Biogen and partner Eisai have announced the decision to discontinue the global Phase 3 trials designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of aducanumab in patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease and mild Alzheimer’s disease dementia. The decision to stop the trials is based on results of a futility analysis conducted by […]

Pfizer has acquired a 15% equity interest in French biotech Vivet Therapeutics and secured an exclusive option to acquire all outstanding shares. Vivet is a privately company dedicated to developing gene therapy treatments for inherited liver disorders with high unmet medical need. Pfizer and Vivet will collaborate on the development of VTX-801, Vivet’s proprietary treatment […]

Cambridge-based Flagship Pioneering has announced that it has secured $824 million to support the growth of human health and sustainability companies originated by its Flagship Labs unit. The new capital pool will operate alongside more than $700 million in capital raised in late 2017 and 2018 that currently finances Flagship’s in-house innovation and company origination […]

Sage Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines to treat life-altering central nervous system disorders, has announced that the FDA has approved ZulressoTM (brexanolone) injection for the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD). Zulresso is the first and only medicine specifically approved to treat PPD, the most common medical complication of childbirth. Zulresso is expected to […]

Boston-based Karuna Therapeutics, focused on the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders including psychosis in schizophrenia, psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease, and pain, has announced the completion of a $68 million Series B financing round, including the issuance of $5 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity. KarXT, Karuna’s lead product candidate, is currently being evaluated […]

High Purity New England, a supplier of biotech equipment, has signed a lease for a substantial new building, formerly occupied by Alexion, where they will nearly quadruple their manufacturing footprint and expand their offices in northern Rhode Island. High Purity New England has seen a surge of growth in the past 6 years, having grown […]

Voyager Therapeutics and AbbVie have announced an exclusive, global strategic collaboration and option agreement to develop and commercialize vectorized antibodies for the potential treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other diseases (synucleinopathies) characterized by the abnormal accumulation of misfolded alpha-synuclein protein. The delivery of sufficient quantities of antibodies across the blood-brain barrier is one of the […]

Biogen has announced plans to acquire Nightstar Therapeutics (NST), a clinical-stage gene therapy company based in London, UK. NSK is focused on adeno-associated virus (AAV) treatments for inherited retinal disorders. Under the terms of the proposed acquisition, Biogen will pay $25.50 in cash for each NSK share, representing a total transaction value of about $800 […]

Cambridge-based Voyager Therapeutics and Neurocrine Biosciences  and have announced the formation of a strategic collaboration focused on the development and commercialization of Voyager’s gene therapy programs for Parkinson’s disease and Friedreich’s ataxia, as well as rights to two programs to be determined. This collaboration combines Neurocrine Biosciences’ expertise in neuroscience, drug development and commercialization with […]

The separation of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals into two independent, publicly traded companies, Ironwood and Cyclerion Therapeutics, first announced in May 2018, is on track to be completed during the first half of 2019; and both companies have named women to lead their new boards of directors. Julie McHugh will serve as chair of the new Ironwood […]