CenterWatch News

GlaxoSmithKline has entered into an agreement with Cellzome, a privately-held chemical proteomics company, to acquire all shares in the company it does not currently own for $99 million in cash. Cellzome, which has laboratories in Cambridge, U.K., and Heidelberg, Germany, will become part of GSK's R&D organization.

Zambon, an Italian chemical and pharmaceutical company, has formed a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Newron Pharmaceuticals, an R&D company focused on novel CNS and pain therapies, for the latter’s lead compound safinamide.

Promedior, a Malvern, Penn.-based clinical stage biotech developing novel biologic therapeutics for the treatment of fibrosis, has appointed Suzanne L. Bruhn, Ph.D., as president, CEO and to the board of directors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tsinghua University of Beijing have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership.

Cornerstone Therapeutics, a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Cary, N.C., will acquire EKR Therapeutics, a Bedminster, N.J-based privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the acute-care hospital setting.

Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius has released an ambitious national plan to fight Alzheimer’s disease, named “The National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Regentis Biomaterials, a privately held company of Princeton, N.J., focused on developing proprietary hydrogels for tissue regeneration, has raised $10 million in its latest round of funding.

More than half of all image-related clinical trial query stoppages result from preventable human errors, according to industry research. In response, AG Mednet has launched its Submission Quality & Compliance module that delivers a new layer of automated quality assurance to reduce submission error rates and bring preventable delays to zero.

Ariosa Diagnostics, a molecular diagnostics company of San Jose, Calif., has signed a deal with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) and Integrated Genetics, to distribute and administer its HarmonyPrenatal Test in the U.S. and Canada.

Joseph P. Miletich, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president of R&D at Amgen, submitted testimony to the FDA stakeholder hearing on biosimilars, urging members of the FDA panel charged with implementing a pathway for biosimilars to establish approval standards that advance patient safety and promote confidence in biosimilars marketed in the U.S.

SoftGenetics and 454 Life Sciences, a Roche subsidiary, have entered into a co-promotion agreement designed to provide users of 454 Sequencing Systems with the sequencing data analysis options provided by SoftGenetics’ NextGENe software.

Speciality pharmaceutical company Depomed of Menlo Park, Calif., has received a $1 million milestone payment from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Mass., following the development and delivery of a prototype formulation of an Ironwood development candidate.

BRANY (Biomedical Research Alliance of New York) and Montreal-based Veritas IRB have partnered to provide clinical trial review, compliance and other IRB services in both the United States and Canada.

Pittsburgh, Penn.-based invivodata, a fully-integrated clinical outcomes assessments company, has been chosen to deliver regulatory consulting services for a phase III trial that UCB is conducting in the development of a unique biopharmaceutical product to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

The FDA is alerting health care professionals and patients about injuries and death associated with the use of an experimental procedure sometimes called “liberation therapy” or the “liberation procedure” to treat chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI).

INC Research, a therapy-focused CRO, has broadened its services around Medidata Solutions' clinical cloud platform by attaining three new accreditations.

GlaxoSmithKline will not participate in Human Genome Sciences’ strategic alternatives review process and will instead commence a tender offer this week to acquire all outstanding shares of HGS for $13.00 per share in cash.

Cambridge, Mass.-based ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), one of the largest ALS drug development centers, has entered into a partnership with Netherlands-based biotech Regenesance to investigate a potential treatment for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Creabilis, a European biotech specializing in the development of treatments for dermatology, inflammation and pain, has appointed Simon Russell as chief business officer.

Calgary, Alberta-based Oncolytics Biotech has chosen NCIC Clinical Trials Group at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, to sponsor and conduct a randomized phase II study of Reolysin in patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer.

Marken, a global clinical supply chain solutions provider, has acquired the European kit building operation from Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings through its LabCorp Clinical Trials division.

Congressman Tom Reed has introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives which strengthens the enforcement mechanisms of the requirement to publicly report results of cancer trials and research conducted with federal grant money. The goal of the legislation is greater sharing of cancer research results in the search for a cure to cancer.

Netherlands holding company Qiagen has acquired AmniSure International, a privately owned Boston company that markets the AmniSure assay for determining whether a pregnant woman is suffering rupture of fetal membranes (ROM), a condition in which fluid leaks from the amniotic sac prematurely. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Switzerland-based Novartis has signed a definitive agreement to acquire specialty dermatology generics company Fougera Pharmaceuticals of Melville, N.Y., for $1.5 billion in cash.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has unveiled a collaborative program, Discovering New Therapeutic Uses for Existing Molecules, that will match researchers with a selection of pharmaceutical industry compounds to help scientists explore new treatments for patients.

Abbott, one of India's largest health care companies, is collaborating with Syngene, an Indian CRO and subsidiary of Biocon, to establish its first nutrition R&D center in the country.

Johnson & Johnson China Investment has acquired Guangzhou Bioseal Biotech, a privately held biopharmaceutical company specializing in the design, development and commercialization of a porcine plasma-derived biologic product for controlling bleeding during surgery. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. 

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved Sanofi Pasteur’s, standalone Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) against acute flaccid poliomyelitis (Imovax Polio). Imovax Polio will be added to the country's public immunization program on September 1.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has appointed Lynn Elsenhans and Jing Ulrich as non-executive directors to the company’s board, beginning July 1, 2012.

Covance, a Princeton, N.J.-based provider of drug development services, has promoted Bill Klitgaard to corporate senior vice president and chief information officer, and Alison Cornell to corporate vice president and chief financial officer, effective May 8 upon approval by the board of directors.

Synexus, a global company that recruits and runs late phase clinical trials, has further strengthened its leadership position in Poland with the acquisition of Warsaw-based Osteomed for an undisclosed sum.

Sermo, an online community exclusive to physicians, and TheVisualMD, a producer of comprehensive, visual health content, are teaming up to provide doctors with content, enabling a more dynamic online experience for cross-disciplinary discussion and collaboration on key therapeutic areas and disease states.

Regulus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on medicines targeting microRNAs, has appointed Bruce Carter, Ph.D., to its board of directors.

UH Harrington Discovery Institute has launched the Harrington Scholar-Innovator grant competition that serves as a nationwide search for physician-scientists seeking support to accelerate their promising drug discoveries into novel treatments for patients.

ImmuVen, a biotech based in Champaign, Ill., was awarded a phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant totaling $1.68 million from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease.

Caisson Biotech, a subsidiary of Heparinex, has entered into a development and license agreement with Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company based in Denmark.

The French government has replaced the French Food Safety Agency of Health Products with the new National Security Agency of Medicines and Health Products (MSNA).

Axerion Therapeutics, a private Connecticut-based biotech, and MedImmune, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, have entered into a research collaboration and sublicense arrangement to develop and commercialize a biologic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Global CRO Parexel International has released its financial results for the third quarter ended March 31, 2012.

Haemonetics, global healthcare company focused on blood management solutions, has decided to acquire the business assets of Hemerus Medical, a Minn.-based company that develops innovative technologies for the collection of whole blood and the processing and storage of blood components. 

PRA, a global CRO, has formed a strategic relationship with biotech Amgen for a series of phase III studies to develop several biosimilar drugs on a worldwide basis.

Benchmark Research’s Austin, Texas location was recognized as Best Clinical Trial Site at the 2012 Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards, held during the Annual World Vaccine Congress.

Boston, Mass., May 1, 2012—Results of the 2012 CenterWatch Study of Global Investigative Sites released in today’s CenterWatch Monthly reveal wide differences in profits, growth and economic optimism between the largest and smallest sites, the youngest and oldest sites, and for-profit versus not-for-profit sites.

Newer sites most optimistic about the future

Recipients have been selected for the 2012 SAFE-BioPharma Digi Award, recognizing innovative uses of the global SAFE-BioPharma digital identity and digital signature standard and the institutions and individuals contributing to broader understanding of its benefits. Recipients included: Astellas, Bristol-Myers Squibb and representatives of two U.S. government entities.

AMRI, a global CRO, has added Saravanakumar Dhakshinamoorthy, Ph.D., to the ranks of its management team in Singapore, serving as director of in vitro biology.

Service provider Almac has been recognized for its technological developments, scooping a top award at the recent Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland Business Awards 2012, in association with British Midland International (BMI).

Baxter International, a healthcare company based in Deerfield, Ill., has released results from its phase III clinical trial evaluating Gammagard Liquid 10% (Immune Globulin Infusion (Human)) for the treatment of multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN).

The FDA has approved Stendra (avanafil) tablets for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), marking the first new prescription agent approved in nearly a decade for the condition that afflicts as many as 30 million men in the U.S., according to biopharmaceutical company Vivus.

Switzerland-based Actelion Pharmaceuticals' initial analysis indicates that the pivotal, long-term phase III SERAPHIN study with macitentan, a novel dual endothelin receptor antagonist, has met its primary endpoint.

Pharmanest, a Stockholm-based pharmaceutical company, has dosed its first patient has in an open label pharmacokinetic phase I study with its drug candidate SHACT, a product developed for pain relief in connection with intrauterine device (IUD) insertion.

Tolero Pharmaceuticals, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based company focused on cancer, has been granted exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize compounds from Valencia, Calif.-based MannKind’s novel BTK (Bruton’s tyrosine kinase) program, which are currently being developed for the treatment of hematological malignancies and inflammatory diseases.

Astellas Pharma of Tokyo and Drais Pharmaceuticals of Bridgewater, N.J., have entered into a uniquely structured partnership to develop and commercialize an Astellas compound currently in phase IIa study.

Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company headquartered in Denmark, is planning a nearly 15% expansion of its U.S. work force in 2012.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals has agreed to acquire EUSA Pharma, a privately-held, specialty pharmaceutical company with headquarters in the U.S. and U.K., for $650 million in cash and a potential $50 million milestone payable in cash based upon its lead product, Erwinaze, achieving a specified U.S. net sales target in 2013.

Watson Pharmaceuticals has decided to acquire privately held generics pharmaceutical company Actavis Group for an upfront payment of $5.6 billion. As a result, Watson will become the third largest global generics company with 2012 anticipated pro forma revenue of approximately $8 billion.

Frontage, a global CRO based in Ecton, Penn., has signed an agreement to develop clinical trial supplies with AtheroNova, a biotech company focused on R&D of compounds to regress atherosclerotic plaque.

Global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has announced that CEO and board member David Brennan has decided to retire, effective June 1, 2012.

CRO Covance of Princeton, N.J., and BML, a Japanese laboratory testing company, will expand the Covance-BML Clinical Trial Laboratory (CB Trial Lab) in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, to enhance the capacity and capabilities in the region. The companies, which opened the lab together in 2010 as part of a five-year agreement, will launch several new expansion-related services this month.

CRO Chiltern International Limited has established a new legal entity in Taiwan.

INC Research of Raleigh, N.C., confirmed it is closing its clinical study unit in Morgantown, W.V., according to an online report in The State Journal.

Targacept, a N.C.-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics, plans to reduce its workforce by 65 employees, approximately 46%, as part of a strategic plan to focus the company's resources on its clinical programs and select preclinical opportunities.

In a second phase III trial (CONFIRM), Biogen Idec’s oral BG-12 (dimethyl fumarate) demonstrated efficacy across a variety of clinical and radiological outcome measures, as well as favorable safety and tolerability profiles in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Argos Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company of Durham, N.C., has secured a $25 million Series D financing to support the commencement of its phase III ADAPT study in patients with newly diagnosed, metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) in mid-2012.

The European Commission has approved Novartis’ Signifor (pasireotide) for the treatment of adult patients with Cushing's disease for whom surgery is not an option or for whom surgery has failed. Signifor is the first medicine to be approved in the E.U. targeting Cushing's disease.

Ipsen, a global specialty-driven pharmaceutical company, has decided to open new commercial headquarters in Basking Ridge, N.J.

Amgen, a global biotech based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., will acquire 95.6% of shares in Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceuticals (MN), a privately held Turkish pharmaceutical company, for approximately $700 million. The all-cash transaction will significantly expand Amgen's presence in Turkey and the surrounding region, which are large, fast-growing, priority markets for Amgen.  

Global pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck Serono has announced efficiency plans for its Swiss operations as part of its comprehensive transformation program—focused on addressing unprecedented market shifts, increasing competition in key product areas and existing inefficiencies in its own organization.

Icon, a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, has released its first quarter financial results for 2012, reporting its Q1 net revenues grew 10% year on year to $252.3 million from $229.3 million in Q1 2011.

IMS Health of Danbury, Conn., has acquired DecisionView, a San Francisco-based software solutions company that helps life sciences organizations plan and track patient enrollment for clinical trials around the world. DecisionView offers decision support tools to improve the speed, efficiency and performance of clinical trial planning and management.

Cary, N.C.-based CRO Cetero Research has reached a final resolution with the FDA over studies the company conducted in its Houston bioanalytical laboratory between April 1, 2005 and June 15, 2010. Following months of open collaboration between Cetero and the agency, the FDA summarized its final decision:

Venture capitalists invested $5.8 billion in 758 deals in the first quarter of 2012, according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), based on data provided by Thomson Reuters. Quarterly venture capital (VC) investment activity fell 19% in terms of dollars and 15% in the number of deals compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, when $7.1 billion was invested in 889 deals.

OrbiMed, a global investment management firm focused on the healthcare sector, has closed its first investment fund dedicated to life sciences venture capital opportunities based in Israel. The Fund, OrbiMed Israel Partners Limited Partnership, includes an anchor investment provided by the government of Israel, which also provided special economic terms through the initial tender process for the Fund.

Iris Pharma of France, an ophthalmic preclinical and clinical CRO, and RxGen, a Connecticut-based specialty preclinical CRO focused on the development and application of translational research models, have formed a strategic alliance to offer fully integrated “bench-to-bedside” ophthalmology research services.

NextBio of Santa Clara, Calif., has unveiled NextBio Clinical, an extension of the company's existing life sciences platform to translational medicine applications such as biomarker discovery and clinical trial optimization.

Global pharmaceutical company Abbott and St Jude Medical of St. Paul, Minn., have collaborated on the Choice Alliance, a multi-year joint initiative that provides mutual U.S. customers access to a robust portfolio of interventional cardiology, electrophysiology and intravascular imaging, cardiac rhythm management and diagnostic technologies.

FDA commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg has released the agency’s “Global Engagement Report,” detailing the many activities and strategies FDA is using to transform from a domestic to a global public health agency.

Global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire Ardea Bioscience, a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics.

A strengthened and modernized post-market drug safety program has resulted in a substantial improvement in the FDA’s oversight of drugs once they reach the American public, according to a new report by the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The report, “Advances in FDA’s Safety Program for Marketed Drugs,” describes new scientific tools and enhanced capabilities that give the same priority to post-market drug safety monitoring as to premarket drug review.

Quintiles, a global biopharmaceutical services company, has appointed Tom Pike as CEO effective April 30 as part of the company’s long-term succession planning. 

Biota Holdings, an Australian anti-infective drug development company, and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals of Rockville, Md., have signed a Merger Implementation Agreement to form the combined company Biota Pharmaceuticals, to be headquartered in the U.S.

BioTime, a biotech based in Alameda, Calif., and its wholly owned subsidiary LifeMap Sciences have signed a definitive agreement to acquire XenneX through a merger of XenneX into LifeMap Sciences. The acquisition is expected to close within thirty days.

Worldwide Clinical Trials (WCT), a global, full-service CRO, has received strong ratings and recommendations from Industry Standard Research (ISR), who recently published “2012 CRO Quality Benchmarking Report.”

Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics (CTI) has purchased worldwide rights to pacritinib from S*BIO, Singapore’s first fully integrated drug discovery company.

Decision Resources, a research and advisory firm for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, found that in 2011, the global pharmaceutical market, in dollar terms, benefitted significantly from positive currency effects.

Human Genome Sciences has refused GlaxoSmithKline’s unsolicited offer on April 11 proposing to acquire all of the outstanding shares of HGS for $13.00 per share in cash ($2.6 billion), an 81% premium to closing share price on April 18.

Abbott has released results from a phase III trial evaluating the company's investigational compound, levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG), for advanced Parkinson's disease.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has signed an agreement to acquire certain assets from Atlantis Pharma, a branded generics pharmaceutical company in Mexico, for approximately $71 million.

Mylan, a generics and specialty pharmaceutical company based in Canonsburg, Penn., will expand its operations in Dublin and Galway, Ireland, by investing up to $100 million over the next five years.

The Thiel Foundation has awarded its first six Breakout Labs grants, the company’s revolutionary revolving fund to promote innovation in science and technology.

Five Prime Therapeutics, a biotech based in San Francisco, has entered into its second strategic drug discovery alliance with GlaxoSmithKline in two years.

Tempe, Ariz.-based Clinical Research Advantage (CRA), a community-based network of clinical trial sites, has been named best clinical trial site network bythe World Vaccine Congress.

An investigational oral drug called ONO-4641 reduced the number of lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a phase II clinical trial supported by Ono Pharmaceutical.

ImmunoGen, a biotechnology company that develops anticancer therapeutics using Targeted Antibody Payload (TAP) technology, has begun a phase I trial of its IMGN529 anticancer compound.

Access Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, has released interim results from its ongoing MuGard phase IV clinical trial in oral mucositis.

INC Research, a therapeutically focused CRO, has entered into a Functional Service Provider (FSP) alliance with Astellas Pharma to drive global consistency, save time and reduce costs for multiple clinical development programs across several therapeutic areas.

Roche has decided not to extend its tender offer for Illumina, based on preliminary estimates indicating the re-election of the incumbent directors of Illumina. Roche’s cash tender offer is due to expire on April 20, 2012 at 6 p.m. EST.

Burlington, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical company Dyax has granted Eclipse Therapeutics, a privately held oncology company of San Diego, exclusive worldwide license for the development and commercialization of preclinical fully-human antibodies discovered using Dyax's gold-standard phage display technology for use in oncology indications.

AMRI, a global contract research and manufacturing organization, was selected by Biota Holdings, an Australian anti-infective drug development company, to further develop and manufacture influenza antiviral CS8958 (laninamivir), a second-generation, long-acting neuraminidase inhibitor.

Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a Berwyn, Penn.-based company developing Detect-Ready tests designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, has completed a $1.9 million Series B recapitalization financing. 

Investment in research and development by members of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) remained strong at $49.5 billion in 2011, as the sector adapts to meet the challenges of evolving science, a changing marketplace and a difficult economic environment.

UCB reported positive top-line results from a phase III study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) in patients with adult-onset active axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), a family of inflammatory rheumatic diseases which includes ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Vivia Biotech, a Spanish company focused on hematologic cancers, has successfully closed its second financing round of $9.4 million.

Switzerland-based Lonza and Germany-based Agennix have signed an agreement for the production of Agennix’s talactoferrin.

India-based Piramal Healthcare has acquired worldwide rights to Bayer Pharmaceuticals’ molecular imaging research and development portfolio through Piramal Imaging, its newly created subsidiary.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on central nervous system disorders, has acquired an exclusive world-wide license from Eli Lilly to develop and commercialize a small molecule neurokinin 1 receptor (NK-1R) antagonist for all human indications.

Merck has entered into an agreement with Endocyte, a biopharmaceutical company based in West Lafayette, Ind., to develop and commercialize Endocyte's novel investigational therapeutic candidate vintafolide (EC145), which gained orphan drug status from the E.U. in March.

Through a newly-formed research collaboration, Conformetrix, a company focused on optimizing drug discovery and design, will apply its proprietary NMR-based technology across AstraZeneca’s pre-clinical therapeutic pipeline to enhance lead discovery and hit identification.

Shire Pharmaceuticals, a global specialty biopharmaceutical company, will acquire all the assets of Pervasis Therapeutics of Cambridge, Mass.

Quintiles, a global biopharmaceutical services company, has been named “Best Clinical Research Organization” (CRO) in the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards 2012, which recognizes and celebrates the leaders, innovators and pioneers in the vaccines industry.

ImmunAid, a private Australian-based biotech, has successfully completed its first capital raising over $1 million from independent arm's-length investors in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

Tioga Pharmaceuticals of San Diego has closed its $10 million Series B equity financing led by new investor Thomas, McNerney & Partners, which invested $8 million in the round.

Seattle Genetics and Millennium, a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical, have formed a collaboration with Ventana Medical Systems, a member of the Roche Group, through which Ventana will seek to develop, manufacture and commercialize a molecular companion diagnostic test with the goal of identifying patients who might respond to treatment with Adcetris based on CD30 expression levels in their tissue specimens.

Baltimore-based biopharmaceutical company Cerecor’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for FP01 for the treatment of cough has cleared the 30 day deliberation period by the FDA. 

Omeros, a Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company, has commenced enrollment in a second phase III clinical trial evaluating OMS302 in intraocular lens replacement (ILR) surgery.

INC Research, a therapeutically focused CRO of Raleigh, N.C., has appointed Christopher L. Gaenzle as its general counsel.  

Australia-based QRxPharma has completed two phase I studies in healthy volunteers for MoxDuo CR, a controlled-release Dual-Opioid utilizing a 3:2 ratio of morphine and oxycodone.

BIND Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has releases promising data from an ongoing phase I study of BIND-014, the company’s lead drug candidate within a new class of targeted therapeutics, Accurins, that are programmed to concentrate at tumors.

Mymetics, a Swiss-based biotech of mucosal and virosomal-based vaccines for infectious diseases, has appointed Grant E. Pickering as president and CEO and Christopher S. Henney as chairman of the board of directors. The changes were made in connection with Mymetics’ efforts to obtain additional financing and to advance the development of its vaccine platform.

Flagship Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on healthcare and sustainability, has partnered with Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) and its newly formed Merck Research Ventures Fund to back new ventures that apply scientific breakthroughs to the development of new drugs in areas of unmet medical need.

HIG BioVentures II, a HIG Capital fund that will invest in a broad range of sectors and development stages with a focus on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, has successfully closed as of March 28.

Threshold Pharmaceuticals, a biotech based in South San Francisco, has earned a $20 million milestone payment from Merck for achieving a statistically significant progression free survival benefit in its 214-patient randomized controlled phase II clinical trial (404 trial).

Worldwide, nearly 35.6 million people live with dementia. This number is expected to double by 2030 (65.7 million) and more than triple by 2050 (115.4 million). Dementia affects people in all countries, with more than half (58%) living in low- and middle-income countries. By 2050, this is likely to rise to more than 70%.

Arrowhead Research, a nanomedicine company with development programs in RNA therapeutics and obesity, has acquired Alvos Therapeutics (formerly Mercator Therapeutics), the first biopharmaceutical company to use in vivo phage display technology to systematically develop novel cancer drugs.

GE Healthcare IT has launched the newest version of Centricity EDI Services (5.4), a proven eligibility, claim and remittance clearinghouse for hospitals and physician practices.