Galderma said today that it won FDA approval for 2 of its products to treat nasolabial folds, or “laugh lines”. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company’s Restylane Refyne and Restylane Defyne are made with XpresHAn technology to manufacture injectable gels with customized hyaluronic acid crosslinking in each product. The federal watchdog’s approval was based on 2 […]
Researchers develop nanorockets that respond to changing temperatures
Researchers at Radboud University have developed nanorockets with temperature responsive “brakes”, enabling the carrier to stop in diseased tissues where temperatures are higher. The team’s work was published in Nature Chemistry this week. The nanocarriers can self-assemble to form functional units in any shape. “Our biggest challenge is to provide our nanorockets with various functionalities,” senior author […]
BioDelivery names Ginsberg as biz dev veep | Personnel Moves, Dec. 14, 2016
BioDelivery Sciences International (NSDQ:BDSI) said today that it named Peter Ginsberg as its VP of business development. Prior to joining the Raleigh, N.C.-based company, Ginsberg led business development at United Therapeutics and directed the $350 million sale of the company’s priority review voucher. He has also served as VP of business & technology development for […]
AARP report details increase in brand name drug prices
The AARP Public Policy Institute released a report today showing that 2015 was the 4th straight year of double-digit average annual increases for widely used brand name drugs. The nonprofit organization also concluded that prices for brand name drugs increased almost 130 times faster than the 0.1% general inflation rate in 2015. The report, which […]
Eli Lilly, Express Scripts offer insulin discount program
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) said it is teaming up with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts (NSDQ:ESRX) to offer discounts on the US pharma giant’s insulin products for uninsured patients and people with high-deductible insurance plans. The program will begin January 1, 2017 and will cover Lilly’s insulins Humalog, Humulin, and the biologic Basaglar. Lilly said it anticipates the program […]
FDA approves first bioresorbable scaffold with autologous cells for cartilage repair
Vericel Corp (NSDQ:VCEL) shares soared 56% today after the Cambridge, Mass.-based company said the FDA approved its bioresorbable scaffold for cartilage repair. The product, Maci, is the 1st FDA-approved implant to use healthy cartilage tissue from a patient’s own knee to grow cells on the scaffold. “Different cartilage defects require different treatments, so therapy must be […]
Actelion, Sanofi in talks after J&J backs out of negotiations
Actelion (VTX:ATLN) and Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) are reportedly in talks to reach a takeover deal after Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said yesterday that it has closed negotiations with the Swiss biotech. J&J and Actelion have been in informal talks for nearly 2 months and the US company has made an offer valued at 250 Swiss francs per share. J&J said yesterday […]
Spine stimulation helps man with spinal cord injury regain movement
Doctors from the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center reported today that a spinal implant is helping return hand strength to a 28 year old man who suffered a spinal cord injury in 2011. The patient, Brain Gomez, became 1 of the world’s 1st patients to have the experimental device implanted into his spine in June last […]
Rewired immune cells respond as targeted cancer therapy
Researchers from Northwestern University have developed a method to rewire immune cells by genetically modifying the cells to sense molecules secreted by tumors and respond by activating the immune system. The team’s work is described in a study published this month in Nature Chemical Biology. Although immunotherapy is growing in popularity among cancer researchers, tumors secrete […]
AcelRx seeks FDA nod for non-invasive sufentanil painkiller
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:ACRX) said today that it submitted a new drug application to the FDA for its ARX-04 sublingual sufentanil tablet. The non-invasive compound has been studied as a treatment for patients experiencing moderate or severe acute pain and is administered in a medically supervised setting using a disposable, pre-filled, single-dose applicator. The Redwood City, […]
BioDelivery’s topical gel for diabetic neuropathy fails in phase IIb trial
BioDelivery Sciences International (NSDQ:BDSI) said today that its clonidine topical gel for pain relief in patients with diabetic neuropathy failed in a phase IIb clinical trial. Raleigh, N.C.-based BioDelivery will halt any further development of the painkiller. In the phase IIb clinical trial, BioDelivery’s topical gel did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference in pain relief […]