Rheumatoid arthritis drug kick-starts Rigel, AstraZeneca

Rigel's Don Payan (left) and Raul Rodriguez.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. is in strange territory. After spending nearly $700 million over 16 years developing drugs, the low-key South San Francisco biotech company has an experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug swiftly heading toward a date with the FDA. The drug, however, may be just as important to Rigel’s Big Pharma partner.

Daniel O'Day to lead Roche Pharma as Pascal Soriot moves to AstraZeneca

Daniel O'Day.

Daniel O’Day, the former president and CEO of Roche Molecular Diagnostics in Pleasanton, will become chief operating officer of Roche Pharma as Pascal Soriot, who oversaw the tricky integration of Genentech Inc. into Roche, takes the helm of rival drug maker AstraZeneca. O’Day’s appointment is an important one, underscoring the Swiss drug maker’s commitment to developing companion diagnostics for its drugs. As COO of Roche Diagnostics since 2010, he has been a member of Roche’s executive committee. Roche CEO Severin Schwan noted in a press release late Monday night that O’Day has “a very impressive track record” in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.

MedImmune will open new center, shift 40 jobs to Hayward

The South Bay's loss of MedImmune will be the East Bay's gain.

The vaccine and infectious diseases drug developer said it plans to open a new translational sciences area for applied immunology and microbiology in Hayward as it closes facilities in Mountain View and Santa Clara.

MedImmune to close Mountain View, Santa Clara, ax 300 jobs

MedImmune will close its Mountain View and Santa Clara sites as part of a plan to cut about 300 jobs.

About 100 jobs will move to other MedImmune facilities, including one in Hayward, the company said.

Rigel, AstraZeneca strike potential $100M asthma drug deal

AstraZeneca will license an experimental asthma treatment from South San Francisco’s Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a potential $100 million deal, Rigel said Tuesday.

Initially, Rigel (NASDAQ: RIGL) will receive only $1 million upfront in the worldwide licensing deal for the inhaled drug, called R-256. But Rigel could receive an additional $8.25 million in early milestone payments by the end of 2013, the company said.

Preclinical studies of R-256 indicate that it could improve lung function for patients with moderate to severe chronic asthma.

Impax nabs AstraZeneca migraine drug, will hire 20 people

Impax Laboratories Inc. will add 20 people to its sales force, it said Wednesday, after licensing the AstraZeneca migraine drug Zomig for $130 million.
The move beefs up the branded products pipeline of Hayward-based Impax (NASDAQ: IPXL), known more for marketing low-cost generic drugs. But the deal with AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) could tie in to Impax’s generic business — it has focused on controlled-release generics and could apply the same technology with Zomig.

Nektar's drug diversity may be its strength

When Howard Robin took over as president and CEO of Nektar Therapeutics Inc. in early 2007, the company was based in San Carlos with a high payroll and, essentially, one product in the form of the inhaled insulin drug-device Exubera.
Since Pfizer Inc. pulled Exubera later that year, Nektar (NASDAQ: NKTR) has moved to San Francisco, shed workers, cut expenses and developed several programs, ranging from breast cancer to pain.
I take a look at one of those drugs, NKTR-181, in a print edition story in the Jan. 20 issue. But the real story here is Nektar’s ongoing metamorphosis from “the inhaled insulin company” to one with the proverbial multiple shots on goal in multiple diseases.

Dynavax gets $3M in reworked asthma deal with AstraZeneca

Dynavax Technologies Corp. will receive $3 million upfront after the Berkeley drug developer and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca amended a deal to accelerate a trial on an experimental asthma treatment.

Nektar starts clinical work on next-generation opioid

Nektar Therapeutics Inc. started clinical trials on a next-generation drug to manage moderate to severe pain and, potentially, prevent abuse of pain-cutting opioids.
NKTR-181, as the drug is known, follows another drug developed by San Francisco-based Nektar (NASDAQ: NKTR) that focuses on opioid-induced constipation. That drug, which Nektar licensed in September 2009 to AstraZeneca in a potential $1.5 billion deal, this month entered a 630-patient, Phase III trial.
Nektar’s Phase I trial with NKTR-181 will enroll up to 75 healthy subjects to determine the effective dose range for the drug with minimal central nervous system side effects. It will be completed in the second half of this year, Nektar said.