News

Circassia Holdings completes second-round financing

Circassia Holdings Ltd, a spin out from Imperial College London, has completed a second financing round with an £11 million equity placement, which will be used in part to finance its Phase 2 clinical testing programme for a candidate vaccine for cat allergy.

Pharming says EMEA decision on Rhucin expected in Q2

Pharming Group NV said that its appeal against a rejection by the European regulator of Rhucin, its proposed treatment for patients with acute attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE), is underway and a final decision is expected in the second quarter of 2008

Genmab shares retreat despite bid rumour

Shares of Genmab A/S, which specialises in developing human antibodies for disease, retreated 6.8% to DKK 315 in early trading on the Nordic Stock Exchange on 29 January 2008 following a spike in the price a day earlier. The stock rose on rumours of a possible takeover bid by a large pharmaceutical or biotechnology company.

UK to license hybrid embryos for research

The UK regulator responsible for overseeing embryo research has decided to issue one-year licences to Kings College London and the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne to conduct research using embryos which have been created from some human and some animal material.

Thalidomide drug gets EMEA approval

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is recommending that Thalidomide Pharmion (thalidomide) be approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the bone marrow.

Novexel licenses beta-lactamase inhibitor to Forest Labs

Novexel SA, a privately held French company that develops antibacterial and antifungal products, has licensed a beta-lactamase inhibitor, NXL104, to a subsidiary of Forest Laboratories Inc of the United States for €75 million plus milestone payments of potentially €75 million and “low double-digit” royalties on sales in North America.

Dutch consortia and Sanaria to collaborate on malaria vaccine

The Top Institute Pharma (TI Pharma) of the Netherlands has decided to allocate €16 million over four years to co-develop with Sanaria Inc a malaria vaccine which is based on the concept of inducing immunity in humans through the use of a whole, attenuated malaria parasite.