The news summaries appearing in BIO SmartBrief are based on original information from news organizations and are produced by SmartBrief, Inc., an independent e-mail newsletter publisher. The information is not compiled or summarized by BIO. Questions and comments should be directed to SmartBrief at bio@smartbrief.com.

Today's Top Story

• Can investment theory improve decisions on research funding?
  The NIH should use the standards for awarding research funds based on those that pension funds, mutual funds and university endowments use to invest, according to a paper published in PLoS ONE. Using portfolio theory, biomedical research money should be prioritized based primarily on potential years of life saved per dollar invested before other factors, including pain reduction, are considered, the researchers argue. Critics say the approach would ignore chronic and rare diseases that cause suffering and disability. Reuters (5/3)     

Health Care & Policy

• Evotec licenses anti-inflammatory candidate to Conba
  Conba Pharmaceutical secured licensing rights in China to Evotec's early-stage anti-inflammatory candidate EVT 401, a P2X7 antagonist. The agreement covers all indications except ophthalmological, endometriosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Evotec is entitled to a small upfront fee and nearly $80 million in milestone payments plus royalties. PharmaTimes (U.K.) (5/3)     

• Scientists criticize over-reliance on observational studies
  Observational studies of the same drug using different methodologies can yield conflicting results, some researchers say. Though far less expensive to conduct than randomized, controlled clinical trials, observational studies are prone to methodological and statistical biases, their results are less replicable, and their flaws are less easy to spot and correct after publication, critics say. The Wall Street Journal (5/4)     

• Analysis: Many clinical trials are too small
  Cancer drug studies and other clinical trials often have too few participants or are not designed well enough to yield robust results, according to a study of the ClinicalTrials.gov database published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Moreover, data included on the registry are often incomplete, missing even the trial's purpose in 7% of entries. HealthDay News (5/1), Reuters (5/1)     

• Genentech, Lorus sign licensing deal for anti-cancer agent
  Genentech granted Lorus Therapeutics worldwide rights to certain patents related to its anti-cancer agent IL-17E. Lorus will initially develop the agent for pancreatic cancer and malignant melanoma. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (5/2)     

• Study: Gilead's anti-HIV drug is safe for pregnant women
  The use of Gilead Sciences' anti-HIV drug Viread, or tenofovir, during pregnancy seems to be safe for infants, according to an NIH study of 2,000 infants born to HIV-positive mothers from 2003 to 2010. Infants whose mothers took the drug during pregnancy did not have a shorter length nor weigh less than those born to mothers who did not receive the medication. HealthDay News (5/3)     

• Mobile device to ID heart attack risk could arrive next year
  QLIDA Diagnostics, a spinoff of Drexel University, is working on a mobile testing tool that the company says is more cost-effective and sensitive than other assays in identifying a patient's risk for heart attack. The test, which could hit the market by the end of next year, works by taking a blood sample to spot the cardiac biomarker troponin. MedCityNews.com (5/2)     

• Modified cells prove safe in long-term HIV study
  Most of the patients with HIV who received infusions of modified versions of their immune cells remain healthy as many as 11 years after treatment, according to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Samples taken from patients showed the modified cells were at stable levels, researchers said. The findings indicate that modified cells are safe and continue to work more than a decade after infusion, which could open the treatments to less serious conditions. Bloomberg (5/2)     

Company & Financial News

• Gene sequencing device maker pulls in $50.8M in financing
  A private placement of ordinary shares brought Oxford Nanopore Technologies $50.8 million in new funding. Oxford will use the money to create a commercial infrastructure, increase its production capabilities, add to is intellectual property portfolio and support research and development. The firm intends to commercialize two DNA sequencing platforms this year. GenomeWeb Daily News (free registration) (5/3)     

• Stem cell institute receives $10M grant
  The Starr Foundation awarded a $10 million grant to the University of Miami's Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute for its research on stem cell treatments. The institute is conducting 13 clinical stem cell trials. One of the studies focus on a catheter designed to deliver bone marrow stem cells the heart. American City Business Journals/South Florida (5/3)     

Featured Content

Food & Agriculture

• FuturaGene to field-test biotech eucalyptus tree in Brazil
  FuturaGene secured approval from the Brazilian National Technical Commission on Biosafety to initiate a fourth field trial of its biotech eucalyptus tree. Work on the plantation will begin within weeks, and the trial will assess the tree's properties and biosafety. BiomassMagazine.com (5/3)     

Industrial & Environmental

• A stable RFS is vital for advanced biofuels' growth, execs say
  Lawmakers should reject calls to revise or repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard because a stable RFS is necessary for the growth of the cellulosic-biofuel industry, according to executives of BP Biofuels, Novozymes and DuPont Industrial Biosciences. "We are at an early stage and showing instability creates difficulties in terms of continuing to get support for investments," said BP Biofuels North America President Sue Ellerbusch. EthanolProducer.com (5/2)     

News from BIO

• BIOtechNOW
  BIOtechNOW is the first in a number of new products from BIO intended to enhance our communications with the biotech community -- not only with our members, but with other stakeholders as well. This e-newsletter, combined with its website, serves as our flagship in that effort. BIOtechNOW will offer original content that emphasizes the business needs of the industry; highlight BIO's advocacy efforts; and provide a portal to all BIO activities and events. Most importantly, it will spotlight for those outside the industry the value of biotechnology. Sign up for the BIOtechNOW e-newsletter.     

SmartQuote

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions." --Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice