Archive: Company News
Company News: InDex Pharmaceuticals Starts Phase III COLLECT Study with Kappaproct®
– TLR9 Agonist for the Treatment of Chronic, Active, Treatment-Refractory Ulcerative Colitis –
InDex Pharmaceuticals today announced the start of the COLLECT trial, a European multicenter Phase III study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Kappaproct for the treatment of chronic active ulcerative colitis (UC) patients not responding to available therapy. Kappaproct is a DNA-based immunomodulatory sequence (DIMS) targeting the toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9).
UC is a chronic, relapsing-remitting disease caused by inflammation of the colon. Although current UC treatments are effective for many patients with mild to moderate disease, a significant unmet medical need still exists for patients with severe UC. Many of these patients have failed all available pharmaceutical therapies – therefore, surgical removal of the colon by partial or complete colectomy is currently the only remaining treatment option.
The primary endpoint of the COLLECT study is induction of clinical remission in these severe UC patients, who have failed all other medical treatments and have been elected for colectomy. Preliminary results are expected for Q1, 2014.
Company News: biocrea and Boehringer Ingelheim Conclude Asset Purchase Agreement
biocrea today announced the completion of an asset purchase and licensing deal with Boehringer Ingelheim. Under the terms of the agreement, biocrea will receive an undisclosed payment and will transfer the exclusive global rights for certain research programs originating from its phosphodiesterase (PDE) platform to Boehringer Ingelheim. This includes biocrea´s PDE2 inhibitors and its most advanced compound BCA909.
“This transaction marks a key milestone in the evolution of biocrea, which was created only about a year ago,” said Tom Kronbach, CEO of biocrea. ”Importantly, this deal demonstrates our ability to identify and validate disease-relevant novel mechanisms of action for which we create high-quality drug candidates. The proceeds from this agreement will allow us to implement our strategy to build a sustainable company over the next several years.”
Company News: Curetis AG Initiates Prospective Clinical Trial for Rapid Pneumonia Diagnostics
Curetis AG, an innovative molecular diagnostics company focusing on the development and commercialization of in-vitro diagnostic products for infectious diseases, today announced the start of a prospective clinical trial of its Unyvero™ System and the Unyvero™ P50 Pneumonia Cartridge in the European Union.
The prospective, international, multicenter trial will enroll up to 1,000 hospitalized patients suspected with a lower respiratory tract infection. Patient samples such as sputa, aspirates or bronchial lavages will be pre-processed by the Unyvero™ Lysator and transferred to the Unyvero™ P50 Pneumonia cartridge, which is analyzed by the Unyvero™ Analyzer.
Primary endpoint of the study will be assay performance defined as clinical sensitivity and specificity compared to today’s diagnostics standard of care, microbiology culture. Trial sites include the University Hospital Tuebingen, Germany, the Heart and Diabetes Center Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in Spain, the Erasme Hospital in Brussels/Belgium, and the University Hospital Jena, Germany. Principal investigator is Prof. Dr. Ingo B. Autenrieth of the University Hospital Tuebingen. Interim topline data are expected for spring 2012.
Company News: Achmea and LSP Launch LSP-Health Economics Fund for Innovation in Healthcare
Dutch healthcare insurer Achmea and investment company Life Sciences Partners (LSP) have set up an investment fund for innovation in healthcare, the LSP-Health Economics Fund (LSP-HEF). On 5 September 2011, the healthcare insurer already announced its intention to make € 50 million available for this purpose. As of today, the fund is ‘open for business’ and will seek to invest in international technology companies that may contribute to increased healthcare quality and better cost control.
The fund will be managed by Life Sciences Partners (LSP) a pan-European investment firm specialized in healthcare and biotechnology investments. LSP has recruited a dedicated investment team consisting of investment and technology specialists as well as experts for health economics and healthcare processes. The team will target European and US-based companies that have products close to or on the market. The main focus are companies offering promising technologies or products targeting indications such as cardiovascular diseases, lung disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia – diseases that more and more people are afflicted with and for which society pays a high price.
New technologies and products for these indications can lead to better control of health care costs while improve the quality of patient care, for example by using better diagnostics, applying minimally invasive treatments or preventing complications. In spite of this, it is the experience of Achmea and LSP that many of these companies struggle to penetrate the market quickly due to an insufficiently developed health economics case; this is often due to the fact that the technology has not been developed together with healthcare providers, not all stakeholders have been considered, and that a sales process that requires addressing each individual physician can slow down market take-up.
Through the unique cooperation between an insurance company and an investment firm, Achmea and LSP can efficiently support such companies in bringing their technologies to the market. Achmea will provide access to its know-how, expertise and database to help build the healthcare economics cases. Moreover, Achmea will help companies to find their way in the healthcare market, and will bring new technologies to the attention of healthcare providers.