-
VC Mergers/Acquisitions Rebound, IPOs Drop in Q3 2010
The number and value of U.S. disclosed venture capital (VC) exit deals in the third quarter of 2010 showed a mixed pattern compared to the second quarter of 2010, with more mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of VC-backed properties, but somewhat fewer initial public offerings (IPOs) of company stock. Exit deals — either M&As or IPOs…
-
Panel: Make Cigarettes Non-Addictive
The passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009 gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products, and a panel of eight health policy experts recommends that FDA use that authority to mandate the reduction of nicotine levels in cigarettes to non-addictive levels. The panel published…
-
Trial Shows No Difference in Drugs for Macular Degeneration
Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System in Jamaica Plain, Massacusetts have conducted a study that failed to show a difference in efficacy between the existing commercial drugs bevacizumab (Avastin) and ranibizumab (Lucentis) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study, which appears in the…
-
Security Systems Developer Lands IED Detection Contract
American Science and Engineering Inc. in Billerica, Massachusetts (AS&E) says it received a multimillion dollar contract for its “Z Backscatter” system from a U.S. government agency for remote improvised explosive (IED) device detection and defeat. The company did not name the agency or the amount of the contract. The company says the system will use…
-
NSF Funding Innovation Research, Collaboration, Training
National Science Foundation (NSF) has begun a new funding program, Accelerating Innovation Research, with two related activities to help accelerate the translation of new knowledge from research into products with market value. The activities aim to spur translation of fundamental research, to encourage collaboration between academia and industry, and to train students who understand innovation…
-
Energy Department to Fund Nanolubricant Plant
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has awarded NanoMech Inc. of Springdale, Arkansas a grant for $1 million to develop and test a pilot-scale production facility for manufacturing of NanoGlide, the company’s lubricant additives engineered at nano scale. The DoE grant is a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award that follows an earlier…
-
Small Business Grant Awarded for Oral Hygiene Drug
PolyMedix Inc., a biotechnology company in Radnor, Pennsylvania received a $986,000 Phase 2 small business grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant supports development of antimicrobial compounds for the treatment of oral candidiasis, a yeast infection affecting the lining of the mouth or tongue, through 31 August 2012. Under the first portion of…
-
Trial Shows Genital Herpes Vaccine Ineffective for Women
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, reports that an experimental vaccine to prevent genital herpes disease in women, proved ineffective when tested in a recently concluded clinical trial. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biologicals, based in Belgium, developed the vaccine it calls Simplirix. GSK announced today…
-
NIST Develops Standard Cigarette for Fire Safety Testing
Makers of home furnishings need to test their products for fire resistance, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland has come up with a tool to help: a cigarette. A responsibility of NIST, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is development of standard reference materials (SRMs) for industrial…
-
Sanofi-aventis, Covance to Partner on Drug Development
Covance Inc., a drug development services company in Princeton, New Jersey, announced today an agreement with French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-aventis to provide drug development services to Sanofi-aventis over the next 10 years, with payments ranging from $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion. As part of the agreement, Sanofi-aventis will sell its Porcheville, France and Alnwick, United…