PellePharm announced its launch today, with financing from BridgeBio Pharma. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company is developing a topical gel to treat basal cell carcinoma, including the tumors that result from Gorlin syndrome. The company’s topical inhibitor compound, patidegib, acts on the hedgehog pathway – a signaling pathway that transmits cellular information for adult tissue […]
Clinical Trials
Aerie completes enrollment of phase III trial for intraocular pressure eye drops
Aerie Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:AERI) said today that it completed enrollment for its 2nd phase III registration trial, Mercury 2, evaluating its Roclatan once-daily eye drops for intraocular pressure resulting from glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The company’s Roclatan solution is a fixed dose combination of its drug Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) and latanoprost, a widely prescribed prostaglandin […]
SRI wins $150m grant to develop HIV prevention products
SRI International said today that it landed a $150 million contract from the National Institutes of Health‘s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Division of AIDS to support the development of HIV microbicides and other pre-exposure agents. According to the 7-year deal, the research institute will provide preclinical product development services for non-vaccine […]
Researchers show drug, catheter combo speeds up labor delivery
Using the drug misoprostol in combination with a Foley balloon catheter to induce labor can lead to a speedier delivery, with women delivering several hours earlier than either method alone, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania. The team’s work was published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Nearly 1 million women who deliver in the U.S. […]
Scilex touts data for novel lidocaine patch
Sorrento Therapeutics (NSDQ:SRNE) subsidiary Scilex Pharmaceuticals said today that its lidocaine patch, ZTlido, met primary and secondary endpoints in a pivotal study comparing the patch to Endo Pharmaceutical‘s Lidoderm patch. The data will be used to resubmit a new drug application to the FDA in mid-2017, the Malvern, Pa.-based company said. The clinical trial evaluated Scilex’s […]
Sunovion launches clinical trial for anti-epileptic drug with wearable tech
Sunovion Pharmaceuticals said today that it will soon begin enrollment for a Phase IV study of its anti-epileptic drug Aptiom with Empatica‘s Embrace watch. The Marlborough, Mass.-based company touted its study as the 1st to incorporate a wearable seizure device with an anti-epileptic drug into the design of a clinical trial for partial-onset seizures. The Embrace watch […]
Late-stage trial fails for Aradigm’s inhaled antibiotic
Aradigm Corp. (NSDQ:ARDM) said today that its inhaled antibiotic failed in a late-stage clinical trial, sending the Hayward, Calif.-based company’s stock down -54% in premarket trading. Pulmaquin is a once-daily formulation containing ciprofloxacin, a widely prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotic. The inhaled drug was being tested to treat patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (non-CF BE) who have chronic […]
Nordisk touts Tresiba insulin injection data
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) said today that data from the Devote clinical trial indicated that its injected insulin, Tresiba, reduced the risk of severe hypoglycemia when compared to insulin glargine. The trial enrolled more than 7,500 type 2 diabetes patients at high risk of adverse cardiovascular events and treated them for 2 years with either Tresiba or insulin glargine […]
OCUL registers for $40m stock sale
Ocular Therapeutix (NSDQ:OCUL) is looking to raise $40 million through a public stock offering, according to a prospectus filed with the federal Securities & Exchange Commission this week. The Bedford, Mass.-based company said it inked a controlled equity offering sales agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and agreed to pay Cantor Fitzgerald commissions of up to 3% […]
Oramed touts phase Ib data for type 2 diabetes capsule
Oramed Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:ORMP) said today that it finished a phase Ib study of its oral GLP-1 analog capsule for type 2 diabetes. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a hormone that stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin. Exenatide, a GLP-1 analog, is available on the market as an injection for patients with type 2 diabetes. The analog […]