Industry news

28 September 2015

ReVision Optics Files Final Module of FDA Premarket Approval Application for Raindrop® Near Vision Inlay for the Correction of Presbyopia

ReVision Optics, Inc. (RVO®), a leader in implantable presbyopia-correcting corneal inlay technology, announces the submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the fourth and final module of the company’s Premarket Approval (PMA) application for the Raindrop® Near Vision Inlay. The Raindrop is a microscopic hydrogel inlay designed to correct presbyopia, thus reducing or even eliminating the need for reading glasses. The fourth module includes clinical data from more than 300 subjects who have been followed for at least 24 months post-procedure.

Americans overpaying hugely for cancer drugs - study

Ben Hirschler / Reuters

Americans are paying way over the odds for some modern cancer drugs, with pharmaceutical companies charging up to 600 times what the medicines cost to make, according to an independent academic study.

Australian subsidies for newer drugs go begging as companies avoid paper chase

EJ Lane / FeircePharmaAsia

Lower costs for newer medicines through subsidies are going begging in Australia as drug companies increasingly look to avoid putting products through regulation paces needed to qualify, a report in news.com.au said, citing a PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) survey of 23 drug companies.

Gene, cell therapy strides expose work still ahead

Randy Osborne / BioWorld

Concluding with sessions devoted to regenerative medicine, Biopharm America hosted a panel talk on the state of gene and cell therapy, "a new frontier for all of us," said Frank Borriello, head of search and evaluation for Baxalta Inc., the spinout from Baxter International Inc., of Deerfield, Ill.

Microsoft lands cloud genomics infrastructure deal with UC Santa Cruz

Nick Paul Taylor / Fierce Biotech IT

Microsoft ($MSFT) has captured a little corner of the market for cloud genomics infrastructure. The deal sees the IT giant make its Azure cloud computing platform available to UC Santa Cruz Genomics, which plans to use the system to support its work on the Human Genome Variation Map and other initiatives.

Better Rx needed to treat drugmakers’ PR malady

Mari Serebrov / BioWorld

Biopharma has a bad PR disease. The diagnosis is pretium offensus, otherwise known as “sticker shock.” The infectious condition has two causes: enormous, inexplicable, overnight price hikes and six-figure drug prices that spread from headlines to become a viral meme in congressional hearings and social media.

Huge Russian plasma products plant moving forward

Eric Palmer / FeircePharmaManufactoring

In May, Russia's Generium said it would build a massive blood plasma plant in the country to make antibodies, blood coagulants and albumin. Now a Swedish design firm said it starting on the engineering for the project.

Low-cost genomic sequencing on the slate for China with Veritas landing?

EJ Lane / FeircePharmaAsia

Boston-based Veritas Genetics has set up an R&D center in China's Hangzhou Economic & Technological Development Area aimed at genomic screening and testing product development for an Asian population.

24 September 2015

Clearside Biomedical, Inc. Announces 50th Patient Enrolled Using Suprachoroidal Drug Administration

Clearside Biomedical, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative first-in-class drug therapies to treat blinding diseases of the retina and choroid, today announced the enrollment of the 50th patient using Clearside’s proprietary ophthalmic drug administration platform for delivering drugs to the suprachoroidal space (SCS).

China R&D innovation, investment catching up to the global markets

Cornelia Zou / BioWorld

Chinese pharmaceutical firms have come a long way, transforming themselves from makers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to innovative drug developers in a couple of decades. The secret sauce in that transformation has been investment in R&D.