Champions Biotechnology Inc. focuses on oncology drug developments and preclinical platforms and data to enhance and accelerate the value of those drugs. The company today announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Yale University and Southern Research Institute for the development of Bithionol for cancer treatment.

According to scientists from Yale and Southern Research, Bithionol, which is available for parasitic infections, shows activity against solid cancerous tumors and may be effective in treating melanoma, prostate, breast, lung and other cancers.

Per the agreement, Yale and Southern Research will receive an upfront payment, as well as milestone payments and royalties; Champions has exclusive rights for continued development of Bithionol for all oncology applications, and will use its predictive Biomerk Tumorgraft platform to determine optimal applications and efficient clinical development. If Champions is able to deliver results, the company will conduct human clinical trials.

“We are excited to work with Champions’ experienced scientific

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Micromet’s (MITI) third-quarter loss per share came in at 22 cents, well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents and a loss of 15 cents in the prior-year period. The company reported revenues of $4 million, compared to $7 million in the third quarter of 2008. Micromet records revenues primarily in the form of reimbursements of expenses incurred by the company under different collaborative agreements. We believe current investor focus is more on the developments of the company’s portfolio rather than the financials.

Operating expenses during the quarter increased 28% year over year to $17.13 million, primarily due to a 34% rise in R&D expenses. The increase in R&D expenses was driven by Micromet assuming full responsibility of the development of its lead candidate blinatumomab as per the company’s agreement with MedImmune.

As a reminder, earlier this month, Micromet had agreed to buy out MedImmune's option to reacquire the right

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Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) reported third quarter earnings of 28 cents per share, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents as well as 21 cents reported in the year-ago period. The company, along with Bayer AG (BAYRY.PK), developed Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets, an anticancer therapy currently approved and marketed for the treatment of liver cancer and advanced kidney cancer in the US, European Union, Japan and some other countries. Onyx’s earnings come in the form of royalty and collaboration income on Nexavar sales.  For the quarter, Onyx reported revenues of $69.1 million compared to $50.8 million for the same period in 2008 primarily due to an increase in Nexavar sales and royalty revenue and a decline in the drug’s commercial expenses. While revenues increased 36%, a 43.6% rise in operating expenses brought down Onyx’s operating margin by 450 basis points to 14.5%. R&D and SG&A expenses increased ...

BEVERLY, Mass., Oct. 19, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cellceutix Corporation (OTCBB:CTIX) today announced that data recently presented by the Company at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) along with other data developed by the Company indicate that Kevetrin is selectively targeting very specific anti-tumor pathways, such as AKT and p38 MAP kinase. The data presented at the AACR showed that Kevetrin was less cytotoxic than paclitaxel, cisplatin and 5FU while having better anti-tumor activity in two multi-drug resistant lung cancer cell lines. This indicates that Kevetrin is not acting primarily as a cytotoxic agent but may be targeting specific components of the signal transduction pathway, such as AKT and p38 MAP kinase. The Company is continuing to explore other potential targets.

Other data developed by the Company indicate that Kevetrin has potent anti-tumor activity in one cell line (MDA-MB–231) despite only partially inhibiting AKT in that cell line.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 20, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), Facet Biotech Corporation (FACT), Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s AnalystBlog:

Biogen Extends Hostile Bid

Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) extended its tender offer for the acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of Facet Biotech Corporation (FACT) to December 16, 2009. The offer was previously set to expire on October 19, 2009. As of October

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 12, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Facet Biotech Corporation (FACT), Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Facet Investors Urged to Deny Offer

In line with expectations, Facet Biotech Corporation’s (FACT) board of directors unanimously recommended that its stockholders should reject the unsolicited conditional tender offer from Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), which is seeking to acquire all the outstanding shares

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In line with expectations, Facet Biotech Corporation’s (FACT) board of directors unanimously recommended that its stockholders should reject the unsolicited conditional tender offer from Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), which is seeking to acquire all the outstanding shares of Facet Biotech common stock for $14.50 per share in cash. The board has determined that the offer is inadequate and not in the best interests of the company’s stockholders.  As a reminder, Biogen launched a hostile bid in September to acquire Facet for $14.50 per share by taking its offer directly to Facet’s shareholders. The deal is valued at approximately $356 million. Biogen had initially approached Facet with an offer of $15 per share on Aug 17, 2009. However, Facet did not accept the offer as the company doubted its benefit for its shareholders. Soon thereafter, Facet entered into a collaboration with Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), a move ...

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., a company focused on accelerating the speed of new treatment to patients by improving existing therapeutics, yesterday announced the appointment of Llew Keltner, M.D., Ph.D., to the company’s board of directors.

Dr. Keltner currently serves as CEO and president of Light Sciences Oncology, a privately held biotechnology company focused on late-stage, light-activated therapy for hepatocellular cancer and solid tumors. Dr. Keltner is also the CEO of EPISTAT, an international healthcare technology transfer, corporate risk management and healthcare strategy company he founded in 1972.

Christopher M. Starr, Ph.D., CEO of Raptor, said Dr. Keltner’s more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry and his focus on cancer and genetic analyses will greatly benefit the company and its progress to develop programs to address cancers, genetic diseases and liver disorders, as well as overall company growth.

“Dr. Keltner has also advised health care and financial companies through the challenges

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Last week, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (KERX) announced that its renal cancer drug KRX-0401 (perifosine) met both primary and secondary endpoints in a mid-stage trial. KRX-0401 is in-licensed by Keryx from Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (AEZS) in the US, Canada and Mexico. The data was presented at the eighth International Kidney Cancer Symposium in Chicago. The candidate demonstrated efficacy, safety and tolerability in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients whose disease progressed after failing treatment with both a VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) receptor inhibitor and an mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitor. Even though the drug was well-tolerated, the most common adverse events were gastrointestinal discomfort and fatigue. RCC is the most common of all kidney tumors, accounting for 85% of the cases. The advanced form of the disease is resistant to standard therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy. The initial treatment in most cases ...

Last week, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (KERX) announced that its renal cancer drug KRX-0401 (perifosine) met both primary and secondary endpoints in a mid-stage trial. KRX-0401 is in-licensed by Keryx from Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (AEZS) in the US, Canada and Mexico. The data was presented at the eighth International Kidney Cancer Symposium in Chicago. The candidate demonstrated efficacy, safety and tolerability in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients whose disease progressed after failing treatment with both a VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) receptor inhibitor and an mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitor. Even though the drug was well-tolerated, the most common adverse events were gastrointestinal discomfort and fatigue. RCC is the most common of all kidney tumors, accounting for 85% of the cases. The advanced form of the disease is resistant to standard therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy. The initial treatment in most cases ...