Bayer (ETR:BAYN) and Versant Ventures said today that the 2 groups closed a $225 million Series A financing round to launch BlueRock Therapeutics, a regenerative medicine company focused on developing induced pluripotent stem cell therapies. The funds are estimated to support the company for 4 years as it advances cell therapy clinical programs for cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. “Accessing […]
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Federal watchdog to investigate CMS drug rebate program
The Office of the Inspector General of the Health and Human Services Departments said last week that it will begin investigating whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services properly monitors its Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. The investigation comes after CMS reported that Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) underpaid Medicaid by not paying appropriate rebates. The Canonsburg, Penn.-based company said […]
Mylan, Allergan launch fight over Restasis eye drop patents
Allergan (NYSE:AGN) said this week that it will “vigorously defend” the patents for its Restasis eye drops, after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board agreed to an inter partes review of 6 patents as requested by generic competitor Mylan (NSDQ:MYL). The patents are valid until August 2024. “Allergan is disappointed in […]
AngioSoma taps new CEO
AngioSoma (OTCQB:SOAN) said today that it named Ken Stephenson to the Montgomery, Texas-based company’s corner office. Alexanderia Blankenship will now serve as chief operating officer and executive VP. Stephenson has worked with hospitals, health insurance organizations and physician’s offices throughout Texas, according to the company. He previously helped set up practices for interventional radiologists and […]
CMS pinpoints cost-driving drugs in newly released data
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released 5 years of pricing data for a list of more than 5,000 drugs this week. The data illustrate that a handful of cost-driving drugs experienced price hikes in 2015, which cost taxpayers millions in added Medicare spending. The price of some drugs went up almost 500%, with name-brand […]
Clearside Biomedical prices $36m IPO
Clearside Biomedical (NSDQ:CLSD) today priced its $36 million initial public offering, floating 4 million shares at $9 apiece and including a 30-day underwriters option for 600,000 more shares. Alpharetta, Ga.-based Clearside said it plans to use theIPO proceeds to fund a pivotal Phase III trial of its suspension formulation of corticosteroid triamcinolone acetonide, Zuprata, for […]
BioDelivery reacquires license to buprenorphine film
BioDelivery Sciences International (NSDQ:BDSI) said today that it reacquired the license to the Belbuca (buprenorphine) buccal film from Endo Pharmaceuticals. Malvern, Penn-based Endo Pharmaceuticals licensed the worldwide manufacturing and marketing rights to the opioid patch from BioDelivery in 2012. Belbuca, a once-daily opioid, is indicated for the management of severe pain. The small, peppermint-flavored film works by […]
Trump comments send pharma, biotech shares down
(Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday took aim at drugmakers, promising in a magazine interview that “I’m going to bring down drug prices,” and shares of U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies fell. In a cover story for Time magazine, which named him its Person of the Year, Trump said that “I don’t like what […]
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 […]
Mylan to cut 10% of workforce in restructuring efforts
Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) shares dropped 5% this morning after it said in regulatory filing that it expects to cut less than 10% of its global workforce as a result of its restructuring efforts. The Canonsburg, Penn.-based company has about 35,000 employees, according to Reuters, and wrote in the SEC filing that it will implement restructuring programs in specific […]
