Roundup: Guilt-free stem cells, the trials of Avandia, sponsor research bias, news from ASCO, and more
Flip switch for stem cells – Three research teams reported a technique for “reprogramming” skin cells into embryonic stem cells, those primordial bits of protoplasm that can propagate themselves indefinitely and, under the right conditions, transform themselves into any type of cell in the body. Deriving embryonic stem cells normally requires destroying an embryo — the main reason research with the cells remains limited, as does federal support for the work.
Teams from Kyoto University, MIT and… Continue Reading
AstraZeneca ups the biotech ante
Now that AstraZeneca has made the bold — or impulsive — decision to snap up MedImmune for $15.6 billion in cash, one big question is whether the U.K. pharmaceutical giant has kicked Big Pharma’s appetite for biotech acquisitions into high gear.
The green-eyeshade types are generally still scratching their heads over the rich price, which amounted to a 21 percent premium over MedImmune’s close on Friday. The biotech was known primarily for Synagis, an antibody-based drug… Continue Reading
Failure of biotech drug company, Telik, is striking
Telik, the Palo Alto biotech company, is a striking example of the sort of monstrous results our ecosystem in Silicon Valley can produce.
Just three years ago, Telik was hailed as one of the country’s most promising biotech stocks. But Tuesday, it lost nearly 71 percent of its market value when studies show its anti-cancer drug offers little benefit. See Mercury News story for summary.
How could this company, founded in 1988, have worked so long, gone… Continue Reading