Articles By Cyndi Root

  1. MacroGenics and Takeda Partner To Develop DART For Autoimmune Disorders 5/28/2014
    Takeda announced in a press release that it has partnered with MacroGenics to develop and commercialize MGD010 for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The collaboration centers around MacroGenics’ proprietary Dual-Affinity Re-Targeting (DART) technology that simultaneously engages CD32B and CD79B, two B-cell surface proteins.
  2. FDA Approves Amgen's Vectibix For Wild-Type KRAS Metastatic Colorectal Cancer 5/28/2014

    Amgen announced in a press release that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vectibix (panitumumab). The biologic for use with Folfox, is indicated for patients with wild-type KRAS (exon 2) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The FDA also approved a companion diagnostic test, the therascreen KRAS RGQ PCR Kit. The approval advances personalized medicine, as the new therapy uses genetic markers to target cancer treatment.

  3. Chugai Licenses Antibody Engineering Technologies To Roche 5/28/2014
    Chugai Pharmaceutical announced in a press release that it has licensed its antibody engineering technologies to F. Hoffmann-La Roche. Roche intends to use the technologies for its antibody drug candidates. Chugai will also provide custom antibodies for Roche targets. Chugai has been collaborating with Roche since 2002, when Chugai became a subsidiary of Roche. Currently, Roche owns a large stake in Chugai. Roche CEO Severin Schwan said as recently as last year that Roche has no plans to increase its stake in Chugai.
  4. UK Organizations Agree To Animal Research Transparency 5/19/2014

    Bioscience organizations in the UK have agreed to provide more transparency in animal research. Pharmaceutical companies, universities, CROs, and charities have signed The Concordat on Openness on Animal Research, announced in a press release by the Understanding Animal Research (UAR) organization, which developed the program.

  5. CDC Recommends Preventative Antiviral For HIV/AIDS 5/19/2014

    The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines for the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The federal agency said that people who think they are at risk for contracting the virus, should consider taking a preventative antiviral. The CDC recommends pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily pill, for people who do not have the disease. Gilead Sciences’ Truvada is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug for the newly recommended regime, although many antiretroviral drugs could be used, and there may be an increase in applications to the FDA for HIV/AIDS prevention.

  6. Biogen Idec And Sobi Join World Federation Of Hemophilia Aid Program 5/15/2014

    Biogen Idec and Sobi have joined the humanitarian aid program at the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). The WFH has been providing leadership in bleeding disorders for 50 years. Biogen and Sobi have pledged to provide clotting factor therapy, up to 500 million IUs, over five years. An additional 5000 million IUs of clotting factor is earmarked for future distribution. The new pledge by Biogen and Sobi is part of a wider effort to include pharmaceutical companies in raising the standard of care in the developing world.

  7. Two Studies Suggest Young Blood Transplants Could Rejuvenate Older People 5/8/2014

    Two separate studies have suggested that transplanting blood from young people into older people may be rejuvenating. The studies published in Nature Medicine and Science were conducted in animal models, however the implications are intriguing for human aging. Stopping the clock, extending life, and improving the quality of life holds tremendous opportunity for biotechnology companies. Treatments for healthy people to slow aging are one big area to market to and the new discoveries offer hope for people with disease states like heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

  8. Sentinel Oncology and Oncothyreon To Collaborate On Cancer Drugs 4/28/2014

    Sentinel Oncologyannounced in a press release that it has agreed to collaborate with Oncothyreon. The two companies will conduct drug discovery on Sentinel’s Checkpoint Kinase 1 (Chk1) program. Oncothyreon will fund research at Sentinel’s facilities, provide milestone and royalty payments, and receive exclusive marketing rights for any compounds developed and approved by regulatory authorities. Bob Boyle, CEO of Sentinel said, “We are delighted that Oncothyreon has recognized the value of our Chk1 program. It is an exciting target, and we look forward to capitalizing on Oncothyreon’s expertise in order to drive the program forward into clinical studies.”

  9. Emergent BioSolution's BioThrax Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation 4/22/2014

    Emergent BioSolutions announced in a press release that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted BioThrax an Orphan Drug Designation.

  10. Astellas And Medivation Seek New Indication For Xtandi In sNDA To FDA 3/27/2014

    Astellas Pharma Inc. and Medivation Inc. announced in a press release that they submitted a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).