Diagnovus News

James Stover at Diagnovus in Nashville announced a new cancer-related assay today, in the first offering for the 10-year-old lifescience startup. Their release is here.

Jericho in N'ville

Jericho Sciences slipped into Nashville six months ago and is quietly preparing to develop a therapeutic approach that could help dramatically improve HIV treatment. Story here.

N'ville lifesciences unsung?

Biotech, life sciences, pharmaceuticals... these are domains most Nashville entrepreneurs and investors feel are beyond their ken. Yet, there are amazing things going on here, as we report from Vanderbilt's new drug discovery center.

Solvay lawsuit proceeds benefit VU, Meharry research

Lieff Cabraser, the class-action litigation firm, announced that Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry College will each get just over $1MM from a settlement related to marketing practices by Solvay Pharmaceuticals. The release is here.

GTx Ipsen team ends

Memphis-based GTx, backed by Pitt Hyde and others, yesterday announced the end of its toremifine collaboration with Ipsen, which had stepped into the partnership slot after Merck left. The MDN reports.

GTx distress frees cancer drug

An adverse FDA ruling against GTx may actually have helped spur the Memphis company to take a useful anti-breast cancer drug, Fareston, off the shelf and market it more aggressively as an alternative to Tamoxifen. The CA reports.

FDA industry basics website

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has launched an FAQ site for industry seeking FDA approvals.

Jacobs to Cumberland Pharma board

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (Nas:CPIX), which has gotten some tough scrutiny from analysts, added former Pyschiatric Solutions CEO Joey Jacobs to its b.o.d. Cumberland recently announced its voluntary recall of Acetadote. The Jacobs release.

Pharma ethics: killer compounds

David Nichols, an esteemed Purdue pharmacologist has published a high-profile paper describing his ethical struggle with the reality that drugs he creates for use in studying brain operations are being diverted and perverted into illegal drugs that are killing people. The AP via TFP.

Ethics: VUMC leads on Bioethics, randomized trials

VUMC Reporter shares a glimpse of a potential ethical dilemma in conducting randomized trials, in which some patients benefit and live, and others are dealt a different card. Elsewhere, VU reports Nita Farahany (left) is a member of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

Biopharma: GTx, Provectus report progress

Memphis-based GTx and Knoxville-based Provectus reported gains toward development of key products.

Pitt Hyde invests more in GTx in Memphis

GTx, the Memphis biopharma development company, not only raised $37.6m in a stock offering yesterday, but got more help from AutoZone founder-entrepreneur-investor Pitt Hyde (at left), who invested $15.3m in the company, reports MDN. MBJ reports on GTX's 3Q results.

VU Med Center couples EMR, genetics

Vanderbilt University Medical Center's PREDICT program detects a genotype that could foul-up patients' treatment and provides an electronic medical record alert. VUMC Reporter here. Related story on Grand Opportunities funding, here.

GTx in $40MM stock offering

GTx, the Memphis pharma company, has filed for a $40MM gross proceeds offering, the MBJ has it.

Kleiner Perkins in again in Nodality

Nodality, the Bay Area biotech player with a key lab in Franklin, has gotten more money from Kleiner Perkins and other VCs: $15.5MM total in its latest round. Our story's here.

Sanofi-backed Chattem bullish

With the company's acquisition by Sanofi still fresh, Chattem execs say that, as the U.S. headquarters for Sanofi's over-the-counter products, it'll spend a wad in promoting Allegra vs. Claritin and other products. A manufacturing facility is also getting the most expensive upgrade in the company's history. The Times Free Press has it.

HealthLeaders-Interstudy market intel

HealthLeaders-Interstudy announced its new PatientFinder analytics tools for helping pharma identify market-expansion opportunities. Release is here.

BioMimetic's Papasan profiled

Franklin-based BioMimetic Therapeutics Chairman Larry Papasan is profiled in today's Memphis Business Journal (sub). He lives in Memphis and is on numerous boards, there.

Chattem's sale to French

Chattanooga-based Chattem has been acquired by a French company, Sanofi-Aventis, which sells Allegra, among other drugs. Chattanooga will now become the U.S. headquarters of Sanofi. The TFP reports. Chattem (Selsun Blue, etc.) will become Sanofi's marketing expert. A Dallas-based law firm announced Dec. 23 it is exploring a class-action lawsuit.

VU scientist sees crisis in drug discovery

Jeff Conn (left), Ph.D., director of Vanderbilt University's program in Drug Discovery, sees a crisis in pharmaceuticals, in which business models and academic insularity don't mix. Read about here.