The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio) today released its 2018 Industry Snapshot report, which shows that Massachusetts biotechs dominated the IPO market in 2017, accounting for 48% of all US-based biotech IPOs, up from 30% in 2016. 2018 has already outpaced 2017 in terms of total Massachusetts IPOs at 15, which accounts for nearly 40% of […]

RNAi (RNA interference) is a natural cellular process of gene silencing that represents one of the most promising and rapidly advancing frontiers in biology and drug development today. Its discovery has been heralded as “a major scientific breakthrough that happens once every decade or so,” and was recognized with the award of the 2006 Nobel […]

RNAi therapeutics company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has announced that the FDA has approved Onpattro (patisiran) lipid complex injection, a RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis in adults. Onpattro is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for this indication. “Alnylam was founded on the vision of harnessing the […]

bluebird bio and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals have announced a collaboration to apply their respective technology platforms to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel immune cell therapies for cancer. The collaborators will specifically leverage Regeneron’s VelociSuite® platform technologies for the discovery and characterization of fully human antibodies, as well as T cell receptors (TCRs) directed against […]

Biogen and its partner Eisai have announced positive topline results from the Phase II study with anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody BAN2401 in 856 patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. The study achieved statistical significance on key predefined endpoints evaluating efficacy at 18 months on slowing progression in Alzheimer’s Disease Composite Score or ADCOMS, a measure of […]

Pfizer has announced it will organize the company into three businesses: a science-based Innovative Medicines business which will now include biosimilars and a new hospital business unit for anti-infectives and sterile injectables; an off-patent branded and generic Established Medicines business operating with substantial autonomy within Pfizer and a Consumer Healthcare business. These changes will be […]

Otsuka Pharmaceutical, headquartered in Tokyo, and Waltham-based Visterra have announced that Otsuka will acquire Visterra for approximately $430M in an all-cash transaction. The Otsuka and Visterra boards of directors have approved the transaction which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. Visterra’s Hierotope platform, comprised of novel computational and experimental technologies, enables […]

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has announced that biotech company Rubius Therapeutics is planning to establish a manufacturing facility in Rhode Island that will create 160 high-skilled jobs in manufacturing, biotech operations and other support functions. Rubius intends to invest up to $155 million over a more than five-year period to renovate a 135,000-square-foot manufacturing […]

Akebia Therapeutics and Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (based in Cambridge and Boston, respectively) have announced a definitive merger agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger. The transaction will create a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company called Akebia Therapeutics focused on chronic kidney disease (CKD), with an implied pro forma equity value of approximately $1.3 […]

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Bayer are launching the Precision Cardiology Laboratory (PCL), a new endeavor that will pursue scientific insights aimed at developing new therapies for heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, more than 900,000 people are diagnosed with heart failure every year in the United States. The condition, […]