Category Archives: Business of Biotech

Some speculation is coming back into the sector but most movement in public markets is specialist driven, not generalist driven. What will it take to get the generalist investors in? Unfortunately, most IPO stocks since 2005 have underperformed and have left a bad taste in the mouths of generalists. This has left generalists believing they cannot just come into the sector and purchase a basket of young biotechs. Example of a successful IPO: Targacept filed Read More >

Panelists in the “Making it Personal” session discussed the clinical utility, comparative effectiveness implications and reimbursement for personalized medicine. Tod Klinger, PhD of XDx, Inc. asserted that we are still in the early stages of personalized medicine since there is a need to determine how to link measurements with relevant clinical information for the patient to enable decision making. Furthermore, there are many other questions that still need to be considered. Ellen Sheets, MD, of Read More >

Panelists at this morning’s Therapeutic Workshop, “Predicting a Frontrunner in the Race Against Pandemic Flu” had many valuable insights into this year’s flu pandemic, how it has compared to past pandemics, and how it will shape vaccine manufacturing in the years to come. According to Dr. Tomás Aragón, Executive Director at the Center for Infectious Disease & Emergency Readiness, “Virulence [of H1N1] is no worse than the regular flu, but a larger risk pool, consisting Read More >

Logical Therapeutics, Inc. announced positive results of a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the gastrointestinal (GI) safety of its investigational drug LT-NS001, the first of a new class of bio-activated prodrugs being developed for the chronic treatment of arthritic conditions.

Endocyte, Inc. has been awarded a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering vitamin receptor binding anti-cancer agents. The patent, entitled “Vitamin Receptor Binding Drug Delivery Conjugates” (U.S. Patent No. 7,601,332), covers novel conjugation linkages and anti-cancer agents, including Endocyte’s EC145, which is currently in development as a potential treatment for ovarian and non-small cell lung cancers.