Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Steba Biotech have reportedly developed a light-sensitive drug derived from deep-sea bacteria that has been shown to kill cancer cells in low-risk prostate cancer patients without affecting healthy tissue. The team’s work was published in Lancet Oncology. Vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy, VTP, utilizes a drug called WST11 which was […]
Researchers use gold nanoparticles to deliver hepatitis C vaccine
Researchers at Brigham & Women’s Hospital have developed electrically activated gold nanoparticles that can bore holes into cells’ outer membranes and allow DNA, RNA and proteins to pass through carrying their cargo. The team’s work was published in Advanced Functional Materials. The team tested its technique using a DNA vaccine against hepatitis C in a mice model. […]
Anika Therapeutics wins CE Mark for tennis elbow injection
Anika Therapeutics (NSDQ:ANIK) said today that it won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its Orthovisc-T injection. The Bedford, Mass.-based company’s treatment is indicated to relieve pain and restore function in tendons affected by tennis elbow, or chronic lateral epicondylosis. The sodium hyaluronate injection promotes tendon gliding and repair at the site of the […]
Lensar files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Lensar Inc. today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it needs to reduce its debt and strengthen its balance sheet and platform for future growth. The Orlando, Fl.-based company was supported by its senior secured lender, PDL BioParhma Inc. In December 2015, healthcare and social commerce company Alphaeon bought the laser cataract treatment company for […]
Cerus raises funds for phase III trial of Intercept red blood cell system
Cerus Corporation (NSDQ:CERS) said today that it exercised $10.8 million in additional options from its contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority, a part of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. The funds will go towards in vitro pathogen inactivation and red blood cell […]
Amgen wins recommendation for single injection Repatha device
Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) said today that the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion for its Repatha single monthly injection device. The device is already cleared in Europe for dosing every 2 weeks. The hands-free device, with prefilled cartridges, delivers 420 milligrams of Repatha (evolocumab) in a single injection. […]
GSK launches phase III trial for inhaled triple combination therapy
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and Innoviva (NSDQ:INVA) said today that they launched a phase III trial evaluating the triple combination therapy fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) in patients with asthma. The companies’ triple combination therapy is made up of 3 drugs – an inhaled corticosteroid, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist, and a long-acting beta-adrenergic agonist. The treatment is delivered once a day using GSK’s […]
Brainstorm readies phase III trial for NurOwn stem cell treatment for ALS
Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (NSDQ:BCLI) said today that it’s preparing for a phase III trial of its NurOwn stem cell treatment, after meeting with the FDA about a biologic license application. The company is developing adult stem cell therapies derived from autologous bone marrow cells to treat neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS. Hackensack, N.J.-based Brainstorm is planning […]
Japan approves Novocure’s Optune brain cancer treatment
Novocure (NSDQ:NVCR) said today that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has approved its tumor treating fields delivery system, Optune, for adult patients with supra-tentorial glioblastoma following surgery and radiation therapy. The St. Helier, N.J.-based company is expected to submit an application for public reimbursement of the device in Japan for newly diagnosed […]
Flamel Technologies dose first patient in Phase III narcolepsy trial
Flamel Technologies (NSDQ:FLML) said today that the 1st patient in its Rest-On phase III clinical trial was dosed with FT218, sodium oxybate, for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy in narcolepsy patients.The Lyon, France-based company developed the controlled-release oral formulation of sodium oxybate using its Micropump technology. The randomized, double-blind trial has enrolled […]
Evotec, Celgene ink drug development deal for stem cell treatments for neurodegenerative diseases
Evotec (ETR:EVT) said today that it inked a 5-year drug discovery and development deal with Celgene (NSDQ:CELG) to identify stem cell therapies for a range of neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. According to the agreement, Hamburg, Germany-based Evotec will receive an upfront payment of $45 million and Celgene will hold exclusive […]