Recently announced results from two-year CATT (Comparison of Age-related macular degeneration Treatment Trials) adds to the growing body of evidence, including CATT 1-year data and two retrospective database analyses, suggesting serious safety concerns associated with the use of unlicensed intravitreal Avastin®.

AstraZeneca and Ardea Biosciences, Inc. have entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which AstraZeneca will acquire Ardea, a San Diego, California-based biotechnology company focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics. Ardea's clinically most advanced product candidate, lesinurad (formerly known as RDEA594), is currently in Phase III development as a potential treatment for the chronic management of hyperuricaemia in patients with gout.

A key protein, which may be activated to protect nerve cells from damage during heart failure or epileptic seizure, has been found to regulate the transfer of information between nerve cells in the brain. The discovery, made by neuroscientists at the University of Bristol and published in Nature Neuroscience and PNAS, could lead to novel new therapies for stroke and epilepsy.

Rosetta Genomics has won a European patent covering the use of miR-34a in the preparation of pharmaceuticals used to treat p53-negative cancers.

Women with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) receive inferior or less aggressive treatment compared to men, according to three large studies presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology.

Several new studies that may help doctors tailor lung cancer treatment to the characteristics of individual patients and of their tumors are being presented at the 3rd European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva.

Abbott has announced the Phase 3 study results of its levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG), used for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD).

VistaGen Therapeutics has signed a licensing agreement with the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine located at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada, for stem cell culture technology.

Expanding on previous research providing proof-of-principal that human stem cells can be genetically engineered into HIV-fighting cells, a team of UCLA researchers have now demonstrated that these cells can actually attack HIV-infected cells in a living organism.

Takeda America Holdings, Inc. and URL Pharma have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire URL Pharma - a privately-held pharmaceutical company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for an upfront payment of $800 million and future performance-based contingent earn out payments.