Delcath Systems (NSDQ:DCTH) said today that it inked a deal to extinguish its 2016 convertible notes with the unnamed holder of the majority of the notes. But the agreement is contingent upon the company effecting a reverse stock split – a move that shareholders voted down in June. The company’s board urged shareholders to this time […]
Pharmaceuticals
Biotronik’s Orsiro drug-eluting stent tops Abbott’s Xience in study
Biotronik said today that its Orsiro drug-eluting stent beat Abbott‘s (NYSE:ABT) Xience DES in a trial comparing the target lesion failure rates of both devices. The data, which were presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s ESC Congress and published by The Lancet, showed a 6.2% TLF rate at 12-months for patients treated with Orsiro compared […]
Xarelto, aspirin combo reduces risk of cardiovascular events in pivotal Ph3 trial
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Janssen touted data today from a pivotal Phase III trial showing that Xarelto plus aspirin reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary and peripheral artery disease compared to aspirin alone. Treatment with Xarelto twice per day and aspirin once-daily cut the risk of major cardiovascular events […]
Gilead expands into cell therapy with $11.9B Kite Pharma purchase
Taking a plunge into the cell therapy arena, Gilead Sciences (NSDQ:GILD) said today that it has inked an $11.9 billion deal to acquire Kite Pharma (NSDQ:KITE). The deal, which was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, is slated to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Gilead said it plans to pay $180 in cash […]
One Drop touts effects of diabetes management mobile app
One Drop touted data today from a retrospective study of people with Type I and Type II diabetes using its mobile diabetes management app. The data, which were published yesterday in JMIR Diabetes, showed that people using the One Drop mobile app had a 1.1% to 1.3% absolute reduction in A1C in 4 months. The app […]
‘Body-on-a-chip’ device screens human heart cells for drug toxicity
Researchers at Kyoto University‘s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences have developed a ‘body-on-a-chip’ device that can evaluate the side-effects of drugs on human cells, according to a study published today in the Royal Society of Chemistry Advances. The device was used to test the toxicity of doxorubicin, a cancer-killing drug, on human heart cells. The researchers […]
Federal judge dismisses faulty birth control suit against Merck
A Maine federal judge tossed out a woman’s lawsuit against Merck (NYSE:MRK), after she claimed that the company’s Nexplanon birth control implant allegedly failed to keep her from becoming pregnant. Kayla Doherty filed the suit in April 2015, seeking damages related to the costs of raising a child as a single mother and costs related to […]
Contract manufacturer Althea launches sterile vial filling line
Contract development & manufacturing organization Althea, an Ajinomoto company, announced today the launch of a new, high-performance sterile vial filling line. The Optima VFVM 7000 aseptic fill finish line adds to Althea’s drug product manufacturing capabilities and enables the company to work with larger batch sizes and a broader range of filling volumes – up […]
Titan wins FDA nod to study Parkinson’s implant
Titan Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:TTNP) said today that the FDA cleared the investigational new drug application for its ropinirole implant designed to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The Phase I/II trial, which is slated to enroll 20 patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, will transition patients taking oral ropinirole to Titan’s ropinirole implant for three months of treatment, […]
Propeller Health, GSK expand collaboration for connected inhaler
Propeller Health and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) said today that the two companies are planning to commercialize GSK’s Ellipta inhaler with Propeller’s clip-on medication sensor and software platform. The companies first announced their partnership in 2015 and in November last year the pair won 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market the Propeller plaftform with the Ellipta dry […]