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Today's Top Story

• FDA appears ready to rethink antibiotic development
  An advisory panel's vote last week is among the signals that the FDA may be ready to reconsider the requirements for the clinical trials of antibiotics. As multidrug-resistant bacteria strains have become more common, new antibiotic approvals have decreased. Nature (12/4)     

New Discoveries in Parkinson's Point to Biomarkers, Therapies

Although Parkinson's disease (PD) is estimated to be the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, very little is known about its underlying cause. That could be about to change as scientists continue to drill down in the molecular machinery implicated in the disease. Find out the details.

Health Care & Policy

• CureLab taps Aldevron to manufacture cancer vaccine
  Aldevron agreed to manufacture CureLab Oncology's DNA-based therapeutic cancer vaccine for use in clinical trials in Russia and the U.S. CureLab said the vaccine showed strong antitumor responses in animal models of breast and lung cancer. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (12/4)     

• AVEO, Astellas kick off Phase II trial of cancer drug tivozanib
  Enrollment has started for AVEO Oncology and Astellas Pharma's trial of the experimental cancer drug tivozanib, which is currently under review by the FDA for advanced renal cell carcinoma. The multicenter trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of tivozanib plus paclitaxel in comparison with placebo and paclitaxel in the treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic triple negative breast cancer in patients who have yet to receive systemic therapy. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (12/4)     

• Merck begins midstage study of Alzheimer's treatment
  Merck & Co. has kicked off a Phase II trial of MK-8931, an oral drug to block the production of beta amyloid proteins that develop into brain plaque in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The multicenter trial, which involves 200 patients with mild to moderate disease symptoms, will compare the treatment with a placebo. Reuters (12/3)     

• Cell transplant improves function in monkeys with Parkinson's
  Transplants of bone marrow stem cells safely improved motor skills in macaque monkeys with Parkinson's disease, according to a Japanese study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In the study, the cells were derived from the monkeys' own bone marrow, so there was no risk of tissue rejection. The researchers said the method "may expand the availability of cell sources for cell-based therapies for patients with Parkinson's disease." Los Angeles Times/Science Now blog (tiered subscription model) (12/3)     

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Company & Financial News

• Baxter plans to spend $4B on Swedish dialysis product maker
  Baxter International has struck a deal to acquire Swedish firm Gambro, which specializes in dialysis products, for about $4 billion. The acquisition, which should strengthen Baxter's renal business, is expected to be finalized in the first six months of 2013. Reuters (12/4), The Wall Street Journal (12/4)     

• Flexion secures $20M for clinical trials of osteoarthritis drugs
  Flexion Therapeutics obtained $20 million in a Series B financing round led by new investor Novo Ventures. The firm will use the proceeds to fund clinical trials of its investigational anti-inflammatory drugs for osteoarthritis. Mass High Tech (Boston) (12/4)     

• Altravax wins $3.45M NIAID grants to develop HIV-1 vaccine
  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Altravax two grants totaling $3.45 million to support its HIV-1 vaccine research. Altravax plans to use technology from Maxygen to develop vaccines that provide protection against multiple strains of HIV-1. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (12/4)     

Food & Agriculture

• Agricultural biotech startup seeks to improve intrinsic crop yield
  Donald Danforth Plant Science Center researchers Tom Brutnell and Todd Mockler have established an agricultural biotech firm named Benson Hill Biosystems. The startup aims to increase major crops such as rice, cotton and corn. "What we're trying to do is increase the intrinsic yield. Simply, to make the plants grow better, bigger," Mockler said. Benson Hill hopes to raise $300,000. American City Business Journals/St. Louis/BizNext blog (12/3)     

Industrial & Environmental

• Researchers get $9.2M grant to study biofuel potential of E. coli
  Researchers at the University of Colorado and their colleagues have secured a five-year, $9.2 million grant to continue a project aimed at genetically modifying E. coli to produce ethylene and isobutanol. The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are involved in the project. Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.) (12/4)     

News from BIO

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SmartQuote

The forceps of our minds are clumsy things and crush the truth a little in the course of taking hold of it." --H.G. Wells, British author