Pulmatrix Inc. landed a $5.7 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a drug/device combination aimed at protecting military personnel and civilians against biological weapons.
DARPA selected the Lexington, Mass.-based company as part of its “7-day Biodefense Initiative,” a project to develop inhaled therapeutics for respiratory infections caused by airborne agents.
For companies like Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT), developing breakthrough technologies to treat untreatable diseases can be expensive and have little promise of financial returns.
The risk is high enough for — even companies as well-resourced as Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic — that alternative funding sources are welcomed and highly sought after.
pSivida Corp. (NSDQ:PSDV) sailed into the black with a 388 percent increase in revenues during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
The Watertown, Mass.-based ophthalmic drug-delivery device maker posted net earnings of $13.1 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, on sales of $15.7 million during the three months ended June 30. That compares with a net loss of $534,000, or 3 cents per diluted share, on sales of $3.2 million during the same period last year.
Zogenix Inc. is attempting to raise $90 million through an initial public offering.
The San Diego-based company said it plans utilize the new funds to help commercialize its Sumavel DosePro drug-device combination and the clinical advancement of its ZX002 drug in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.
The Food & Drug Administration put pSivida Corp. (NSDQ:PSDV) and Alimera Sciences Inc. (NSDQ:ALIM) on the fast track, granting an expedited review for their drug/device combination designed to treat diabetic macular edema.
Watertown, Mass.-based pSivida and Alpharetta, Ga.-based Alimera filed a new drug application with the FDA in June for Iluvien, a sustained release drug delivery system that delivers flucocinolone acetonide, a steroid, for the treatment of DME.
After raking in $33.8 million, Delcath Systems Inc. (NSDQ:DCTH) closed its public offering of 5.2 million shares.
According to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing, the New York-based company plans to use the proceeds from the sale to fund "clinical trials, research & development, obtaining regulatory approvals, manufacturing, operations, sales, commercialization of its products and other general corporate purposes including capital expenditures and working capital."
Echo Therapeutics Inc. (OTC:ECTE) announced the completion of a clinical trial of its Prelude SkinPrep transdermal drug delivery system, saying an application for 510(k) clearance from the Food & Drug Administration is imminent.
The Franklin, Mass.-based company launched the trial in April, in partnership with Ferndale Pharma Group Inc., to test the drug-device combination with Ferndale’s 4 percent topical lidocaine. The needle-free system ablates a thin layer of skin before a drug is applied.
pSivida Corp. (NSDQ:PSDV) is touting its inclusion on Russell Investment Group’s Microcap Index.
According to the Watertown, Mass.-based maker of eye therapy implants, their selection means automatic inclusion in the "appropriate growth and value style indexes."
Taris Biomedical hired Sarma Duddu to be its new president and CEO.
The Lexington, Mass.-based durg/device developer said Duddu brings 15 years of pharmaceutical industry experience to the corner office, where he’ll start immediately.
pSivida Corp. (NSDQ:PSDV) licensee Alimera Sciences (NSDQ:ALIM) submitted a Marketing Authorization Application in several European Union countries for Iluvien, an ophthalmic drug/device combination.
Iluvien is a sustained release drug delivery system that delivers flucocinolone acetonide, a steroid for the treatment of diabetic macular edema.
