Tag: biotechnology
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Genomics Therapy Company Secures $60M Venture Financing
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc., in Watertown, Massachusetts, closed its third round of venture financing after start-up with $60 million in additional capital from new and current investors. Dicerna is a six year-old biotechnology company developing therapies harnessing genomic material to silence genes causing diseases. Dicerna’s technology is based on ribonucleic acid or RNA interference (RNAi), a…
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Biotech Gets Small Business Funds for Universal Flu Vaccine
TechnoVax Inc., a biotechnology company in Tarrytown, New York, received a grant from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of National Institutes of Health, to develop a vaccine that protects against a wide assortment of flu strains. The initial award of $300,000, made under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program at NIH,…
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NIH Funds Three New Neurologic Drug Discovery Projects
National Institutes of Health is funding three new neurological drug research initiatives to address Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction, and age-related macular degeneration. Awards for the three projects, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), total nearly $446,000. The three studies are funded under the Neurotherapeutics Network, part of the NIH Blueprint…
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FibroGen, AstraZeneca Partner on Kidney-Based Anemia Therapy
The global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is licensing a therapy for anemia caused by kidney disease made by FibroGen, a biotechnology company in San Francisco. The deal is valued initially at $815 million, and covers the U.S., China, and other markets not covered by an earlier FibroGen license to Astellas Pharma for commercialization in Europe, Japan,…
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TB Diagnostics Developer Gains $1.5M in Early Financing
TB Biosciences, a biotechnology company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania developing genomics-based diagnostics for tuberculosis, received $1.5 million in its first fund-raising round after initial start-up. The financing was led by Bethlehem venture capital company Originate Ventures, joined by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the NYU Innovation Venture Fund. Tuberculosis, or TB, is a…
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Early Trial Shows Safety, Action of RNA Scar Treatment
RXi Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company in Westborough, Massacusetts reports an early-stage clinical trial of its treatment for skin scarring shows the therapy is safe and generates the desired chemical response in the body. The trial is testing RXI-109, the company’s therapy based on RNA to treat hypertrophic scarring and keloids associated with skin trauma. RXi’s…
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Stem Cell Developer-Supplier Issues Initial Public Offering
Cellular Dynamics International in Madison, Wisconsin, a developer and supplier of human stem cells in bulk quantities, filed an initial public offering (IPO) of its stock with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is issuing some 3.85 million shares, which it expects to price at $12.00 to $14.00 a share, giving it an…
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Cancer Research UK, Biotech Partner on Drug Discovery
Forma Therapeutics in Watertown, Massachusetts and Cancer Research Technology Ltd. in London are collaborating on finding drug candidates that target the regulators of protein levels in cells, a key factor in a number of diseases, including cancer. Cancer Research Technology is the for-profit commercialization subsidiary of the foundation Cancer Research UK. Financial amounts to be…
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Early Trial Results Show Venous Leg Ulcer Drug Efficacy
The biotechnology company Pergamum AB in Solna, Sweden reports an early-stage clinical trial shows its drug to treat venous leg ulcers improved healing among patients taking the drug compared to a placebo. The trial also showed the drug, code-named LL-37, was well-tolerated at lower doses. Venous leg ulcers are shallow wounds appearing on the skin…
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Biotech, Cancer Center Partner on Tumor-Targeting Peptides
Blaze Bioscience, a biotechnology company in Seattle, is partnering with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, also in Seattle, to develop and commercialize drug candidates based on engineered peptides that better target tumor cells than conventional cancer drugs. Financial amounts in the agreement were not disclosed. The Hutchinson Center is conducting research on optides —…