News

Flamel Technologies SA reported a 5% increase in turnover for 2008 to $38.6 million and a 68% decline in its net loss to $12.1 million because of an across-the-board decline in operating charges.

Pharmexa A/S of Denmark has decided to change its therapeutic focus from vaccines to human antibodies and will accomplish this by merging with the privately-owned Norwegian antibody research company, Affitech AS.

Galapagos NV said that spending on research and development will increase in 2009 as it brings two products into the clinic for the first time. Meanwhile, revenues are expected to rise by 30% to €100 million on the back of income from its services division and pharmaceutical company alliances.

After encountering resistance from the management of Genentech, the Roche Group has increased its hostile offer for all the shares of Genentech Inc that it doesn’t already own to $93 per share from $86.50 per share.

GlycoVaxyn AG, a privately-owned Swiss biotechnology company, has raised CHF 25 million in a Series B financing to support the clinical development of its lead vaccine candidate for intestinal infections.

H. Lundbeck A/S of Denmark has reported a record DKK 11.3 billion in revenue for 2008 following the double-digit growth of its three marketed drugs for neurological disorders, Cipralex (escitalopram), Ebixa (memantine) and Azilect (rasagiline).

Researchers from the UK and Canada have reported a method for reprogramming human skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells without the use of viral vectors.

Stem Cell Sciences Plc, a UK stem-cell engineering company that has been seeking a buyer for some months, has agreed to sell its operating assets and substantially all of its intellectual property to StemCells Inc of the US in a share and debt transaction valued at $4.85 million.

Index Ventures, the Geneva-based venture capital company, has closed its fifth fund devoted to early-stage and seed investment in companies involved in advanced technologies. The fund, Index Ventures V, has assets of €350 million.

IP Group Plc, which commercialises intellectual property from UK research institutions, reported a 25% decline in the estimated market value of its holdings in life-science therapeutic companies in 2008.