Drug delivery technology developed by BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) has withstood another patent challenge from competitor MonoSol Rx.Specialty pharmaceutical company BDSI said that the U.S Patent & Trademark Office has rejected all of the claims asserted by MonoSol in the latest patent claim. Both companies have technologies that deliver drugs via a small piece of [...]

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) gave an exclusive peak into the thinking of its next CEO last week, but those who heard Alex Gorsky speak had no way of knowing that at the time.Gorsky was introduced to the nearly 1,000 attendees of the CED Life Science Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina as vice chairman of the [...]

Depression treatment TC-5214 remains Targacept‘s (NASDAQ:TRGT) lead drug candidate and perhaps it was with that in mind that CEO Don DeBethizy started the earnings conference call with an update on that drug program.But there was nothing new for the company to report on TC-5214 since disclosing in December the failure of the compound in the [...]

The impact of drug shortages that have left doctors and patients scrambling for life-saving drugs became much more personal and real today at a U. S. Food and Drug Administration news conference.Nebraska mother Sara Stuckey spoke at the event on behalf of her 6 -year-old son Nate, who needs a leukemia drug to survive. The [...]

Chelsea Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CHTP) CEO Simon Pedder’s recent defense of drug candidate Northera omitted a key detail: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewer for Northera recommended the agency not approve the drug.Release of that finding as well as the reviewer’s safety and clinical trial concerns now cast questions on a compound that was on the [...]

Ophthalmic treatments company Clearside Biomedical is nearly finished raising its $4 million first round of financing.The Georgia company, which has its research and development operations in Durham, North Carolina, launched its series A round in January with an initial investment from Hatteras Venture Partners. The latest securities filings show that Clearside has raised $3.2 million [...]

Diabetes treatment developer Lumena Pharmaceuticals has secured the $2 million it needs to start clinical trials and a little bit extra for good measure.The company’s first round of investment was oversubscribed and led to a haul of $2.5 million, according to amended filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Lumena’s investors are venture [...]

Contract drug manufacturer Patheon (TSX:PTI) has a new chief financial officer, one who is no stranger to North Carolina’s Research Triangle.Stuart Grant was named executive vice president, CFO by the Research Triangle Park-based company. Grant has held finance positions at several public companies, most recently serving as CFO at Durham-based BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX). Grant left [...]

Central nervous system therapies company Neuronex is being acquired by Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACOR) in a deal valued at up to $133 million, yielding to Acorda a novel epilepsy treatment nearly ready for filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.But privately held Neuronex gets just $2 million up front. Critical to the Morrisville, North Carolina [...]

BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) stands to gain a $15 million milestone payment after getting word that its drug delivery technology will be granted a patent for two drug treatments.The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued BDSI a notice of allowance, which means that patent officials have reviewed the patent application and determined it meets [...]