Using a songbird as a model, scientists have described a brain pathway that replaces cells that have been lost naturally and not because of injury. If scientists can further tap into the process, it might lead to ways to encourage replacement of cells in human brains that have lost neurons naturally because of aging or Alzheimer's disease. ...
Imagine going to the hospital with one disease and coming home with something much worse, or not coming home at all. With the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistance pathogens, healthcare-associated infections have become a serious threat. On any given day about one in 25 hospital patients has at least one such infection and as many as one in nine die as a result. Microbiologists, for the first...
MicroRNA isoforms show population-specific and gender-specific signatures -– a finding that could affect how researchers view and study microRNAs. The team's findings have several implications: For researchers they suggest that the assays currently in the market do not necessarily capture the variant that is prevalent in the cells with which a researcher works. For patients, the findings represent...
Scientists have scoured cow rumens and termite guts for microbes that can efficiently break down plant cell walls for the production of next-generation biofuels, but some of the best microbial candidates actually may reside in the human lower intestine, researchers report. ...
Most organisms, including humans, have parasitic DNA fragments called 'jumping genes' that insert themselves into DNA molecules, disrupting genetic instructions in the process. And that phenomenon can result in age-related diseases such as cancer. But researchers now report that the 'jumping genes' in mice become active as the mice age when a multi-function protein stops keeping them in check in order...
AstraZeneca was forced to concede a clinical defeat on Monday, noting that one of its top respiratory drugs in the clinic failed a study for severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. But while investigators also flagged a higher rate of adverse events for benralizumab than the placebo arm, the pharma giant shows no signs of backing away from a treatment it's billed as a potential $2 billion...
When the FDA came through with their expected approval for Keryx's ferric citrate (formerly Zerenex), a new treatment to deal with complications of kidney disease, on Friday, a label warning that the drug could wind up triggering iron overload dampened analysts' enthusiasm for this treatment considerably, with Keryx's stock price ending Friday down 5%. ...
Back last April when Brisbane, CA-based Hyperion agreed to pay $20 million in cash and stock for Israel's Andromeda Biotech, while promising $550 million more in milestones, company execs made much of the late-stage data already in hand for a new Type 1 diabetes drug. Today, though, Hyperion's team threw up their hands and surrendered, claiming that they had been duped by a group of Andromeda staffers...
Investigators for GlaxoSmithKline detailed their promising Phase III data for the IL-5 biologic mepolizumab in asthma today, noting that the injectable halved the rate of exacerbations among a group of patients with uncontrolled cases of the respiratory disease. But while the pharma giant was making its case for a lower dosage of the drug for a particular profile of asthma patient, an expert in the...
Ophthotech says it won a $50 million enrollment milestone from Novartis for reaching a goal on its Phase III Fovista study for wet, age-related macular degeneration....
GlaxoSmithKline is looking to set some drug development records as it races to the clinic with an Ebola vaccine, posting promising results in preclinical study as a public health crisis unfolds in Africa. ...
Canada's Trimel Pharmaceuticals, a penny stock biotech which issued a "going concern" warning about its financial status earlier this year, is touting the results of a midstage drug designed to correct female sexual disorder. ...
As promised, Valeant Pharmaceuticals has returned to the deal table with a sweetened pitch for Allergan, putting up a bigger offer with more cash and even making an uncharacteristic commitment to R&D. ...
Array BioPharma has watched its shares fall steadily earthward since ex-partner Amgen backed out of a diabetes deal last summer, but a new deal with Big Biotech Biogen Idec sent the company up about 5% on renewed hopes for its early-stage R&D efforts. ...
The Netherlands' arGEN-X has paired up with Bayer, agreeing to share its proprietary antibody technology with the drug giant to fuel some early-stage R&D. ...
Mathew Martoma, the former SAC Capital Advisors employee convicted in biotech's largest insider trading scandal, is seeking a softer prison sentence for his role in the scheme. ...
I'll be hosting a Twitter chat on Thursday afternoon--3:30 pm EST--with Dr. David Porter, one of the top investigators on the CAR-T team at the University of Pennsylvania. ...
Just 6 months after springing into existing with a pivotal-stage program in the clinic under an experienced set of executives and investigators, biotech spinoff Spark Therapeutics has gathered a whopping $72.8 million venture round designed to get through a Phase III study and well down the road to its goal of becoming a fully integrated company. ...
On Friday afternoon Provectus Biopharmaceuticals spread the word that the FDA had dissed its tumor drug PV-10, refusing to provide a breakthrough therapy designation based on the data it had seen. And Tuesday morning, as its stock began trading, investors inflicted a drubbing on the stock, sending shares down by 80%. ...
The FDA has OK'd the use of Amgen's Vectibix as a first-line treatment for wild-type KRAS metastatic colorectal cancer....