Veteran Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) executive Pete Salzmann has been appointed CEO of Immunovant. Salzmann has spent 20 years at Lilly, most recently as global clinical development leader for baricitinib (Olumiant), the rheumatoid arthritis drug that won FDA approval last year. Immunovant, which splits its operations between New York and Basel, Switzerland, is a subsidiary […]

An Eli Lilly migraine drug that was approved last fall now has the regulatory nod to treat a rarer form of headache that tends to occur in clusters. The FDA on Tuesday approved the Lilly (NYSE: LLY) drug galcanezumab (Emgality) for episodic cluster headaches, which patients experience as one to four headaches per day, each […]

Two weeks after raising $40 million to push ahead with its drug development programs, Inhibrx submitted paperwork to the SEC revealing that it aims to raise money in the public market, too. The La Jolla, CA-based company, which is developing protein drugs targeting cancer and other diseases, was founded in 2010. Read more about the […]

[Corrected 5/31/19, 8:48 am ET. See below.] Pharmaceutical companies that make or market opioids have found themselves in legal hot water, and much of the heat is coming from Oklahoma. This week, a trial began litigating Johnson & Johnson’s responsibility for opioid addiction in the Sooner State. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) entered the Norman, […]

The nominees and finalists for the first-ever Xconomy Awards San Diego were an impressive bunch, making it tough for our judges and the editors to pick the winners. There were multiple deserving companies and people in each category. After much discussion and debate, we decided that these winners represent the best of the San Diego […]

The biotech IPO train is rolling onward, with five more companies climbing aboard. The companies, ranging from a late-stage firm looking to finance Phase 3 studies to preclinical companies laying the groundwork for their first drug trials with human subjects, submitted their paperwork to the SEC late Friday—just before the start of Memorial Day weekend. Here’s […]

After Stoke Therapeutics closed $90 million in financing last fall, CEO Ed Kaye signaled his biotech would seek more cash through an IPO soon. The preclinical-stage biotech is now officially on a path to the public markets. In paperwork filed late Thursday with the SEC, Bedford, MA-based Stoke set a preliminary $86 million target for […]

If Nektar Therapeutics wins FDA approval this summer for an opioid painkiller it designed to be less addictive than other opioids, another company will usher the new product onto the market. San Francisco-based Nektar (NASDAQ: NKTR) announced Thursday that it formed Inheris Biopharma to take the reins on pain drug NKTR-181, as well as several […]

Cala Health announced this week it raised $50 million in a Series C financing that will fund the market introduction of its wristwatch-like device that delivers nerve stimulation as a remedy for tremors of the hands. New investors Novartis, Baird Capital, LifeSci Venture Partners and TriVentures participated in the fundraising round, and were joined by […]

New medicines, devices, and diagnostics produced by the life sciences community in California are giving clinicians better tools to fight disease and improve quality of life for patients around the world. Emerging technologies, such as stem cell and gene therapies, are beginning to make their mark. According to the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)’s latest […]

Dinah Sah is retiring from her position as chief scientific officer of Voyager Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VYGR). In her place, the Cambridge, MA-based gene therapy developer said that Chief Medical Officer Omar Khwaja will take on an expanded role as chief medical officer and head of research and development. The changes will happen June 28, but […]

David Apelian, chief operating officer and executive medical officer at Eiger BioPharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EIGR) for the past 17 months, is stepping down. The Palo Alto, CA, drug developer said Friday that Apelian accepted an offer to become CEO of an unnamed private biotech company. Apelian, whose last day will be June 14, will remain on […]