Protox holders okay Warburg investment

Shareholders of Protox Therapeutics (TSX:PRX) at a special meeting overwhelmingly approved a proposed investment of up to $35 million from private equity giant Warburg Pincus. An initial tranche of $10 million is expected to close by Nov. 23.  It would be followed by a further $25 million, subject to the FDA granting a special protocol [...]

Protox gets credibility boost from Warburg Pincus

An equity injection of up to $35 million from private equity giant Warburg Pincus represents a huge vote of confidence in Protox Therapeutics (TSX:PRX) and its lead PRX302 drug for enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), with the drug potentially able to target two other diseases: prostate cancer and prostatitis. “We went through an [...]

Intellipharmaceutics CEO moulded at Biovail U

Fifteen years ago, Dr. Isa Odidi performed magic as CSO of Biovail (NYSE:BVF; TSX:BVF), developing several blockbuster generics, including hard-to-manufacture copies of Bayer’s Adalat CC, Pfizer’s Procardia XL and Novartis’ Voltaren XR. “We have the same style here at Intellipharmaceutics (NASDAQ:IPCI; TSX:I) as we had at Biovail,” Dr. Odidi says in an exclusive interview with [...]

Labopharm partner loses tramadol patent appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that Purdue Pharma Products’ patent claims for controlled-release tramadol, a pain medication, are invalid.  Purdue distributes Labopharm’s (TSX:DDS; NASDAQ:DDSS) tramadol drug Ryzolt in the U.S. Generic drug maker Par Pharmaceutical (NYSE:PRX) had argued that the patent claims should be deemed invalid because they were [...]

Protox has positive six-month Phase 2b BPH results

Protox Therapeutics (TSX:PRX) has released positive six-month data from its Phase 2b TRIUMP study of its PRX302 drug in patients with moderate-to-severe benign prostatic hyperplasia. The study met its primary endpoint with a statistically significant improvement in International Prostate Symptom Score at day-90 for patients treated with PRX302 versus placebo and requires additional patient assessments [...]

Protox lands licensing deal in Japan

Protox Therapeutics (TSX:PRX) has signed a potential $75 million (U.S.) licence agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical to develop and commercialize Protox’s PRX302 drug in Japan for the treatment of enlarged prostate, prostate cancer and other diseases of the prostate. Under the accord, Protox will receive an upfront payment of $3 million and is eligible to receive [...]

Protox trims size of private placement

Protox Therapeutics (TSX:PRX) has reduced the size of its planned private placement to about $6.5 million from $8 million through the sale of units priced at 45 cents each instead of 55 cents. Each unit consists of one common share of Protox and one-half of a warrant.  Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to [...]

Dundee biotech outlook sees ‘ample room for upside’

While we were at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco last week, Dundee Securities issued its latest biotech sector update. On the bright side, analyst David Martin writes that there are signs Biovail, Angiotech and QLT stocks are bouncing back – supported by new strategies and new products in development for each company. [...]

Waiting on Protox Phase 2b clinical results

Dundee Capital Markets says upcoming Phase 2b clinical results from Protox Therapeutics (TSX:PRX) may validate its prostate-targeted bacterial toxin PRX302 in men with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). In a New Idea of Interest, analyst David Martin writes that prior Phase 2a data supports the drug’s positive profile compared with leading minimally invasive therapies and BPH [...]