Category Archives: Business of Biotech

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex:RGN) announces significant improvement in neurological functional recovery after TB4 treatment of EAE (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis – an animal model for multiple sclerosis), according to Henry Ford Health System researchers. In addition, researchers reported a significant reduction of inflammation and induction of oligodendrogenesis (maturation of central nervous system cells associated with the formation of the nerve sheath). The study entitled, “Neurological Functional Recovery after Thymosin Beta 4 Treatment in Mice with Read More >

Novelos Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: NVLT) was awarded a $950,371 competitive grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a collaborative study with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) on two Novelos compounds – NOV-002 and NOV-205 – for the mitigation and treatment of radiation-induced pulmonary injury. This 17-month grant will fund the assessment of both drug candidates in animal models designed to reflect pulmonary injury resulting from, for example, a terrorist incident involving a radiation-dispersal device Read More >

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADLS) announced results from a primate study involving the oral antibiotic Restanza(TM) (cethromycin) demonstrating statistical significance at a 90% survival rate against an inhaled lethal dose of plague. The study tested Restanza’s protective efficacy at various doses up to 64 mg/kg, where nine out of ten animals in the study that received a 14-day course of Restanza initiated within 24 hours after exposure to a lethal dose Read More >

Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq:VICL) licensee, sanofi-aventis, has completed enrollment in a 500-patient Phase 3 clinical trial of its angiogenesis therapy. The NV1FGF therapy contains DNA encoding Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 (FGF-1), a growth factor that stimulates the growth of blood vessels, and is intended to reduce the need for amputations in patients suffering from critical limb ischemia. The primary objective of the TAMARIS study is to demonstrate the superiority of NV1FGF treatment over placebo in the Read More >

Plexxikon Inc. reports positive clinical data from a Phase 1 extension study of PLX4032 (RG7204) in metastatic melanoma patients. PLX4032 targets the BRAFV600E mutation that occurs in about 50 percent of melanomas and about eight percent of solid tumors. Tumor shrinkage has been observed in nearly all of the currently evaluable patients in the extension study, reflecting a 70 percent response rate. Plexxikon and Roche are co-developing PLX4032 under their 2006 license and collaboration agreement. Read More >