SAN DIEGO, April 17, 2008 – BrainCells Inc. (BCI), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing its platform technology to identify and develop compounds that promote the growth of new neurons for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced today that it has initiated a Phase 2a clinical trial with its lead product candidate, BCI-540, for the treatment of depression with anxiety.
BrainCells Inc. initiates Phase 2 clinical trial with BCI-540 for depression with anxiety
BrainCells expands Series B financing to $50 million
San Diego, CA, April 17, 2008 – BrainCells Inc. (BCI), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing its platform technology to identify and develop compounds that promote the growth of new neurons for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced today that it raised an additional $20 million in an extension of its Series B financing, bringing the total to $50 million. New investor, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), along with current investors and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. participated in the extension. Other investors that participated in the Series B included MedImmune Ventures, Bay City Capital, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Technology Partners, Pappas Ventures and NeuroVentures. The financing will be used to continue clinical development of BCI’s product candidates including a Phase 2 trial with BCI-540, and to identify additional assets to further expand its pipeline.
DSMB supports continuation of Anthera Phase 2 impacts trial for the prevention of acute chest syndrome in patients with sickle cell disease
SAN MATEO, CA – April 16, 2008 – Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing anti-inflammatory drugs, announced today that after completing its review of safety and efficacy data currently available, an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has recommended that Anthera’s Phase II clinical trial, known as the IMPACTS (Investigation of the Modulation of Phospholipase in Acute ChesT Syndrome) Study can continue under the current protocol, without change.
Bayhill Therapeutics presents data from a Phase 2 trial of BHT-3009 in multiple sclerosis at American Academy of Neurology 60th annual meeting
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 16, 2008 - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Bayhill Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company’s co-founder and Vice President of Research, Hideki Garren, M.D., Ph.D., gave a podium presentation at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Annual Meeting (AAN) in Chicago. Dr. Garren’s presentation, “Results from a Phase II Trial of a Myelin Basic Protein Encoding DNA Vaccine for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis," provides further analysis of data from a Phase II study evaluating BHT-3009, a tolerizing DNA vaccine for multiple sclerosis (MS).
MethylGene initiates Phase 1 clinical trial for its multi-targeted (c-Met) kinase inhibitor, MGCD265, in solid tumor cancers
MGCD265 Targets c-Met, VEGFs, Tie-2 and Ron Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
Initial Compound from Portfolio of Potent Multi-targeted Kinase Inhibitors
Montreal, Quebec. April 16, 2008 – MethylGene Inc. (TSX:MYG) today disclosed preclinical data for MGCD265, an oral, multi-targeted (c-Met) kinase inhibitor for cancer that targets the c-Met, Tie-2, Ron and VEGF receptor tyrosine kinases. The data were presented in a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in San Diego.
LipoScience: LDL particle measurement by NMR recognized in consensus statement by the ADA and the ACC
RALEIGH, N.C., March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) issued a consensus statement today that states the measurement of LDL particle number by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is one of the more accurate ways to evaluate cardiometabolic risk (CMR). The study, published in the April issue of Diabetes Care, reinforces that LDL cholesterol may not be the best way to quantify a patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Genstruct: Patience, Persistence, and Payoff
March 19, 2008
Finding the right business model for systems biology (SB) technology providers has been challenging — that’s hardly a new theme in biotech. Most SB pioneers were founded as platform providers but soon encountered difficulties growing their sales sufficiently to increase valuations. Genstruct, a pioneer in using computational approaches to infer mechanistic hypotheses from large experimental data sets, is no exception.
BioSyntech announces positive preliminary interim data for BST-CarGel® clinical trial
BioSyntech, Inc. (“BioSyntech” or “the Company”) (TSX: BSY), a biotechnology company developing novel products in regenerative medicine, today announced it has received positive preliminary results from a prospectively planned six-month interim analysis of its Canadian-European pivotal clinical trial for BST-CarGel®. Results drawn from a 20 subject subset of the trial indicate evidence of a positive effect of BST-CarGel®treatment on cartilage structure when compared to the surgical control. The interim analysis also showed the safety of BST-CarGel® to be comparable to the control. The sole purpose of this interim analysis was to obtain pilot data for submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a pilot study in support of an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for a U.S. pivotal trial for this medical device.
TyRx Pharma raises $25 million
Proceeds Will Support Commercialization of the AIGISrx™ CRMD AntiBacterial Envelope and Development and Launch of Additional Drug-Eluting Devices in the TyRx Pipeline
Monmouth Junction, NJ, (February 27, 2008) -- TyRx Pharma, Inc., a leader in the commercialization of implantable combination drug-device products, announced today that the Company has raised $25 million in a venture capital financing led by Clarus Ventures and co-led by Pappas Ventures. In connection with the financing, Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Director, and Scott Requadt, J.D., MBA, Principal, both of Clarus Ventures, and Arthur Pappas, Managing Partner, Pappas Ventures, will join TyRx's Board of Directors.
Athersys announces summary results for Phase 1 safety study of its novel obesity drug
CLEVELAND, Feb. 27, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Athersys, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHX) today announced top-line results from its Phase 1 clinical trial of ATHX-105, its orally administered drug candidate for the treatment of obesity. ATHX-105 was well- absorbed, providing good drug exposures, well-tolerated up to high doses, and had no negative effect on cardiovascular, hematology or other clinical parameters.
