Biotech News

Natick, MA-based Karyopharm Therapeutics has banked $48.2 million in Series B cash. The funds will be used to advance its pipeline of selective inhibitors of nuclear export (SINE) drug candidates for hematologic and solid tumors.

The agency has given the coveted status to the Lexington, MA-based biotech company's experimental treatment for use against early onset lysosomal acid lipase deficiency, an inherited disorder that typically kills infants within the first 6 month of life, according to the company.

The Los Angeles Times points a bright spotlight on the role former Navy Secretary and biowarfare consultant Richard Danzig played in successfully urging the U.S. government to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a new therapy developed by Human Genome Sciences to counter a possible anthrax attack.

FDA staffers found clear evidence to prove that Merck's blockbuster drug candidate suvorexant is quite effective in promoting sleep, but the internal review cites multiple safety issues for the high doses studied in clinical trials.

Shares of XenoPort skidded lower this morning after the biotech announced its lead experimental drug had decisively failed a late-stage study for spasticity triggered by multiple sclerosis. The troubled biopharma company, which has been struggling to spur sales for the approved drug Horizant for restless leg syndrome, immediately opted to bury the program.

In a dealmaking frenzy, cash-rich Elan has agreed to pay up to $693 million for a biotech company focused on rare diseases, picked up a big share of a start-up specialty pharma company based in Dubai, spun out its sole remaining clinical asset into a new company with $90 million in financing and set up an $800 million debt offering to help keep the deals coming.

Effector Therapeutics has rallied marquee investors for a sizable $45 million Series A financing, determined to use discoveries in protein translation to mine for new cancer drugs.