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Advanced Life Sciences prices securities offering

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced that it has established the pricing terms of its proposed offering of units.

1 Jul 2010

Watson commences shipment of generic Exelon

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that, under a settlement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novartis Pharma AG, Novartis AG, Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd., and Proterra AG (collectively "Novartis"), Watson has commenced shipment of a generic version of Exelon® (rivastigmine tartrate) 1.5mg, 3mg, 4.5mg and 6mg capsules. Exelon® is used to treat dementia in people with Alzheimer's disease.

1 Jul 2010

ThromboGenics to present microplasmin Phase III trial data at 28th ASRS and 10th EURETINA Congress

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for eye disease, announces that data from the second Phase III trial of microplasmin (TG-MV-007) for the non-surgical treatment of vitreomacular adhesion (VMA), are to be presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and the 10th EURETINA Congress.

1 Jul 2010

Aptuit to acquire GSK's research business in Verona

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Aptuit, Inc. announced today that they have finalized an agreement for Aptuit to acquire operations at GSK's Medicines Research Centre in Verona, Italy. The arrangement, which is effective as of July 1, 2010, provides for ongoing employment of the staff at the centre and for Aptuit to supply GSK with R&D services from the facilities. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

1 Jul 2010

Euthymics and DOV sign merger agreement

Euthymics Bioscience, Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation, and DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc., a Delaware corporation currently traded on the Pink Sheets, today jointly announced that they have signed a merger agreement in connection with the pending merger and acquisition of DOV by Euthymics.

1 Jul 2010

FDA grants Cyclacel's sapacitabine orphan drug designation for AML and MDS

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies that target the various phases of cell cycle control for the treatment of cancer and other serious disorders, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the company's sapacitabine (CYC682) product candidate for the treatment of both acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

1 Jul 2010

Prasco to sell and distribute authorized generic version of ZEGERID capsules

Prasco Laboratories announced today that it is now shipping the authorized generic version of ZEGERID® (omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate) capsules. Authorized generics are generic pharmaceuticals manufactured identically to the brand product and sold under a private label. Under the terms of a distribution and supply agreement with Santarus, Prasco will sell and distribute the capsule form of Omeprazole/Sodium Bicarbonate in 20 mg and 40 mg strengths in the U.S. under the Prasco label.

1 Jul 2010

First analyses on impact of Medicare Part D presented at UMB's 2010 Academy/Health Annual Meeting

Some of the first analyses on the impact of Medicare Part D, as well as new insights on drug adherence patterns by chronic disease patients, will be presented today and tomorrow at the 2010 Academy/Health Annual Meeting by several University of Maryland, Baltimore teams of pharmaceutical health services researchers.

1 Jul 2010

USPTO grants Semafore method patent for PI3K inhibitors

Semafore Pharmaceuticals today announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued United States Patent Number 7,745,485 entitled "Compositions and methods for identifying agents which modulate PTEN function and PI-3 kinase pathways." This patent covers methods of inhibiting the spread of cancer in patients using phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic agents.

1 Jul 2010

ESMT CA study: Cutting pharmaceutical prices will reduce number of new medications

Cutting pharmaceutical prices will severely reduce the number of new medications making it to market, according to a groundbreaking independent study from ESMT Competition Analysis. For the first time, the study on 'Pharmaceutical Innovation and Pricing Regulation' clearly models and quantifies the direct link between strict regulation and low innovation.

1 Jul 2010

Experts examine corporate websites dedicated to 100 best-selling prescription drugs

Dartmouth Linguistics Professor Lewis Glinert and Jon Schommer, the associate head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Care and Health Systems at the University of Minnesota, have examined the corporate websites dedicated to the 100 best-selling prescription drugs. They found a startling lack of consistency in an industry where advertising standards are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

1 Jul 2010

Afinitor more than doubles progression-free survival in advanced pancreatic NET: Study

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that results of a Phase III study show Afinitor® (everolimus) tablets plus best supportive care (BSC) more than doubled progression-free survival, or time without tumor growth, versus placebo plus BSC in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NET). The study, RADIANT-3, was presented at the 12th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer and is part of the largest clinical trial program in patients with advanced NET.

1 Jul 2010

Celsis IVT files patent infringement lawsuit against Invitrogen, CellzDirect

Celsis In Vitro, Inc. announced today that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Invitrogen Corporation and CellzDirect, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago and has moved for a preliminary injunction. Invitrogen, the parent of CellzDirect, is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of Life Technologies of Carlsbad, California.

1 Jul 2010

PIKAMAB secures exclusive rights to issued U.S. patent from UABRF

PIKAMAB, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in stratified medicine, announced today that it has secured exclusive rights to an issued U.S. patent (US 6,986,987) from the UAB Research Foundation. This patent pertains to the discovery that the functional polymorphism (Ser/Gly248) in the cytoplasmic domain of Fc alpha receptor determines the proinflammatory potential of serum IgA autoantibodies through cell signaling and production of cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-1β in an allele-dependent manner.

1 Jul 2010

Endo responds to FDA Complete Response letter for FORTESTA NDA

Endo Pharmaceuticals has submitted a complete response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following the company's receipt of a Complete Response letter in October 2009 related to the New Drug Application (NDA) submission for FORTESTA™ (testosterone) 2% gel. The company's Class 2 resubmission is the next step in its intention to offer FORTESTA as a treatment option in the United States for men diagnosed with low testosterone (Low T), also known as hypogonadism. The FDA's review period for Class 2 resubmissions typically is six months.

1 Jul 2010

Eisai to commercialize lorcaserin for obesity and weight management in U.S.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Eisai Inc. will market lorcaserin for obesity and weight management in the United States following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval under the terms of a marketing and supply agreement between Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Eisai. Lorcaserin, which Arena discovered and has developed for weight management, is intended for obese patients as well as overweight patients who have at least one weight-related co-morbid condition.

1 Jul 2010

Eisai signs agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH to commercialize lorcaserin

Eisai Inc., the U.S. pharmaceutical operation of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for exclusive U.S. rights to commercialize lorcaserin, a drug candidate for potential use in the treatment of obesity, including weight loss, for patients who are obese (Body Mass Index or BMI ≥ 30) or overweight (BMI ≥ 27) with at least one weight-related co-morbid condition.

1 Jul 2010

CBio achieves recruitment milestone in XToll clinical trial

Australian drug development company CBio Limited today announced the achievement of a recruitment milestone in its clinical trial of XToll, the potential new-generation drug therapy which could provide safer and more effective treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

1 Jul 2010

Biospherics acquires worldwide patent rights to Dtagatose from UKRF

Spherix Incorporated, an innovator in biotechnology for therapy in diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis; and providers of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Biospherics Incorporated, has signed a license agreement with the University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF).

1 Jul 2010

Threshold Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 2 clinical trial of TH-302 in patients with first line pancreatic cancer

Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a multi-center, randomized, controlled, crossover Phase 2 clinical trial of TH-302 in combination with gemcitabine in patients with first line pancreatic cancer. TH-302 is a proprietary tumor selective Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug that specifically targets tumor hypoxia.

1 Jul 2010