Biotech Day: Thursday morning's national biotech news

From the 40 business journals of American City Business Journals …

Genzyme ordered to pay $50M to settle patent dispute (Boston Business Journal)

Cambridge, Mass.-based Genzyme Corp., a subsidiary of French drug maker Sanofi (NYSE: SNY), has been ordered to pay $50 million to privately-held New Jersey-based biotechnology company Shelbyzyme LLC. The payment is to settle allegations that Genzyme infringed one of Shelbyzyme’s patents in selling the Fabry disease drug, Fabrazyme.

The path Anido will take as NuPathe CEO (Philadelphia Business Journal)
Armando Anido said his first order of business as the new CEO of NuPathe Inc.will be to go out and raise money for the Conshohocken, Pa., biopharmaceutical company.

Related story: Area drug firm's founder/CEO resigns (Philadelphia Business Journal)

NuPathe Inc. said Wednesday the company’s co-founder and CEO Jane Hollingsworth has resigned. It has appointed the former CEO of another Philadelphia-area drug company — Armando Anido, who had led Auxilium — to replace her.

Chimerix strikes drug licensing deal with Merck (Triangle Business Journal)

Research Triangle Park-based Chimerix Inc. has entered into a license agreement that grants Merck & Co. Inc. exclusive worldwide rights to its new HIV drug. Merck (NYSE: MRK) will be responsible for both development and commercialization of the drug. In return, Chimerix will receive a $17.5 million payment and will be eligible to receive up to $151 million in milestones, as well as royalties on future sales.

NantPharma gets $125M investment from Blackstone (Los Angeles Business)

NantPharma, owned by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong’s NantWorks LLC, has received a $125 million investment from private equity firm Blackstone. NantPharma makes biologically derived pharmaceuticals and operates a number of drug manufacturing and research facilities around the country.

QR Pharma begins human testing of Alzheimer's treatment (Philadelphia Business Journal)

QR Pharma initiated the first human clinical trial of the company’s compound bisnorcymserine, a potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The phase-I study will evaluate the safety and tolerability of the new drug candidate in a small group of older healthy adults.

State awards U of M Medical Devices Center $1 million (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)
The University of Minnesota Medical Devices Center will build a new facility on the school's West Bank campus, thanks to a $1.08 million grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment of Economic Development (DEED).

Corindus wins FDA nod for robotic heart procedure (Boston Business Journal)

Corindus Vascular Robotics has won clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention system. The Natick, Mass.-based, privately held medical device company developed the CorPath system to allow doctors to perform the heart procedures, designed to reopen blocked arteries, from a remote cockpit location.

Greatbatch Q2 net income takes fall as sales climb (Buffalo Business First)
Greatbatch Inc. reported second-quarter profit dropped to $3.85 million from $8.55 million a year ago at despite record sales. The implantable medical device manufacturer (NYSE: GB) said sales increased 14 percent to $166.5 million, from $146.5 million in the 2010 second quarter.

Veracyte thyroid test gets boost with Genzyme deal

When biotech drug developer Genzyme Corp. said Friday that it will market a thyroid nodule analysis test, South San Francisco-based Veracyte Inc. got a big boost.
Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, Genzyme’s promotion means the Afirma test from Veracyte will get higher visibility. Genzyme, which was bought last year by French drug developer Sanofi, markets Thyrogen for patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer.
After a Johns Hopkins study last year found that Afirma’s use could save money for the health care system, I spoke with Veracyte co-founder and CEO Bonnie Anderson.

BioMarin won't seek control of Aldurazyme as Sanofi-Genzyme deal closes

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. will not seek full rights to Aldurazyme, a drug marketed by partner Genzyme Corp. to treat a rare metabolic disease, following Monday’s $20 billion acquisition of Genzyme by Sanofi-Aventis Group.
Novato-based BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN) could have exercised a change-of-control provision, allowing it to set its own price for full rights to Aldurazyme, a $250,000-per-year drug to treat the rare, inherited disease MPS I.

As Genzyme and Sanofi marry, BioMarin looks at big dowry

The long courtship between Sanofi-Aventis SA and Genzyme Corp. may result in a nice dowry for BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
Novato-based BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN) is involved because it makes Aldurazyme, a drug designed to treat a rare, inherited metabolic condition called MPS I. Genzyme sells the drug, with BioMarin receiving royalties of 39.5 percent to 50 percent.