Strategies & Technologies Driving Drug Discovery to Market
Firm May Lower Merck Rating
May 1, 2013 2:46 pm | News | CommentsMoody's Investors Service said that it's reviewing its ratings for drugmaker Merck & Co.'s and may downgrade them. Moody's cited Merck's plan to buy back about $7.5 billion worth of its shares over the next 12 months. Those repurchases are part of a new $15 billion share repurchase program approved by Merck's board.
Actavis Buys Valeant Gel for $55M
May 1, 2013 1:55 pm | News | CommentsActavis has acquired a bacterial vaginosis gel developed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Actavis said it agreed to pay Valeant $55 million for its metronidazole gel product, which has not yet received marketing approval. The total includes both an upfront payment and payments related to sales targets.
Daiichi Sankyo Sponsoring Perosphere Trial
May 1, 2013 11:41 am | News | CommentsPerosphere and Daiichi Sankyo have entered into a clinical trial agreement under which Daiichi Sankyo will support and co-sponsor a Phase 1 clinical trial testing the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of PER977 to reverse the anticoagulant activity of Daiichi Sankyo’s edoxaban.
Competition Cuts Merck Profit
May 1, 2013 7:30 am | by Linda A. Johnson | News | CommentsMerck & Co. reported lower first-quarter results and cut its 2013 profit forecast by 15 cents a share. Merck tried to reassure investors by announcing a huge share buyback, up to $15 billion worth of its stock, but its share price dropped nearly 3% in premarket trading after its revenue missed expectations.
Molecule Offers Hope for Muscular Dystrophy
April 30, 2013 11:53 am | News | CommentsThere’s hope for patients with myotonic dystrophy. A new small-molecule has been shown to break up the protein-RNA clusters that cause the disease in living human cells, an important first step toward developing a pharmaceutical treatment for the as-yet untreatable disease.
Microscope Can Visualize Nanostructures
April 30, 2013 11:34 am | News | CommentsResearchers have found a way to see synthetic nanostructures and molecules using a new type of super-resolution optical microscopy that does not require fluorescent dyes, representing a practical tool for biomedical and nanotechnology research.
Electroporation Key to Skin Cancer Treatment
April 30, 2013 10:56 am | by Punit Dhillon, President and CEO; OncoSec Medical Inc., San Diego, Calif. | Articles | CommentsDespite advances that have been made in sunscreen technology and growing public awareness of the need for sunscreen, recent data have found that the average U.S. lifetime risk of invasive melanoma has increased from 1 in 600 in 1960 to 1 in 50 in 2008.
Dynamic Protein Drives Membrane Remodeling
April 30, 2013 9:14 am | News | CommentsCells ingest proteins and engulf bacteria by a gymnastic, shape-shifting process called endocytosis. New research reveals, on the real-life scale of nanometers, how individual molecules work together during a single act of endocytosis.
Pfizer Profits Up, But Outlook Down
April 30, 2013 7:55 am | by Linda A. Johnson | News | CommentsPfizer Inc.'s first-quarter net income rose 53% despite growing generic drug competition as the drugmaker benefited from a gain related to a joint venture with China. But the company's results still fell short of Wall Street's expectations, and Pfizer lowered its 2013 profit forecast.
Likely Role Of "Parkinson's" Protein Found
April 30, 2013 3:00 am | News | CommentsResearchers using a stripped-down experimental system have exposed the possible function, in the healthy brain, of a mysterious molecule that has been strongly implicated in Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.
Merck, Pfizer Team Up On Diabetes Pill
April 29, 2013 12:26 pm | News | CommentsMerck & Co. will work with Pfizer Inc. to develop a new combination pill designed to treat Type 2 diabetes. The experimental pill will combine Merck's drug Januvia, Pfizer's experimental pill ertugliflozin, and metformin, an older diabetes drug.
Auxilium Spending $585M on Actient
April 29, 2013 12:10 pm | News | CommentsAuxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the purchase of Actient Holdings LLC from private equity firm GTCR for $585 million. In the process Auxilium said it will get two testosterone drugs, impotence treatments, and two respiratory drugs.
Estrogen Fuels Autoimmune Damage
April 29, 2013 8:00 am | News | CommentsA new study may help explain why women are more prone than men to a form of liver damage by implicating the hormone estrogen in the development of autoimmune hepatitis. The study reveals that estrogen and interleukin-6 collude to form a powerful duo that leads to immune cell misconduct.
Bayer Paying $1.1B For Conceptus
April 29, 2013 7:47 am | News | CommentsBayer has agreed to buy California-based Conceptus for around $1.1 billion to expand the kinds of birth control it offers. Conceptus makes Essure, an irreversible birth control method in which small metal and polyester coils are inserted to block a woman's fallopian tubes.
Actavis, Purdue Settle Oxycontin Lawsuits
April 26, 2013 3:47 pm | News | CommentsActavis Inc. and Purdue Pharma LP are settling a patent dispute, and Actavis will be able to sell a generic abuse-resistant version of Purdue's painkiller OxyContin starting in 2014. Actavis expects more than $100 million in gross profit from generic OxyContin sales through 2015.
