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Gilead Sciences to Acquire Biotech Pharmasset for $11B
Pharmaceutical maker Gilead Sciences in Foster City, California says it will acquire the biotechnology company Pharmasset Inc. in Princeton, New Jersey, with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter of 2012. In the deal, Gilead will pay $137 per share, for a total value of about $11 billion. Pharmasset is a clinical-stage company…
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FDA Approves Age-Related Macular Degeneration Drug
The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Eylea (aflibercept) to treat patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), also known as “wet” AMD. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Tarrytown, New York developed Eylea, in partnership with Bayer HealthCare in Germany. Wet AMD is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in Americans ages 60…
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Harvard Entrepreneur Center Opens
Harvard University officially opened its Innovation Lab today, a center on a satellite campus across the Charles River in Boston, to encourage entrepreneurial activities by students and faculty. The i-Lab, as its called, aims to bring together entrepreneurs from the local community, as well as encourage innovation across Harvard’s schools and academic disciplines. The i-Lab,…
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Aetna, Harvard Medical to Partner on Bioinformatics Research
The insurance company Aetna Inc. in Hartford, Connecticut and Harvard Medical School in Boston have agreed to find new ways to analyze health care data to further clinical research and improve the quality and affordability of health care. The research will be conducted by the Center for Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School and Aetna…
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Fatigue, Poor Sleep Linked to EMS Safety, Work Quality
Fatigue and poor sleep affect many emergency medical services (EMS) workers, which appear linked to higher rates of injuries and medical errors, according to a study by researchers at University of Pittsburgh. The findings, with contributions from colleagues at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina and National Center for Human Factors Engineering in Healthcare…
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Industry, Academic Team Creates Ultralight Material
Researchers at HRL Laboratories LLC in Malibu California, with colleagues from California Institute of Technology and the University of California at Irvine, have developed an ultralight material with a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimeter (mg/cc). The substance, about 100 times lighter than Styrofoam packing material, is described in the November 18 issue of…
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Study Outlines Regulatory Issues for Natural Gas Fracking
A new report by researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina outlines health and environmental measures for lawmakers in that state to consider as they debate the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. The study has been accepted for publication in the spring 2012 issue of the journal Duke Environmental…
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Personalized Health Informatics Technology in Development
A team of European and Israeli researchers is developing technology for real-time, personalized health monitoring that can minimize the number of follow-up visits patients need to make to health care providers. The EU has granted about €6 million ($US8.1 million) over four years to fund the project. The MOBIGUIDE project will involve researchers from five…
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Diagnostics Developer Secures $100M Series C Financing
Biocartis, a diagnostic systems company in Lausanne, Switzerland says it completed raising €71 million (US$100 million) in series C equity funds, led by the company’s senior management and backed by current and new investors, as well as industrial collaborators. Series C financing is the third round of equity funding after start-up. Biocartis develops compact molecular…
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Scripps, Biotech to Partner on Feline Virus Research
CytoDyn Inc., a biotechnology company in Lutz, Florida, has agreed to support research by Spripps Research Institute scientist John Elder on the company’s treatment for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Elder is a professor in Scripps’s Department of Immunology and Microbial Science in La Jolla, California. Under the agreement CytoDyn’s subsidiary, CytoDyn Veterinary Medicine LLC will…