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Amorfix and Biogen Partner to Develop ALS Therapy
July 14, 2010
Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement granting Biogen Idec exclusive worldwide rights to Amorfix's lead amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) monoclonal antibodies. The antibodies have shown efficacy in animal models of ALS and Biogen Idec will now, at its expense, complete the development and prepare for clinical trials.


iPerian Snags Google Venture Funding
July 12, 2010
The quickly expanding biotech, iPerian, is forging ahead with their plans to use patient-derived iPS cells for drug discovery efforts. Google Venture, a like-minded organization driven by innovative technology, is backing iPerian with $22 million dollars in Series B funding.


Emergence of Orphan Drugs in the United States: a Quantitative Assessment of the First 25 Years (Nature Subscription Required)
July 1, 2010
Since the launch of the US Orphan Drug Act in 1983, more than 326 drugs have been approved to treat more than 200 rare diseases. The remarkable impact that this act over the past 25 years is discussed here.


iPierian Presents Data on iPSC Program
June 22, 2010
iPierian presented data from its iPSC research programs at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 8th Annual Meeting. The presentation demonstrated that iPSC lines derived from patients with neurodegenerative diseases retain a 'memory' of the gene expression of parental cells. The relatively low variability of iPSC lines derived from individual patients also suggests that a single iPSC line is sufficient to represent a specific patient in disease modeling experiments, making them a useful tool for drug discovery efforts. "iPSCs offer the potential to study certain conditions in disease-specific human model systems for the first time, and we believe our iPS cell technology will ultimately lead to more effective, targeted therapies for patients worldwide," said Dr. Michael Venuti, President and CSO of iPierian.


Biotech Companies Awarded $4.6 Million by The Michael J. Fox Foundation to Advance Neurotrophic Factors as Therapies for Neurodegenerative Disease
June 22, 2010
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has awarded $4.6 million to support research into neurotrophic factor therapies for neurodegenerative disease. One awardee is San Diego-based Ceregene, a company developing gene therapy treatments for Parkinson's and ALS. The company says it is conducting a Phase II study that aims to deliver the neurotrophic factor neurturin to improve the status of degenerating neurons in the brain. The second award supports a collaborative effort between Biovail Laboratories International SRL and MedGenesis Therapeutix, Inc. to develop a different neurotrophic factor GDNF (glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor) for therapeutic purposes. GDNF is neurotrophic factor that acts on spinal motor neurons (the major type of neuron affected in ALS patients).