Biotech Day: Thursday's national biotech news

From the 40 business journals of American City Business Journals …

New SBA proposal could open R&D funds to foreign-owned firms (Washington bureau)
Proposed rules for the Small Business Innovation Research program could allow foreign-owned companies to compete for these federal R&D awards, according to the Small Business Technology Council.

Sanofi inks diabetes partnership with Brigham (Boston Business Journal)
French drug maker Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) has entered into a research agreement with Brigham and Women's Hospital to study the immunology of Type 1 diabetes, focusing on a target that has shown promise in animal studies.

Biotech center launches crops commercialization center (Triangle Business Journal)
The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has launched a new Biotechnology Crops Commercialization Center, which will be led by Monsanto veteran Alan Kriz.

Omeros will apply to FDA for trial of schizophrenia drug (Puget Sound Business Journal)
Seattle-based Omeros Corporation notified the Food and Drug Administration that the biotech company intends to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application this quarter for a medication expected to treat schizophrenia.

Medtronic may invest in India-based med-tech player (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal)
Medtronic Inc. is negotiating an equity investment in Triviton Healthcare, a med-tech business based in India, reports theBusiness Standard.

Hemispherx seeks orphan status in Argentina for chronic fatigue drug (Philadelphia Business Journal)
Philadelphia-based Hemispherx Biopharma (NASDAQ:HEB) has filed a new drug application in Argentina for Ampligen, and is seeking orphan drug status for the product, which is intended to treat chronic fatigue syndrome.

Outgoing Impax CFO nets cash, health care benefits (San Francisco Business Times)
Departing Impax Laboratories Inc. CFO Arthur Koch Jr. will take a hefty benefits package with him.

Respironics announces voluntary recall (Pittsburgh Business Times)
Murrysville-based Respironics Inc. said it was voluntarily recalling about 85 ventilators suspected of possibly defective electronics.

One-on-one with Intersect ENT's Lisa Earnhardt

Lisa Earnhardt has a message for those who suffer from chronic rhinosinusitis: There is a better way.
By definition, “chronic” rhinosinusitis is inflammation of the sinuses that lasts 12 weeks or more. It can be accompanied by a swelled feeling in the face, fatigue, headache and loss of taste, to name a few. (Just thinking about it makes my head hurt.) Of the 30 million people in the United States who suffer from CRS, about a half-million elect to correct it through surgery.
Often, however, even with surgery, the symptoms return.
But Earnhardt thinks her company, Palo Alto’s Intersect ENT Inc., has a better answer. Its Propel stent is placed in the sinus cavities right after sinus surgery, keeping the sinuses open and releasing a corticosteroid over a period of time.
Then Propel disappears — it is absorbed into the body.

Nile Therapeutics navigates new future

Nile Therapeutics Inc. is winding a treacherous path across the drug-development landscape.
The tiny San Mateo company risks NASDAQ stock delisting and may need to undertake a reverse stock split to buoy the stock’s price. Yet Nile also is striking into new territory — attempting to create a new indication for its early-stage drug — and forging an important deal with the world’s largest medical technology company, Medtronic Inc., that could shorten its journey.

Nile Therapeutics inks deal with Medtronic for heart failure treatment

Nile Therapeutics Inc. will work with medical device giant Medtronic Inc. on a peptide to treat heart failure and renal disease.

Specific financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Minneapolis-based Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) will fund and provide drug-device expertise as San Mateo-based Nile (NASDAQ: NLTX) works on a Phase I clinical trial with the peptide, called cenderitide.

Medtronic completes $800M acquisition of Ardian