R&D

Two Swiss billionaires--Ernesto Bertarelli and Hansjorg Wyss--have joined forces to buy out the former Merck Serono facility in Geneva, with ambitious plans to create a major collaboration on discovery work and translational research while offering a home for a new generation of biotech companies in the region.

In the first collaboration of its kind, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has brought on GlaxoSmithKline to help the federal agency develop new antibiotics to combat bioterrorism and growing resistance to the drugs.

According to an analysis by Bloomberg , Novartis is interested in finding a competitive Alzheimer's drug program. But it's hard to determine from the story if the pharma giant--always reluctant to detail partnering efforts or in-house strategies--has anything specific in mind.

Just a year or two ago, analysts and investors were in a frenzy over the frantic race to develop a new set of hepatitis C drugs that promised to change the standard of care. Now, as the leaders in that race approach the first round of likely marketing approvals, a new R&D competition has grabbed analysts' feverish attention as the next big thing in biopharma. And the leading players in this field may once again be betting on a mega-blockbuster payoff.

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a technique to drill temporary holes in cell membranes to deliver drugs more easily into the cells.

Diagnosing the difference between pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis is difficult because both conditions produce similar symptoms such as inflammation. But Mayo Clinic scientists say they've discovered a biomarker that will help make the job much easier down the line.