell its Nutrition & Sante business unit to ABN AMRO capital Finance for around 220.0 million euros ($259.3 million) on a cash and debt-free basis. The division being divested holds the...

Valeant to buy Infergen from InterMune.(Valeant Pharmaceuticals International)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Californian firm Valeant Pharmaceuticals says it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the US and Canadian rights to the hepatitis C drug Infergen (interferon alfacon 1) from fellow USA-based company InterMune for a sum of $113.5 million...

Hemispherx and DRDC enter R&D accord.(HemispheRx BioPharma Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Hemispherx Biopharma says they have entered into an agreement with Defence R&D Canada, an agency of the Canadian Department of National Defence, to evaluate the antiviral efficacy of Ampligen and Alferon,which are double-stranded RNA...

Phyopharm's Cogane trial is stopped.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... UK-based drug developer Phytopharm says it has stopped a Phase II proof-of-principle study of Cogane (PYM50028), the firm's orally-active neuroprotective compound, which is being developed as a potential Alzheimer's disease-modifying agent,...

Dendreon and FDA agree protocol change.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Seattle, USA-based biotechnology company Dendreon says it has reached an agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration under the latters Special Protocol Assessment procedure to amend the design of its ongoing Phase III trial of Provenger...

SP's Claritin "clears your head," says study.(Schering-Plough Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... In a study sponsored by Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Claritin (loratidine), the firm's antihistimine, was shown to help allergy sufferers cope with cognitive impairment associated with the condition. The CLEAR study assessed 300...

Inion's spinal implant range cleared in USA.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Tampere, Finland-based Inion, which is focused on the development of novel biodegradable medical implants, has received US Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for its biodegradable anterior cervical fusion system for graft containment...

Roche to commercialize BioCryst's BCX-4208.(Roche Holding Ltd.)(BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Swiss drug major Roche and US firm BioCryst Pharmaceuticals have announced an exclusive license to develop and commercialize the latter's Phase I compound, BCX-4208, for the prevention of acute rejection in transplantation and for the treatment...

American Oriental makes $60M placing.(American Oriental Bioengineering Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Hong Kong-headquartered American Oriental Bioengineering, a Chinese manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, says that it has signed definitive agreements with accredited investors in respect to a...

Depomed/Madaus in European ProQuin XR distribution deal.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Depomed of the USA and Germany-headquartered Madaus have entered into a distribution and supply agreement for ProQuin XR, the US firm's once-daily, extended-release formulation of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. Under the terms of the...

Antares to supply injectables to Teva.(Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.)(Antares Pharma)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... USA-based drug-delivery specialist Antares Pharma has signed a supply agreement with an affiliate of Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries for an injection devices. Under the terms of the deal, the affiliate is obligated to purchase all...

Xantos gets gov development grant.(Xantos Biomedicine GmbH)(Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... German drug discovery firm Xantos Biomedicine AG has been awarded a grant from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology for the expansion of its technology platform. The amount was not disclosed. ...

Avidis licenses aXent to Merial.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... French immunotherapeutics specialist Avidis has signed an agreement in the field of veterinary vaccines with Merial, the world's leading animal health company. The deal gives Merial the right to use Avidis' aXent, an adjuvant-free...

EMEA and FDA: good news for Inhibitex' Veronate.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... US drugmaker Inhibitex recently saw two positive regulatory developments related to its lead drug candidate, Veronate, a polyclonal vaccine for the prevention of hospital-associated infections in very low birth-weight infants. According to...

Seattle Genetics initiates Ph I/II trial of SGN-40.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Seattle Genetics has initiated a Phase I/II clinical trial of SGN-40 in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, its third clinical indication for the humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the CD40 antigen. In addition, the US Food...