The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has announced the appointment of a husband-and-wife scientific team, Joan E. Bailey-Wilson, Ph.D., and Alexander F. Wilson, Ph.D., as the new co-chiefs of its Inherited Disease Research Branch, one of the seven research branches in NHGRI’s Division of Intramural Research. Located at the Bayview campus in Baltimore, the Inherited Disease Research Branch develops and applies new methods and tools to identify the genetic contributions to disease, particularly in common, genetically complex disorders, such as cancer and diabetes. Most of the branch’s researchers are statistical geneticists, a research specialty that combines statistics, genetics and computer science. Read the press release.
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the initiation of a second Phase I clinical trial of IPI-504, the company's Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitor and lead investigational anti-cancer agent. This study will evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetic profile and potential efficacy of IPI-504 in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) resistant to Gleevec (imatinib mesylate). Read the press release.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. has received a $5 million payment from its collaborator, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), related to GSK’s filing of an investigational new drug application to begin Phase 1 clinical trials of GSK716155 (formerly known as Albugon) for potential use in the treatment of diabetes. Human Genome Sciences will recognize the $5 million as revenue in the fourth quarter of 2005. The company also announced that CoGenesys, a division of Human Genome Sciences, and PDL BioPharma Inc., have entered into a worldwide licensing agreement that provides PDL certain exclusive rights to intellectual property for an undisclosed target antigen discovered by Human Genome Sciences. Read the press releases.
Teranode Corporation has released its Teranode XDA 2.8 software, the latest version of the company’s informatics platform and the industry’s first model-driven platform to transform experiment designs into automation without the need for programming. XDA 2.8 enables machines’ utilization and process throughput to be optimized by dynamically processing samples and compounds from multiple projects as one batch. Read the press release.
Athersys Inc. has extended its existing alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to apply its patented RAGE technology to provide Bristol-Myers Squibb with additional validated drug targets for high-throughput screening and lead optimization in multiple therapeutic areas. The new agreement will extend the alliance for up to three years with a guaranteed minimum number of targets to be supplied by Athersys annually. Under the terms of the extension, Athersys is entitled to receive license fees for targets delivered to Bristol- Myers Squibb, as well as milestone payments and royalties on compounds developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb using the Athersys technology. Read the press release.