Array BioPharma Inc., a biotech known for its drug discovery engine, is expanding its capabilities, starting its first Phase III clinical trial for MEK 162. (See BioWorld Today, May 8, 2013.)
A report from real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle in March lists San Diego as the number two biotechnology cluster in the U.S. Like any list, the ranking is debatable, especially by people in the San Francisco Bay Area who came in third. But whether the region is ranked first, second, or third, it's pretty clear San Diego and the rest of Southern California is an important region for the biotech industry.
In the current fiscal environment, everything in the U.S. budget is open to scrutiny. Fortunately for the biodefense industry, protecting the nation from bioterrorism tends to have bipartisan support, especially when potential threats get extensive news coverage.
According to data from Deloitte Recap LLC, cancer drugs are the most popular compounds to partner, making up 33 percent of all deals in 2012. The popularity has increased from the five years prior to that when oncology drugs made up 24 percent of the licensing deals. In the first quarter of 2013, the fraction held steady at one third of all deals.
Resverlogix Corp. announced last week that it's spinning out its epigenetics platform into RVX Therapeutics Inc., leaving its ApoA-I stimulating drug candidate, RVX-208, with the parent company.
Did all the venture capitalists get washed out to sea by Superstorm Sandy? Maybe they all followed in Benedict's footsteps and resigned? Because they sure weren't doing very many deals in the first quarter.
According to data from Deloitte Recap LLC, there were 11 deals terminated in the first quarter of 2013, a number that is on pace to blow through the 30 terminated deals last year and the 31 terminations the year before.
Galena Biopharma Inc. has a bit of a wait ahead of it. The biotech initiated a Phase III trial testing NeuVax (nelipepimut-S) as an adjuvant breast cancer treatment at the beginning of 2012.
Successfully developing drugs is the ultimate goal of pharmaceutical companies, but the downside is that the pipeline requires constant replenishing. The early stage drought was made worse by the merger of large pharmaceutical companies; as the pipelines came together, the later-stage compound usually got priority when there was redundancy.
Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently launched Nexafed, its version of pseudoephedrine that uses the biotech's abuse-deterrent technology to help disrupt the drug's conversion to methamphetamine. Acura is focusing its marketing message for the over-the-counter decongestant on pharmacists.
