Tag: pharmaceuticals
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Analysis Uncovers Biotech Commercialization Bottlenecks
21 August 2014. The path from scientific discovery in an academic lab to the marketplace is rarely a straightforward process, with researchers and entrepreneurs often facing detours and delays keeping new biomedical technologies in limbo for years at a time. Those are the conclusions of faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology’s business school that studied…
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Medications, Phone Calls Boost Smoking Cessation Rates
20 August 2014. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston found a combination of free medications and repeated automated telephone calls sharply cuts smoking rates among discharged patients, compared to patients receiving the standard counseling before leaving the hospital. The findings of the team led by Nancy Rigotti, director of Mass. General’s Tobacco Research and…
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Novartis Acquires Stake in Stem Cell Therapy Company
19 August 2014. Gamida Cell, a developer of therapies from umbilical cord stem cells, says the global pharmaceutical company Novartis is buying a 15 percent interest in the company, with an option to acquire the entire company later. The deal brings Gamida Cell, located in Jerusalem, Israel, $35 million immediately, with a total potential return…
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Biotech, Institutes Discover Target for Multiple Tumors
14 August 2014. Researchers in the U.S. and Australia identified an enzyme found in a range of cancerous tumor cells, but not normal adult tissue, and tested an engineered antibody to fight that enzyme in tumors. The team from the biotechnology company KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. in South San Francisco, California, and Monash University and Ludwig…
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Middle, Inner Ear Drug Developer Raises $100M in IPO
13 August 2014. Otonomy Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in San Diego developing treatments for disorders of the middle and inner ear, raised $100 million in its initial public offering of stock. The company, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol OTIC, priced its 6.25 million shares at $16.00. Otonomy was founded in 2008 by physicians…
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23andMe, Pfizer Partner on Bowel Disease Genetics
12 August 2014. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer and personal genetics company 23andMe in Mountain View, California are researching genetic factors associated with inflammatory bowel disease, for which Pfizer is testing several treatments. Financial aspects of the collaboration were not disclosed. Inflammatory bowel disease is the name given to disorders of the digestive tract, such as…
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Licensing Deal Combines Genomics, Placenta Stem Cells
11 August 2014. A new licensing agreement will make available research by Celgene Cellular Therapeutics on stem cells from the placenta to Human Longevity Inc., a company specializing in genomics for age-related disorders. Financial aspects of the agreement were not disclosed, but as part of the deal, Celgene is expected to make an equity investment…
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Trial Shows Stem Cell Treatment Feasibility for Stroke
8 August 2014. An early-stage clinical trial shows treating stroke patients with their own bone-marrow stem cells is safe and feasible, and provides evidence of improving cognitive and motor functions. The study conducted by Imperial College London and affiliated hospitals in the U.K. appears today in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine (registration required). The…
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Immunotherapy Start-Up Adds $134M in Venture Funding
5 August 2014. Juno Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in Seattle developing cancer treatments that harness the human immune system, secured $134 million in its second round of venture financing. The company, a spin-off enterprise from research labs in Seattle and New York, says the new round was provided by 10 public mutual funds and health…
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Roche Acquiring RNA Medications Biotech Company
5 August 2014. The pharmaceutical company Roche is acquiring Santaris Pharma, a biotechnology company developing therapies targeting ribonucleic acid or RNA that performs vital genetic functions. Roche is expected to pay as much as $450 million for Santaris, based in Hørsholm, Denmark. Santaris designs therapies focusing on RNA, a fundamental molecular building block in the…