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…. 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… 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… Continue Reading