May

May 25, 2010: The FDA and the National Institutes of Health have launched a new Website that will provide a mechanism for the reporting of pre- and post-market safety data to the federal government. Currently, the Website can be used to report safety problems related to adverse events occurring on human gene transfer trials, animal drugs and foods, including animal feed. The new site is called the Safety Reporting Portal (SRP).

May 25, 2010: Newly formed Phage Pharmaceuticals, Inc has announced that the company and its parent company have acquired substantially all of the assets of Phage Biotechnology Corporation, a debtor-in-possession in proceedings under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Coincident with this transaction, Phage Pharmaceuticals has received start-up funding from its parent company, New Technologies Holding Pte Ltd, a limited private company organised under the laws of the Republic of Singapore.

May 25, 2010: NormOxys, Inc, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of small-molecule drugs that enhance the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to diseased tissues, has raised $17.5 million in a Series B financing round. The financing was led by a new investor, Care Capital, LLC, with participation from existing venture investor Index Ventures. This new round of financing brings the total capital raised by NormOxys to $30 million.

May 25, 2010: Global clinical research organisation ClinTec International has opened its Global Academy of Clinical Research Excellence (ACRE) in Dubai, UAE. The ACRE training courses, which have been accredited by the Dubai Health Authority, have admitted the first students for training in ICH-GCP. The academy is set to provide a resource for training and educating professionals in clinical research techniques, methods and practices. The academy’s mission is to accelerate knowledge growth and to increase the level and quality of clinical research carried out in the Middle East.

May 24, 2010: Abbott has formed a definitive agreement with Piramal Healthcare Limited to acquire full ownership of Piramal’s Healthcare Solutions business (Domestic Formulations), a leader in the Indian branded generics market, for an upfront payment of $2.12 billion, plus $400 million annually for the next four years, making Abbott the leading company in the Indian pharmaceutical market.

May 24, 2010: Boehringer Ingelheim will present promising new data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago in June for its leading investigational compound BIBW 2992. New data from a recent study showed that BIBW 2992 shrinked tumours in 22 per cent of patients with head and neck cancer compared to 13 per cent of those receiving cetuximab. BIBW 2992 is a next-generation small molecule targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER1) and human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2) receptor tyrosine kinase.

May 24, 2010: Ligand Pharmaceuticals has purchased from the Genaera Liquidating Trust certain intellectual property and interests in future milestones and royalties for MEDI-528, an IL-9 antibody programme under development by AstraZeneca’s subsidiary, MedImmune. MEDI-528 is currently in a 320-patient Phase 2 study for moderate-to-severe asthma.

May 24, 2010: MorphoSys AG has announced that its research and diagnostic antibody unit AbD Serotec is active in a new growth area, the provision of anti-idiotype antibodies against existing antibody drugs and drug candidates to accompany their preclinical and clinical development. AbD Serotec already provides anti-idiotype antibodies to several international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In addition, anti-idiotype antibodies produced by AbD Serotec are being used in-house to support MorphoSys’s proprietary development programmes in cancer and inflammatory diseases.

May 21, 2010: sanofi-aventis sp z oo, a subsidiary of sanofi-aventis, and Nepentes SA have entered into a definitive agreement under which sanofi-aventis sp z oo has launched a public tender for all the outstanding shares of Nepentes, a Polish manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and dermocosmetics. Nepentes is a consumer health care company founded in 1991. The company focuses on pharmacy dermocosmetics. In 2009, its. sales reached a value of about €30 million, of which 85 per cent were in Poland. The company has affiliates in Bulgaria and Romania.

May 21, 2010: Quintiles and Nycomed have formed an agreement under which Nycomed has transferred a UK-based Healthcare Solutions Team to Quintiles. Quintiles says the agreement further strengthens its market access capabilities. The transfer follows Nycomed’s decision to out-license a product to another pharmaceutical company in the UK.