Xenon Pharmaceuticals CEO Interview on Canada’s Reduced Funding Part 2

Part 2:  Simon Pimstone, President & CEO of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Interview
As a large part of the life sciences group in BC Simon Pimstone met with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff on life sciences and explained the issues of funding, and you would think that it would fit in with Ignatieff’s desire to build a larger knowledge [...]

Short Update: Life Sciences Funding for April 09

Orthocon, Inc.: Series B $25M
Orthocon (North Brunswick, NJ) a preclinical-stage company focused on implantable devices that deliver therapeutics to bone, closed a $25M Series B financing.
Aerovance, Inc.: Series C $38M
Aerovance (Berkeley, CA) a clinical-stage company focused on respiratory and allergic diseases, closed a $38M Series C financing. Participants include ProQuest Investments, BB Biotech Ventures, Apax [...]

Xenon Pharmaceuticals CEO Interview on Canadian Funding Decreases Part 1

Part 1:  Simon Pimstone, President & CEO of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Interview
Canadian government’s announcement on reduction of future funding for Genome Canada affects life sciences companies in British Columbia, including larger start ups such as Xenon Pharmaceuticals.
Affects of this including having fewer jobs and hindering the ability of companies to commercialize their intellectual property they have [...]

Cardiome Pharma Shares Skyrocket on $700 Million Deal with Merck

Vancouver, B.C. based Cardiome Pharma shares skyrocket on a $700 million licensing agreement with Merck based out of Whitestation, New Jersey for Vernakalant, an investigational drug for treatment of atrial ibrillation. The agreement provides Merck with exclusive global rights to the oral formulation of vernakalant (vernakalant [oral]) for maintaining of normal heart rhythm in patients [...]

Short Update: Life Sciences Funding For March 09

Short updates on Life Sciences funding for March 2009.
BiOptix Diagnostics, Inc.: Series A $3M
BiOptix (Boulder, CO) a commercial focused developer of an array-based biomolecule detection system that addresses many markets that currently cannot obtain the needed sensitivity and throughput in a single solution, closed a $3M Series A finacing.
NeoVista, Inc.: [...]