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AstraZeneca
Latest Headlines
Latest Headlines
UK's CAT outlines ambitious growth plans
Cambridge Antibody Technology is unveiling some ambitious growth plans. CAT, which was recently acquired by AstraZeneca, has leased a 92,000-square-foot lab and office complex and plans to start hiring new staffers in the UK. The new building will house up to 300 employees. AstraZeneca is looking to CAT's work in antibodies to provide some of the exciting new drug discoveries its own lab has failed to produce.- …
New trial for CytoFab as investors urge action
AstraZeneca is planning a new mid-stage trial of CytoFab for severe sepsis which will take 21 months to complete. The prospect of a delay for CytoFab hammered the share price of the UK's Protherics, which licensed the drug to AstraZeneca 11 months ago in a deal valued at up to $372 million. The move could delay AstraZeneca's plans to launch a Phase III trial in 2007, which would delay a potential market launch. But company officials cautioned that a successful new mid-stage trial could …
SPOTLIGHT: Nexium formulation wins FDA approval
The FDA has approved a new formulation of Nexium for gastroesophageal reflux disease. Nexium is AstraZeneca's biggest seller. Report
AZ's Seroquel receives additional approval
The FDA has approved AstraZeneca's Seroquel for depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder. The drug is already approved to treat manic episodes and is now the only therapy to treat both depressive and manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder. "Treating acute bipolar disorder with a single medication may help patients adhere to their medication regimen," said John Patterson, executive director of development for AstraZeneca, in a press release.- see this …
ALSO NOTED: New timeline for gaboxadol; Boehringer to buy Zantac;and much more...
> Merck and Lundbeck have pulled the plug on their timeline for the closely-watched sleep therapy gaboxadol. Researchers from the two companies, which are collaborating on the drug's development, say that much slower than expected enrollment into a Phase III trial will make it impossible for them to file for FDA approval in the first quarter of next year. They have pushed back their timeline for an NDA to mid-2007, which would delay any potential approval until the end of 2008. …
ALSO NOTED: Nucryst drug fails trial; Dr. Bugg to retire from Biocryst; Pozen shares jump; and much more...
> Nucryst Pharmaceuticals announced that a mid-stage trial of its topical cream for dermatitis did not achieve its goal, according to a preliminary review of the data. The company plans to continue to study other uses of the drug. Report > Chutes & Ladders: BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced that Charles E. Bugg, Ph.D., the company's chairman, CEO and co-founder, has informed …
AstraZeneca to continue ambitious deal-making
AstraZeneca development director John Patterson put the spotlight on the importance of R&D during the FT Global Pharma and Biotech conference in London, but he made it clear that in-licensing would drive a swelling portion of the company's future drug work. Patterson estimated that in four years, 20 to 30 percent of the company's development portfolio will have been in-licensed. AstraZeneca has been hungry for new deals recently, …
Schering, AstraZeneca ink cancer pact
Germany's Schering and the UK's AstraZeneca are joining forces to develop a new therapy for breast cancer. AstraZeneca and Schering will share the costs and profits of developing SERD, a preclinical estrogen receptor inhibitor. The receptors pose a barrier to hormone treatments, a mainstay of breast cancer therapy. "The novel SERD has the potential to deliver significant benefit to patients with estrogen-dependent cancers: the lead indication will be breast cancer," noted Schering in a statement.- here's the AP report on the pact
Dynavax, AstraZeneca ink $136M deal
Dynavax Technologies has inked a collaboration deal with the UK's AstraZeneca to develop new TLR-9 agonist-based therapies for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Dynavax gains $10 million up front, research funds and preclinical milestones that could raise its committed financing to $27 million. The total package is worth up to $136 million for Dynavax. "We believe that AstraZeneca is the ideal partner for the development of asthma and COPD ISS-based …
SPOTLIGHT: UK to provide cancer drugs
Britain's health watchdog NICE is opening up free access to a group of aromatase inhibitors for postmenopausal women with invasive hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. The decision will allow for free access to such drugs as AstraZeneca's Arimidex and Novartis' Femara. Article
