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Sourcing Innovation
Podcast: June 10, 2013
Johnson & Johnson this month unveiled its new Johnson & Johnson California Innovation Center, one of four regional hubs being established in leading life science clusters. The center will house a diverse team of expert who are focused on forging early-stage collaborations with emerging companies, entrepreneurs, and academic centers. We spoke to Diego Miralles, who heads the center, about how it will operate, some of the deals it’s already made, and whether large pharmaceuticals companies need to change to better recognize and drive innovative products to market. Read More Here
By The Numbers
Biggest movers for the week ending June 7, 2013
|
TICKER |
COMPANY |
CLOSING PRICE 5/31/2013 |
CLOSING PRICE 6/7/2013
|
PRICE CHANGE |
PERCENT CHANGE |
|
ADVANCERS |
CLVS |
Clovis Oncology |
36.58 |
71.83 |
35.25 |
96.4% |
FLML |
Flamel Technologies |
4.82 |
6.18 |
1.36 |
28.2% |
CHTP |
Chelsea Therapeutics |
1.93 |
2.47 |
0.54 |
28.0% |
SNGX |
Soligenix |
1.46 |
1.85 |
0.39 |
26.7% |
ACAD |
Acadia Pharmaceuticals |
14.07 |
17.01 |
2.94 |
20.9% |
DECLINERS |
AFFY |
Affymax |
2.08 |
1.01 |
-1.07 |
-51.4% |
ENZN |
Enzon Pharmaceuticals |
3.06 |
1.62 |
-1.44 |
-47.1% |
SNTA |
Synta Pharmaceuticals |
7.38 |
4.55 |
-2.83 |
-38.3% |
INFI |
Infinity Pharmaceuticals |
26.95 |
18.13 |
-8.82 |
-32.7% |
VRML |
Vermillion |
4.04 |
2.76 |
-1.28 |
-31.7% |
Includes life sciences stocks with closing price of $1 or more on May 31, 2013, |
Positive Trial Results Raise Clovis Oncology Stock
Markets were volatile and investors uncertain as mixed economic news prevailed last week. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity showed slight contraction in the sector, reaching its lowest level in four years. Stocks fell in response but then rallied amid speculation that manufacturing weakness would postpone the Fed’s plans to raise interest rates or taper asset purchases. For the week, stocks were nearly flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.88 percent, while the S&P 500 was up 0.78 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.39 percent.
Clovis Oncology was the week’s biggest gainer, up over 96 percent after reporting positive findings from an ongoing combination early-mid stage study of rucaparib, its experimental PARP inhibitor in development for the treatment of ovarian cancer. A total of 89 percent of ovarian patients in the trial demonstrated clinical benefit, results that were presented during a poster session at ASCO 2013. Many analysts nearly doubled their target for the company’s share price.
Affymax declined 51.4 percent following an announcement that the company's common stock would be delisted from the Nasdaq effective June 6. The stock will continue to trade over-the-counter under the symbol AFFY. Ted Love, Kathleen LaPorte, and Keith Leonard resigned as directors and Hollings Renton stepped down from the chairman role. Affymax has had trouble since five deaths and additional reports of extreme hypersensitivity reactions to its erythropoietic agent Omontys forced a nationwide recall of the drug.
Pfizer Taps CytomX’s ADC Technology in Cancer
Biotech’s probodies are activated in tumor tissue but remain inert in healthy tissue.
Pfizer and CytomX Therapeutics have entered into a global strategic collaboration worth up to $635 million to develop and commercialize several new targeted anticancer drugs using the biotech’s probody drug conjugate technology. Read More Here
BURRILL INDICES |
12/31/2012 |
5/31/2013 |
6/7/2013 |
Week Change |
Year Change |
Burrill Select |
607.66 |
819.80 |
796.28 |
-2.9% |
31.0% |
Burrill Large Cap |
736.90 |
1010.91 |
951.05 |
-5.9% |
29.1% |
Burrill Mid-Cap |
309.52 |
402.22 |
384.87 |
-4.3% |
24.3% |
Burrill Small Cap |
105.48 |
127.05 |
131.93 |
3.8% |
25.1% |
Burrill Diagnostics |
191.32 |
211.26 |
208.58 |
-1.3% |
9.0% |
Burrill Personalized Medicine |
119.22 |
149.91 |
144.23 |
-3.8% |
21.0% |
Burrill Biogreentech |
162.27 |
183.67 |
176.26 |
-4.0% |
8.6% |
NASDAQ |
3019.51 |
3455.91 |
3469.22 |
0.4% |
14.9% |
DJIA |
13104.14 |
15115.57 |
15248.12 |
0.9% |
16.4% |
S&P 500 |
1426.19 |
1630.74 |
1643.38 |
0.8% |
15.2% |
Amex Biotech |
1547.03 |
1983.77 |
1915.92 |
-3.4% |
23.8% |
Amex Pharmaceutical |
369.57 |
421.253 |
424.495 |
0.8% |
14.9% |
Bill Gates Leads Investment in Open Science Initiative
ResearchGate Raises total of $35 Million for Social Network for researchers.
ResearchGate, a professional social network for scientists, has raised $35 million in a series C financing round from a group of investors to grow its open science platform. Bill Gates and Tenaya Capital led the round with participation from Dragoneer Investment Group, Thrive Capital, and existing investors Benchmark and Founders Fund. Read More Here
International Alliance Seeks to Share Genomic and Clinical Data
Groups hope to seize “extraordinary opportunity” and avoid balkanization of information.
An international group of leading healthcare, research, and disease advocacy organizations have come together in an effort to establish standards to foster the sharing of genomic and clinical data in an effort to unlock the links between genes and health. Read More Here
AstraZeneca Ends Development of Rigel's RA Drug
Termination is a blow to biotech with no other near-term pipeline candidates.
AstraZeneca said it will not proceed with a regulatory filing and will return to Rigel Pharmaceuticals all rights to fostamatinib, an oral treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. The drugmaker said its decision is based on mixed top-line results in two pivotal trials in patients that had not responded adequately to currently approved treatment regimens. Read More Here
Maxygen to Dissolve
Without options for its sole product, board says best decision is to distribute cash to shareholders.
Maxygen’s board is seeking shareholder approval to wind down and dissolve the company and distribute more than $68 million to stockholders. Read More Here
GSK Licenses MorphoSys Anti-Inflammatory for $29.4 Million
CEO calls transaction a “major milestone” for the company.
GlaxoSmithKline is licensing an experimental anti-inflammatory therapy developed by Germany’s MorphoSys for $29.4 million (22.5 million euros) and as much as $553 million (423 million euros) in additional payments. Read More Here
With ASCO Underway, Cancer Results in the News
A list of trial news updated throughout the conference.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology’s ASCO 2013 Annual Meeting began in Chicago May 31 and with it has come a stream of news about clinical trial results for experimental cancer drugs. Below are some of the results. This list will be updated throughout the conference as news warrants. Read More Here
Supreme Court Backs DNA Collection in Arrests
Cheek swabs and addition to a national DNA database will become common, Scalia warns.
A divided U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that police may take and analyze DNA samples from anyone arrested for a “serious offense” as part of the gathering of forensic evidence.Read More Here
New Class of Antibiotics on the Horizon
At least one compound identified that interferes with protein synthesis quality control.
A team of researchers has discovered what could become a new and more effective kind of antibiotic that disrupts protein synthesis in bacteria and makes them unable to replicate. With drug-resistant bacterial infections on the rise, it could be a solution to a major health concern around the world. Read More Here
Sanofi’s Possible PARP-1 Inhibitor Fails Late-Stage Trial
The weekly round-up of failed trials, missed targets, and other business mishaps.
Sanofi’s experimental therapy for lung cancer, iniparib, given in combination with chemotherapy failed a late-stage trial in patients with squamous cell lung cancer. Read More Here
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