| Pfizer's 'Golden Age of Drug Discovery' Announcer Moves on to AstraZeneca Derek Lowe submits: Remember Pfizer's (PFE) "golden age of drug discovery", the one that it was entering back in April? News comes now that Martin Mackay, the company exec who gave Bloomberg News that quote, has left for AstraZeneca (AZN). Mackay had been head of Pfizer's research for the last three years, and will be head of R&D in his new position. The news story linked to has various analysts talking about Pfizer's recent problems, and Mackay's effect on them, but I think that sort of thing is unfair. Three years (in most cases) is nowhere near enough time to say whether a head of research is making an impact on the drug pipeline. That's one of the biggest problems with managing in this industry - the long lead times before you get the real answers about anything.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Pill to Boost Female Libido Rejected An FDA panel rejected a proposed drug for treating women with low sex drive, saying it has concerns about safety. online.wsj.com |
Chelsea Therapeutics: Not Just a Short-Term Trade BioShockers submits:Chelsea Therapeutics (CHTP) is a biopharmaceutical development company that acquires and develops innovative products for the treatment of a variety of human diseases. Their pipeline consists of Droxidopa (indicated for use in Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension, Fybromyalgia, and Intradialytic Hypotension, Adult ADHD, and Chronic Fatigue), and CH-4501 (indicated for use in Rheumatoid Arthritis). Chelsea’s latest stage drug is Droxidopa (also known as Northera), which is currently in two pivotal phase 3 trials for the treatment of Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension (NOH). They completed one phase 3 trial last year, which missed the primary endpoint, yet did very well in other endpoints. This caused the stock to drop from ~$7.50 to ~2.80s. Chelsea then announced they were going to meet with FDA to discuss changing the primary endpoint in their second phase 3 trial – the FDA said yes, and Chelsea changed the primary endpoint of Study 301 to an endpoint that had previously demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in NOH patients. Data from Study 301 are expected in September.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Cord Blood America Says Outreach Program to OB/GYN Nurses, Insurance Case Workers, Paying Significant Dividends [PR Newswire] - Cord Blood America, Inc. , the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life-saving potential of stem cells, a biological insurance policy, to families nationwide and internationally, said today Dr. us.rd.yahoo.com |
Savient Angers Investors by Flying Solo EP Vantage submits:Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT) does not seem to have learned from past mistakes. The New Jersey biotech raised the stakes on its last failed attempt to find a big pharma marketing partner for its gout therapy Krystexxa by seeking a trade sale, and lost close to half its value Monday after it announced it will now fly solo (Savient's broken promises cause share woe, September 30, 2008).The decision puts the company in the unenviable position of having to draw heavily on its $89m cash pile to build a commercial infrastructure, something it always hoped would be handled by a partner or buyer. Commercializing the drug itself is not an unattainable goal, as Krystexxa (pegloticase) is a specialty product for patients who fail on first-line treatments. However, with widely varying estimates on the commercial prospects of the product, it is not at all clear what the payoff will be in the long term (Savient needs to deliver partner sooner rather than later, September 15, 2010).Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |