When Steven Schmidt worked at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:VRTX), Eric Olson – the man who led the development of the 1st drug to treat the underlying causes of cystic fibrosis – asked Schmidt to look into ways that families could become more engaged with managing a patient’s condition. Olson pointed towards a publication that showed that […]
Respiratory
Researchers develop t-shirt embedded respiratory sensor, hopeful for future hospital applications
Researchers from the Université Laval in Canada have developed a novel respiration sensor built into a cotton t-shirt, with hopes that future versions could allow hospital patients to be comfortably monitored while free to be mobile. The sensor is composed of multi-material fibers arranged in the form of a spiral antenna, which monitors changes in […]
Genoa raises $62m Series A for inhaled lung drug
Genoa Pharmaceuticals said today that it raised $62 million in a Series A round to support the development of inhaled therapies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other severe pulmonary conditions. The round was led by F-Prime Capital Partners and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners. Novo AS, RiverVest Venture Partners and TPG Biotech also invested in […]
Propeller Health: From hardware startup to analytics leader
Seven years after the digital respiratory startup Propeller Health launched, co-founder and chief technology officer Greg Tracy told a crowd at this year’s Medical Sensors Design Conference that what started as an attempt to build sensors for respiratory devices has slowly evolved into a “hardware-enabled software company.” “We thought that we were going to go build […]
GSK dodges bullet after another generic Advair competitor is denied
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) will not likely face generic competition to its lung drug Advair in the US this year. Yesterday, the FDA denied the application for a 2nd generic competitor. Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON:HIK) disclosed today that the FDA decided not to approve its version of the inhaled asthma treatment, due to “major” problems with the application. This comes […]
Mylan beats Q1 earnings by a penny, misses on revenue
Shares in Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) rose 2% in pre-market activity today after the EpiPen maker beat earnings expectations on Wall Street with its 1st quarter results. The Canonsburg, Penn.-based company posted profits of $66.4 million, or 12¢ per share, on sales of $2.72 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, for bottom-line growth of 377.7% on sales growth […]
OptiNose raises $37m in Series D for commercial efforts
OptiNose said today that it closed a $37 million Series D round led by Fidelity Management and Research Company. Avista Capital Partners, Entrepreneurs Fund and other current investors also contributed to the round. The Yardley, Penn.-based company said it plans to use the newly-acquired funds to support commercial development of its lead product candidate, OPN-375, […]
Medtronic’s NewPort Medical recalls ventilators over shutdown issues
The FDA today released information on a select recall of Medtronic‘s (NYSE:MDT) Newport HT70 and HT70 Plus ventilators over software issues which could cause unexpected shutdowns. The Newport HT70 and HT70 plus ventilators are designed to provide breathing support for patients in need of mechanical ventilation. The devices can be used with infant, pediatric or […]
Pieris, AstraZeneca ink $45m deal for inhaled respiratory drugs
Pieris Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:PIRS) inked a $45 million deal with AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) to develop a group of inhaled drugs for respiratory diseases. According to the deal, Pieris will get $45 million up front to bring an experimental asthma drug into human clinical trials. The drug is slated to begin Phase I testing this year, which will […]
Ventec Life Systems raises $7m
Ventec Life Systems raised $7 million in a new round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing posted this week. Ventec produces the VOCSN portable life support system. The system provides 5 different respiratory therapies, including ventilation, oxygen, cough, suction and nebulization. Money in the round came from 56 unnamed sources, according to the […]
Savara inks $15m loan agreement
Savara (NSDQ:SVRA) said today that it inked a $15 million loan agreement with Silicon Valley Bank. According to the deal, Savara can draw $7.5 million from the $15 million debt facility immediately. The company said it plans to use its newly-acquired capital to repay the pre-merger debt of $3.7 million it owes to Hercules Technology […]