The FDA has granted its fast-track status to Actelion’s Phase III drug for C. difficile-related diarrhea, promising a shorter path to approval for the antibiotic treatment. …read more Source: Actelion’s diarrhea drug hops on the FDA fast track     

Durham, NC’s Scynexis is queuing up for a $55 million IPO, looking to ride the wave of biotech bullishness and raise cash for its in-development anti-infective. …read more Source: Aventis spinout Scynexis plots a $55M IPO to push an ex-Merck antibiotic     

Celgene’s roving band of dealmakers has selected San Diego-based Abide Therapeutics for its latest option package, taking an equity stake in the biotech as it settles into a front row seat on its progress regarding a broad R&D front and gaining first dibs on Abide’s lead program. …read more Source: Celgene gambles $50M on Abide […]

A rejuvenated R&D shop has given Bayer a spate of potential blockbusters, and CEO Marijn Dekkers wants to see more where that came from. The German drugmaker is planning to substantially increase its research budget over the next three years and set aside a boatload of cash for M&A. …read more Source: Bayer plans to […]

…read more Source: Novartis’ Reinhardt chairmanship officially begins, as Vasella’s era fades     

Valeant CEO Michael Pearson has never been a fan of drug R&D. Openly caustic in the past about the risk involved in drug research, Valeant’s chief executive has largely steered clear of developing a pipeline, focusing instead on a clear strategy involving the rapid acquisition of marketed drugs. …read more Source: Longtime R&D critic Valeant […]

AstraZeneca has sold off another sprawling research outpost in its global reorganization, this time ditching half of its Delaware headquarters to JPMorgan for $44 million, according to local reports. …read more Source: AstraZeneca unloads an R&D campus after shedding 650 workers     

Horizon Discovery Group, which makes and sells tools for genomics research and personalized medicines, has set out to raise about $41.5 million on the AIM market on the London Stock Exchange. …read more Source: Another life sciences IPO pitch in U.K. raises hopes for upturn     

Even in the world of Big Pharma, where pipelines of a dozen or more late-stage drugs are common, a couple of blockbuster-sized experimental programs can make a huge difference for the forward-looking analysts who cover these companies. Let’s use Merck as an example. …read more Source: Analysts cheer on Merck’s comeback campaign, pumping up blockbuster […]

After 25 years at the helm of one of biotech’s best-case scenarios, Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer has crossed the $1 billion threshold, according to Forbes, thanks largely to the company’s blockbuster eye drug. And, with a stable of promising late-stage treatments waiting in the wings, the Tarrytown, NY, executive’s most profitable work may still be […]