Industry news

China medical device market to top Japan to claim No. 2 spot globally

EJ Lane / FeirceedicalDevices

China's market for medical devices is expected to pass Japan's this year to become the world's second-largest, topped only by the United States. A consulting firm forecast China's market would pass the $55 billion mark this year, nearly double that of just two years ago.

U.S. proposes effort to analyze DNA from 1 million people

Tony Clarke and Sharon Begley / Reuters

The United States has proposed analyzing genetic information from more than 1 million American volunteers as part of a new initiative to understand human disease and develop medicines targeted to an individual's genetic make-up.

Financial Scorecard: Biotech and big pharma keep on rolling

Peter Winter / Bio World

If we thought that biotech's record financing year would be a tough act to follow we might have to revise that notion if the transactions that have been completed so far this month are anything to go by.

Branded drug prices leapt almost 15% last year, led by pain pills, COPD and heart meds

Carly Helfand, FiercePharma

It's no secret that branded drugmakers often rely on price hikes to keep U.S. sales growth coming, especially on older meds whose patents are close to the ends of their lives. But according to new data, prices spiked more than 10% last year--a trend that may fuel the payer backlash that's been steadily mounting

One big reason why CNS drug development has foundered

John Carroll, FierceBiotech

When you want to develop a drug for, say, cancer, there are some very objective measures--such as survival rate--that tell regulators just how effective it is compared to a standard drug or placebo. But in diseases involving the brain, like depression or even Parkinson's, scientists often have to settle for crude measures for assessing how patients perform or feel after treatment. And the wild card here is a placebo effect that can be very difficult to factor into studies and has been fingered for the death of multiple development programs.

29 January 2015

Atlas Genetics completes $20m Series C fundraising

Atlas Genetics Ltd (“Atlas” or the “Company”), the ultra-rapid ‘test and treat’ molecular diagnostics company, today announces the completion of a Series C financing, raising $20 million from a syndicate including existing investors and one new investor, RMI Partners. New investor, RMI Partners, is a global life sciences venture capital firm, the largest in Eastern Europe. Existing investors include Novartis Venture Funds, Consort Medical plc, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc., LSP, BB Biotech Ventures and South West Ventures Fund. This newly announced financing follows on from the previously announced Series B fundraising of $25 million.

Interested in biotech financing in the U.K.?

John Carroll, FierceBiotech

You'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind to have overlooked the supercharged sense of optimism at JP Morgan a few weeks ago. There's more money pumping into the industry through venture funds, private equity, IPOs and follow-ons than ever before. And today's news that the first trio of U.S. biotech IPOs got off the ground--with one potential breakout in the group--signals that the good times aren't over yet.

Emerging Asian pharma markets poised to show solid growth in 2015: report

EJ Lane / Feirce Pharma

The emerging pharmaceutical markets of Asia are expected, with a few exceptions, to grow this year and beyond, most providing attractive platforms for investments in the local industries, according to a series of analyses.

Med tech chalks up solid year of new device approvals in 2014

Emily Wasserman / Firece Medical Devices

Medical device approvals continued at a steady clip in 2014 despite mounting pressure from lawmakers to roll out a more stringent review process. The FDA granted approvals for 33 innovative devices in 2014, up 43% over the number it OK'ed the year before, according to EP Vantage. FierceMedicalDevicescovered device approvals from the first half of the year in an earlier report.

FDA slaps down another Indian plant, adding to the industry's woes

Eric Palmer, FeircePharmaManufactoring

The FDA has banned imports to the U.S. from another Indian drugmaker, adding to a substantial list of Indian companies whose drugs are now prohibited from being sold in the U.S. The agency has taken the step against a plant owned by generic drugmaker Ipca Laboratories, Reuters reports.