Pharma Marketletter articles from January 2006

Pharma Marketletter archives from January 2006

AstraZeneca enters up to $1B licensing deal with AtheroGenics for AGI-1067.
January 9, 2006... Europe's third-largest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, has entered into a licensing agreement worth up to $1.0 billion with US firm AtheroGenics for the global development and commercialization rights to the latter's inflammatory cardiovascular product...

AstraZeneca bids $210M for KuDOS Pharma.(KUDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... UK drugs giant AstraZeneca says it has reached an agreement to acquire KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held British biotechnology firm focused on the discovery and development of oncology therapies based on the inhibition of DNA repair. ...

Spain to invest E105M in drug-use campaign.
January 9, 2006... As it scrambles to cut a rising prescriptions bill, Spain's Health Ministry has announced it will spend 105.0 million euros ($125.9 million) to educate health professionals on rationalizing drug use. The Ministry, led by Elena Salgado, will...

Czech Minister seeks health consensus.
January 9, 2006... Czech Health Minister David Rath has said he is keen to achieve a political consensus on the future of the country's health service. A commission has been set up led by Petr Fiala, a doctor and economist, to advise on strategy. The commission...

Spanish drug prices.(National Statistics Institute)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Spain's National Statistics Institute reports that the consumer price of pharmaceuticals in the country in November 2005 was unchanged compared with October and 3.4% higher than in the like month of 2005. In comparison, the monthly and annual...

Texas AG says Canadian Rx-buying is illegal.(Texas's Attorney General Greg Abbott )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... New legislation in the US state of Texas which seeks to allow state residents to purchase their prescription medicines from Canada is illegal, according to the state's Attorney General, Greg Abbott. The state legislature approved the...

Pharma price "scam has cost Missouri $19M+".
January 9, 2006... A scheme by several pharmaceutical companies to inflate the reimbursement for Medicaid-covered prescriptions has cost the US state of Missouri at least $19.0 million since 1994, says state Attorney General Jay Nixon, who has filed law suits...

US Internet study "good news for enforcement".(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... A US study of web sites selling controlled prescription medications has found that a number of sites which are illicit have been in operation for more than a year and are being operated from within the USA. This discovery suggests that law...

US priority review for Pfizer's varenicline.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... World leading drugmaker Pfizer has been granted a US Food and Drug Administration six-month priority review for the New Drug Application on its smoking-cessation medicine, varenicline tartrate, which the company intends to market under the...

New indications in Japan for S-P drugs.(Schering-Plough Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... In Japan, Schering-Plough has received marketing approval for an additional indication for Peg-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b powder for injection) in combination with Rebetol (ribavirin) - for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in adult...

Update: Bayer gets first, US, approval for Nexavar.(Bayer HealthCare AG)
January 9, 2006... In a move that puts it ahead in the race to get new oncology drugs onto the US market, Germany's Bayer Healthcare has received the first marketing approval for its advanced renal cell cancer drug Nexavar (sorafenib, co-developed with US firm...

B-MS's muraglitazer rights returned.(Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.)(Merck and Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US drug majors Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck & Co have reached a mutually-acceptable termination agreement, with all rights to muraglitazar, an investigational oral drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, returning to the former as of...

PharmaMar reports progress for Yondelis in soft tissue sarcoma.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Spain's PharmaMar says that the independent data monitoring committee for the pivotal trial of Yondelis (trabectedin) in soft tissue sarcoma has reviewed data from a pre-planned interim analysis of the primary end-point, time-to-progression,...

Affymetrix and Applied Bio in deal.(Applied Biosystems Group)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US firms Affymetrix and Applied Biosystems Group, an Applera Corp business, have announced that Applera has taken a non-exclusive, worldwide license to a number of Affymetrix patents related to the manufacture, sale and use of microarrays for...

BioTime in sublicense deal for Japan.(Maruishi Pharmaceutical)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... California, USA-based BioTime says that it has entered into an addendum to its agreement with Summit Pharmaceuticals International to develop Hextend (high molecular weight hydroxethyl starch) and PentaLyte (pentastarch-based synthetic plasma)...

Use of stem cells from hair follicles.(AntiCancer Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Researchers led by a team at AntiCancer in San Diego, USA, have found that stem cells from hair follicles of mice can be used to rejoin severed nerves in mouse models. Easily accessible hair follicle stem cells, which normally function to form...

Inhibitex presents Ph II Aurexis trial data.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... USA-based biopharmaceutical firm Inhibitex has presented data from a pivotal Phase II trial of its antibody-based drug Aurexis at the 45th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, held in Washington DC. The study...

Elusys presents preclinical trial data for MRSA drug.(EluSys Therapeutics Inc.)(methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... In an address to the American Society of Microbiology's annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, in Washington DC, USA-headquartered drugmaker Elusys, a specialist developer of anti-infective antibody-based...

ActivBiotics updates product pipeline at ICAAC.(Interscience Conference on Anitmicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Massachusettes, USA-based ActivBiotics' lead product candidate rifalazil, and several of its development pipeline rifamycin-based compounds, were the subject of 11 presentations at the Interscience Conference on Anitmicrobial Agents and...

Sangamo's ZFN shows efficacy in preclinical HIV study.(Sangamo BioSciences Inc.)(zinc finger DNA binding nucleases)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Sangamo Biosciences, a gene-based therapeutics development firm headquartered in California, USA, say that data from a recent study show that mammalian cells can be made resistant to HIV infection by treatment with the company's proprietary...

Ceragenix' antimicrobial coating proves effective.(Ceragenix Pharmaceutical)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Denver USA-based Ceragenix Pharmaceutical says that in vitro data from studies of its novel antimicrobial device coating, Ceracide, shows the drug was highly effective, when challenged in separate experiments by Staphylococcus aureus and...

Basilsea reports positive data from ceftobiprole trials.(Basilea Pharmaceutica)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Switzerland-based Basilea Pharmaceutica says that its broad-spectrum antibiotic ceftobiprole, which it is developing in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, has potent activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The...

Tibotec's HIV drug TMC125 effective in Ph IIb trials.(Tibotec Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... In a presentation to the recent Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, held in Washington DC, USA, Ireland-based Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, reported the results with TMC125, a...

MedImmune completes recruitment in Ph III Numax vs Synagis trial.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... USA-based drugmaker MedImmune has completed enrolling approximately 6,600 infants at high risk of respiratory syncytial virus in a pivotal Phase III study comparing the safety and efficacy of its investigational humanized monoclonal antibody...

EntreMed acquires Miikana for $39.2M.(Miikana Therapeutics Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... EntreMed, a US clinical-stage drugmaker focused on cancer and inflammatory diseases, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Fremont, California-based privately-held oncology specialist Miikana...

Nevada AG: Canada Rx imports "unworkable".(Nevada's attorneys general George Chanos)
January 9, 2006... George Chanos, Attorney General of the US state of Nevada, says that state legislation bans the import of prescription drugs from Canada unless they have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Following a request from Larry...

DC drug price controls unconstitutional: court.(District of Columbia)
January 9, 2006... A US District Court judge has struck down a state law passed last year which would have enabled the District of Columbia to seek a compulsory license so that the city of Washington's Department of Health could give a patent to a generics maker,...

Non-approvable letter for Valeant's Cesamet labeling.
January 9, 2006... Valeant Pharmaceuticals International says that it has received a non-approvable letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for the company's application requesting labeling changes to its previously-approved cannabinoid drug Cesamet...

Pharming completes GRAS filing for hLF.(Pharming Group N.V.)(Generally Recognized as Safe)(human lactoferrin)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Netherlands-based biotechology company Pharming NV says that it has completed its human lactoferrin (hLF) filing for a Generally Recognized as Safe notification with the US Food and Drug Administration. Pharming has notified the FDA that...

AstraZeneca in deal with Targacept worth up to $300M.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... In what was a busy period for UK drug major AstraZeneca, in late December 2005 the firm signed an exclusive global licensing and research collaboration with Targacept for the development and commercialization of the latter's Phase II compound...

NitroMed and Boston Sci complete R&D deal.(Boston Scientific Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US firm NitroMed has said that its research program with Boston Scientific, under which the former's nitric oxide-enhancing technology was being studied in connection with restenosis in balloon angioplasty, was concluded on December 31, 2005....

Keryx starts Ph II study of KRX-0401 in MM.(Keryx Biopharmaceutical Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... New York, USA-based Keryx Biopharmaceuticals has announced the initiation of a corporate-sponsored clinical program to evaluate KRX-0401 (perifosine) as a treatment for multiple myeloma. This follows positive preclinical data presented last...

Laureate sells NJ unit to Discovery Labs for $16M.(Laureate Pharma L.P.)(Discovery Laboratories Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US firm Laureate Pharma, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Safeguard Scientifics, says that it has completed the previously-announced sale of its Totowa, New Jersey, operations to Discovery Laboratories for $16.0 million in cash. Laureate, a...

Genta completes EMEA filing for Genasense plus chemo.(European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Genta Inc of the USA says it has completed a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) that seeks approval of Genasense (oblimersen concentrate for solution for injection) in combination with chemotherapy for...

Amylin buys plant to make Byetta LAR.(Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(lab analysis report)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US firm Amylin Pharmaceuticals has purchased an existing 150,000 square foot building and 26 acres of land in West Chester, Ohio. This acquisition completes previously-announced facility expansion plans for the eventual commercial manufacturing...

FDA's NDAC to consider OTC use of tetrahydrolipstatin.(Food and Drug Administration)(Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee)(over the counter drugs)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a notice in the Federal Register announcing that its Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee will meet jointly with its Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee January 23 for the...

Apotex gets final OK for zonisamide capsules.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Canada's Apotex Corp says that it has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for zonisamide capsules in 25mg, 50mg and 100mg strengths. Shipments of the product commenced...

IDM sells non-core assets to Pharmexa for $12M.(IDM Pharma Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... San Diego, USA-based IDM Pharma says it has completed the sale of specific assets related to its infectious disease programs and certain other assets to Pharmexa A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark, for $12.0 million in cash. IDM will now focus its...

Germany approves switch of a triptan.(naratriptan hydrochloride)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Government officials in Germany have recently approved the prescription-to-non-prescription switch of naratriptan hydrochloride (2.5mg tablets) for the relief of migraine symptoms. Naratriptan will be available in Germany beginning April 1,...

Vivitrol gains FDA approvable letter.(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... USA-based pharmaceutical firms Alkermes and Cephalon say that the Food and Drug Administration has issued an approvable letter for Vivitrol (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension), its alcohol dependence medication. The...

Novavax receives L8.0M license payment.(Esprit Pharma)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Novavax, a Pennsylvania, USA-based product development firm, says it has received a second cash payment to the value of $8.0 million in accordance with its license agreement with fellow US group Esprit Pharma. The deal, which was recently...

Roche grants first Indian Tamiflu production license.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Global drugmaker Roche says that it has granted Indian firm Hetero Drugs a sub-license for the production of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), as part of its continued efforts to increase the availability of the medication in preparation for the predicted...

Cubist's HepeX-B: strong Ph II data.(Cubist Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Israeli drugmaker XTL Biopharmaceuticals says that the USA's Cubist Pharmaceuticals has released strong data from a recently-concluded Phase II study of its canddiate treatment for hepatitis B virus, HepeX-B, which it licensed to Cubist in...

Progenics/Wyeth sign accord on MNTX.(Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Wyeth Pharmaceuticals)(methylnaltrexone)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and fellow US firm Progenics have entered into an exclusive, worldwide agreement for the joint development and commercialization of methylnaltrexone for the treatment of opioid-induced side effects, including constipation...

Pharming completes rhC1INH compassionate-use filings.(Pharming Group N.V.)(recombinant human C1 inhibitor)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Netherlands-based biotechnology firm Pharming NV has completed a dossier on its recombinant human C1 inhibitor (rhC1INH) for compassionate use filings to treat hereditary angioedema. Compassionate-use filings are intended to ensure...

Shire submits UC NDA on Mesavance.(New Drug Application)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... UK drugmaker Shire says it has submitted a New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration for Mesavance (SPD476), an investigational compound being studied for the induction of clinical and endoscopic remission in patients with...

Oscient's Ramoplanin: effective in vitro.(Oscient Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... USA-based Oscient Pharmaceuticals says that its lead product candidate, Ramoplanin, a novel glycolipodepsipeptide antibiotic under development for the treatment of severe Clostridium difficile-associated disease, demonstrated high in vitro...

FDA accepts Dacogen NDA as complete response.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... MGI PHARMA and fellow US drugmaker SuperGen say that the Food and Drug Administration have accepted their application for Dacogen (decitabine) injection as a treatment for myelodysplastic syndromes as a complete response to the approvable...

Japanese and Indian M&As feature in 2005 pharma/biotech deals.
January 9, 2006... 2005 saw an increase in global merger and acquisition activity, with the value of worldwide, all-industry deals reaching a $2,900.0 billion high, up 38% on 2004. The biggest of all was Procter & Gamble's takeover of Gillette for $60.8 billion,...

Round-up of pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions during 2001.
January 9, 2006... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company Partner Deal value($) Completed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abraxis...

Quetiapine efficacy equal to risperidone.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... A new study published in the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience (January 4) demonstrates that quetiapine (AstraZeneca's Seroquel) and risperidone (Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal) have equivalent efficacy in the treatment...

RotaTeq prevents 98% of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... RotaTeq (oral, rotavirus vaccine, live, pentavalent (G1, G2, G3, G4 and P1[8]), Sanofi Pasteur MSD's rotavirus vaccine in development, prevented 98% of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis and 74% of RG of any severity due to the rotavirus...

Wyeth pact with Trubion worth up to $800M.(Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Drug major Wyeth has entered a strategic alliance with closely-held fellow USA-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel biopharmaceutical agents for the treatment of inflammatory disease and...

J&J's Scios reports new Natrecor deaths.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Scios has submitted an interim report to the US Food & Drug Administration, and other relevant international regulatory authorities, on an ongoing expanded analysis of a three-year-old exploratory health outcomes...

Japan stock market 3 weeks to Jan 2, 2006.
January 9, 2006... Tokyo saw further gains in the three-week extended, holiday-spattered reporting period to January 2 (the last day was a national holiday in Japan). The Nikkei 225 advanced 2.4% to close the year 2005 at above the 16,000 mark. After hitting this...

Amarin and Multicell sign MS drug R&D accord.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... UK-based biotechnology firm Amarin says that it has completed a $275.0 million licensing deal with US group Multicell which grants the latter worldwide rights to LAX-202, its drug for the treatment of fatigue in patients suffering from multiple...

Innovata agrees Adept licensing deal.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Nottingham, UK-based pharmaceutical development company Innovata says it has granted US firm Baxter International a global license for Adept (icodextrin 4%), its adhesion reduction solution for use in abdominal, obstetric and gynecologic...

Par to sell product to Teva and IVAX.(Par Pharmaceutical Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US drugmaker Par Pharmaceutical says it has signed agreements with USA-based firm IVAX and the Israeli company Teva, and its US subsidiary, to buy outright several products that are currently marketed in the USA by the latter two firms. Par...

Idenix and Novartis submit hep B drug to FDA.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... USA-based pharmaceutical firm Idenix and Swiss group Novartis say they have submitted a New Drug Application to the Food and Drug Administration seeking marketing approval for telbivudine, specifically at the 600mg dosage, for the treatment of...

Schering AG's osteoperosis patch gets US go ahead.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... German firm Schering AG says that it has gained US Food and Drug Administration approval for its hormone therapy patch Climara Pro (estradiol/levonorgestrel transdermal system), for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoperosis. The product was...

Nutra Pharma discovers new MS gene.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Chinese biotechnology holding company Nutra Pharma, which owns intellectual property rights relating to the development of drugs for HIV and multiple sclerosis, says that it has identified a new gene involved in the progression of MS. The firm...

Aspreva and Roche's CellCept gains orphan status.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Canadian drugmaker Aspreva and Swiss pharmaceutical major Roche say that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug designation to CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil), for the treatment of myathenia gravis. The drug, which is...

PDL signs humanized AB development deal with Merck & Co.
January 9, 2006... California, USA-based Protein Design Labs, a specialist developer of novel therapies for inflammation and autoimmune diseases, acute cardiac conditions and cancer, says that it has entered into an agreement with Merck & Co which grants the...

Epigenomics to solely develop prostate test.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Epigenomics AG, a German molecular diagnostics company developing tests based on DNA methylation, says it has completed a 605-patient study validating three of its proprietary methylation markers as clinically-useful indicators of prostate...

B-MS completes Orencia sBLA.(Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb has completed the submission of a supplemental Biologics License Application to the US Food and Drug Administration for the licensure of a third-party manufacturing facility to support increased production...

FDA accepts IND, fast-tracks Sativex to Ph III.(investigational new drug)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... The UK's GW Pharmaceuticals says that the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted its Investigational New Drug Application for Sativex, a cannabis-derived, oro-mucosal spray composed primarily of tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, for...

Cephalon's CEP-701 sees good Ph II data.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US drugmaker Cephalon says that laboratory findings with patient blood samples demonstrate that its anticancer compound CEP-701 (lestaurtinib) inhibits a specific genetic mutation which is predictive of a positive clinical response, according...

New year brings new Medicare regime.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... The new year brings both opportunity and uncertainties for the US pharmceuticals market in 2006, with the entry into effect of the Medicare Modernization Act on January 1. Many patients will find that existing drugs will be reimbursed for the...

Flu awareness campaign launch catches a cold.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... The launch of a US pharmaceutical industry publicity campaign to address growing public concerns about flu was slightly marred by the failure of the campaign's organiser to update the website being promoted in a nationwide advertising campaign....

Patents and innovation.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... The future of patents and their importance to innovation is the theme of Miles White's new year message ("Drug Patents are Good for our Health", www.phrma.org). The chairman and chief executive officer of Abbott Laboratories reports on a deal...

Medical journal accuses four pharmaceuticals of "nonspecific" disclosure of drug trials.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Four major pharmaceutical companies are accused of witholding the names of drugs undergoing clinical tests, whilst others are failing to report the details of outcomes of trials, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. This...

Stock Commentary - Europe - week to Jan 9.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... EUROPE: bourses were nearly all significantly higher in the three-week, holiday-shortened reporting period to January 2, with ZURICH and London stock markets closed on the last day. On the Swiss market, the big story was Berna Biotech, which...

Stock Commentary - New York week to Jan 9.
January 9, 2006... NEW YORK: equities started the three-week reporting period to January 2 in positive mode, on dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve Bank, then drifted around to end in negative territory, with the Dow Jones a slight 0.3% lower overall. Bond...

Forest/Cypress to start third Ph III milnacipran trial.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US firms Forest Laboratories and Cypress Bioscience have said they will initiate a third randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pivotal Phase III study evaluating milnacipran as a treatment for fibromyalgia (FMS) in the first quarter of...

AstraZeneca pays $5M milestone to Avanir.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... San Diego, USA-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals says that a Phase I study has been initiated in partnership with AstraZeneca to evaluate the human safety of AZD2479, a compound under development as a reverse cholesterol transport enhancer. The...

Gloster's Sterinis achieves success.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... In the space of a year, Gloster Sante Europe, a French specialist in medical and disinfection technology, says it has doubled the size of its international distribution network, and that the company is currently seeking new distributors in...

Avidex invests in Syngenta.
January 9, 2006... Oxford, UK-based biopharmaceutical company Avidex says that Syngenta AG of Switzerland has made an investment of L5.0 million ($8.7 million) in the firm in exchange for a minority equity stake. Also, it announced that Ian Kimber of Syngenta has...

Biopure to market Hemopure in SA with new agent.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Massachusetts, USA-based pharmaceutical company Biopure says it has complied with new import regulations and shipped product to South Africa to support the initiation of marketing and sales of its drug Hemopure (hemoglobin glutamer - 250...

Qiagen and Eppendorf form product development alliance.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Dutch pharmaceutical holding company Qiagen NV and German research tool supplier Eppendorf say they have formed a strategic alliance to co-develop and market complementary and optimized products. The partnership is intended to link leading...

pSivida signs series of technology evaluation deals.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Australian biotechnology firm pSivida, a specialist developer of nanotechnology-based drug delivery platforms, says that its subsidiary pSivida Inc has signed evaluation agreements with several large pharmaceutical firms which allow the...

Axonyx licenses AD drug to Daewoong.(alzeimer's disease)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... USA-based biopharmaceutical company Axonyx says that it has granted an exclusive license for its developmental Alzeimer's disease drug phenserine to South Korean firm Daewoong Pharmaceutical. The deal is part of Axonyx' ongoing strategy to...

Tercica launches Increlex in USA.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US drugmaker Tercica has launched its growth failure treatment Increlex (mecasermin (rDNA origin) injection), the only recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 replacement therapy indicated for the long-term treatment of growth failure in...

Exelixis to receive up to $157M in Wyeth FXR deal.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US biotechnology firm Exelixis has signed a license agreement with drug major Wyeth related to compounds targeting the farnesoid X receptor, a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in a variety of metabolic and liver disorders. Under the...

Wyeth submits NDA on desvenlafaxine.(Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories Div. )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... US drug major Wyeth has submitted a New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration for its drug candidate desvenlafaxine extended release (DVS-233) for the treatment of major depressive disorder. According to the New...