Drug Companies Update July 2009
Mergers, acquisitions & Joint Ventures
- Clinical Data has acquired Avalon.
- Effector Cell institute has changed its name to ECI.
- Expression Genetics has changed its name to EGEN.
- Glycotope has acquired Nemod Biotherapeutics.
- Modigene has changed its name to Protor Biotech.
New Companies
- Almac Discovery is an independent member of the Almac Group which develops novel anticancer therapies.
- Aragon Pharmaceuticals is developing novel small molecule therapies for the treatment of hormone-resistant cancers.
- Archivel Farma, spun out from Archivel Technologies in 2005, is developing novel therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis and other diseases.
- Artificial Cell Technologies is an early-stage biotechnology company concerned with the development of novel vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases.
- Ascent Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company concerned with the development of pepudicin lipopeptides against G-protein coupled receptors for the treatment of inflammation, cancer, CNS disorders and cardiovascular disease.
- Astrogenix is developing therapeutic agents via its biomarker discovery programme, which uses the microgravity environment of space to assess biological systems.
- Ausio Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company developing therapies targeting diseases associated with ageing populations.
- Beactica is a fragment-based drug discovery company, using its proprietary Sprint surface plasmon resonance platform to pursue novel small molecule therapeutics.
- Bioo Scientific is a biotechnology company, which provides products and services for drug discovery, academic research and diagnostics.
- Bonenta is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of drug-eluting synthetic bone grafts to increase bone healing.
- China Sky One Medical is a holding company involved in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical, medical and diagnostic products, including over-the-counter products that use traditional Chinese medicine herbs and other natural ingredients.
- Egenix is a pharmaceutical company developing small molecule inhibitors of translation initiation as novel anticancer therapeutics.
- Fate Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company focused on stem cell and developmental biological research, including adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS) to modulate stem cells to restore health.
- Gaia BioPharma is a pharmaceutical company focused on the development of injectable therapeutics for hospital use.
- Glycotope is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutic antibodies and glycoprotein-based therapeutics.
- IGF Oncology is developing novel targeted anticancer drugs, using its proprietary technology to conjugate standard chemotherapy drugs with the hormone insulin-like growth factor (IGF).
- ImmBio is a vaccine company developing next-generation anti-infective vaccines.
- Inhibikase is a biotechnology company focused on ther development of re-purposed drugs and creating NCEs for the treatment of infectious diseases, as well as Karposi's sarcoma.
- KemPharm is a biotechnology company focused on the development of NCEs for the treatment of a variety of conditions and disorders, using its ligand-activated therapy (LAT) prodrug technology.
- Minerva is a biotechnology company focused on neurology, cancer and stem cell therapies.
- Omni Bio is developing therapeutics across a range of indications by investigating alternative uses ofn substances already approved for the clinic.
- Oncoceutics is a start-up pharmaceutical company spun out of the University of Pennsylvania, focused on the development of small molecule compounds for the restoration of tumour function in cancer. The initial focus will be restoration of the p53 signalling pathway.
- Oncopeptides is a biotechnology company using its proprietary technology to develop formulations of alkylating anticancer drugs.
- Phage is developing protein pharmaceuticals, including PEGylated versions of marketed products.
- Pharnext is a biopharmaceutical company developing compounds for a variety of diseases.
- Poxel is a pharmaceutical company spun out from Merck Serono (Merck KgaA), focused on the development of therapies for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases through to Phase II proof of concept, before out-licensing.
- Propanc is developing a drug class for late-stage metastatic cancer, based on work by Professor John Beard at Edinburgh university using fresh pancreatic enzyme extracts.
- Protea is a biotechnology company focused on the development of vaccines against pneumococcal serotypes prevalent among humans using an immunoproteomics-based approach.
- Seagull Technology is a company focused on the development of non-invasive drug delivery systems. The lead product is a system employing ultrasound-activated polymers to deliver drugs to the surface of the eye.
- Serodus is developing new medicines for the treatment of diseases involving serotonin signalling outside of the central nervous system.
- S.L.A. Pharma is developing products for lower gastrointestinal conditions including anal fissure, perianal Crohn's disease, recurring polyposis, ulcerative colitis and constipation.
- Solasia is acquiring and developing Western oncology therapies for the Asian market.
- Stratatech Corporation is a regenerative medicine company focused on the development of cell-based tissue engineering products for wound care.
- Umecrine Mood is a company focused on the development of therapeutics for the treatment of negative mental and physical symptoms of premenstrual dysmorphic disorder and premenstrual syndrome.
- Versartis is a biotechnology company developing therapeutic proteins for the treatment of metabolic and endocrine disorders.
- Zhejiang Beta Pharma is a pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It also processes and markets generic drugs.
