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

• Spectrum plans to buy Allos after cancer drug fails in 2 trials
  Spectrum Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire Allos Therapeutics for as much as $206 million upfront, or $1.82 a share, plus additional consideration if certain milestones are met for the latter's FDA-approved lymphoma drug Folotyn. The deal comes after Spectrum revealed that investigational drug apaziquone failed in two late-stage trials to yield a statistically significant difference in tumor recurrence rate versus placebo in patients with bladder cancer. The Wall Street Journal (4/5)     

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Health Care & Policy

• Medicine, economics, democracy collide in orphan-drug development
  Drugmakers are developing more therapies that treat small segments of the population and charging up to $500,000 per patient per year. The overall percentage of health care spending on orphan drugs is small, but "if current trends continue, orphan drugs can become ... larger than the entire global pharmaceutical industry today," writes venture capitalist Bill Frezza, a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He predicts the result could be profit regulation, nationalization and, ultimately, stagnation. Bio-IT World (4/3)     

• FDA expedites review of Sanofi-Regeneron colon cancer drug
  The FDA granted priority-review designation for Sanofi and Regeneron's colorectal cancer drug Zaltrap, or aflibercept. The partners said the drug failed to meet the main endpoint of extending overall survival in patients with metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer in a late-stage trial. InPharm.com (4/5), Reuters (4/5)     

• Drug targets resistant advanced lymphoma
  A drug being developed by Pharmacyclics and Janssen Research and Development shrank or eliminated tumors in 40% of patients with a drug-resistant lymphoma subtype in a small trial, according to a presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. The drug, ibrutinib, blocks a protein called Bruton's tyrosine kinase that National Cancer Institute researchers found to be part of a B-cell-receptor signaling pathway that allows tumor cells to proliferate. ScienceMag.org/ScienceNow blog (4/3)     

• Ameritox gains license for Ridge's depression blood test
  Ameritox, which specializes in pain drug monitoring, hopes to make inroads in the depression market with a licensing deal with Ridge Diagnostics. The deal will allow Ameritox to market MDDScore, which Ridge CEO Lonna Williams touts as the first clinically available blood assay for major depressive disorder. Clinica (subscription required) (4/5)     

• Proteome's stroke biomarkers licensed to Randox
  Randox Laboratories secured non-exclusive licensing rights to Proteome Sciences' portfolio of blood protein biomarkers for stroke. The company will use the biomarkers to develop products for early stroke diagnosis and patient monitoring. Proteome will receive license and development milestone payments plus sales royalties. GenomeWeb Daily News (4/5)     

• Researchers develop method for large-scale stem cell production
  Researchers from the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering in Canada combined a cell reprogramming method with a bioreactor to produce stem cell cultures on a large scale. Researchers said the procedure can allow for a more stable, safer production of stem cells. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (4/5)     

• Studies trace role of genetic mutations in autism
  Researchers sequenced the genes of children with sporadic autism and found hundreds of "de novo" or spontaneous mutations in gene sequences that could affect the function of genes in the patients. The studies indicate that it's the location, not the size, of the genetic anomaly that may be problematic. One research team estimated that the mutations could increase the risk of autism five to 20 times. The three studies appear in the journal Nature. Reuters (4/4), DoctorsLounge.com/HealthDay News (4/4)     

Company & Financial News

• Sloan Foundation grants $3M to N.Y. Genome Center
  A $3 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will help the New York Genome Center boost its core bioinformatics and sequencing staff, creating hundreds of jobs and building genomics and bioinformatics capacity, NYGC officials said. The consortium includes 11 academic institutions and is intended to support large-scale genome sequencing and bioinformatics for translational research. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (4/4)     

• MDA gives Catabasis funding to test compounds for muscle disorder
  The Muscular Dystrophy Association awarded Catabasis Pharmaceuticals $120,000 to test two compounds, CAT-1004 and CAT-1040, in a mouse model with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The goal is to determine whether the compounds can cut muscle-tissue inflammation and enhance muscle function. If the test generates positive results, the biopharmaceutical firm plans to initiate human clinical trials. Mass High Tech (Boston) (4/4)     

Featured Content

Food & Agriculture

• BASF to conduct biotech potato trials in Europe
  BASF Plant Science will field-test this year its biotech potato varieties Modena and the blight-resistant Fortuna in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The crops are still being reviewed for approval by the European Union. "To maintain all options for our potato varieties, we will continue, as announced, the approval processes already under way and the multiplication of seed material for that purpose," BASF president Peter Eckes said. Reuters (4/5)     

Industrial & Environmental

• GRFA: G-20 must do more to spur biofuel production
  The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance is urging G-20 countries to encourage biofuel production as a way to dampen the impact of soaring oil prices, which the chief economist of the International Energy Agency said are a threat to the world's economy. "We must do more to encourage the development of alternatives to crude oil such as ethanol and biodiesel," said GRFA spokesman Bliss Baker. "The IEA has stated that by 2050, biofuels could produce 27% of the world's transport fuels." DomesticFuel.com (4/4)     

News from BIO

• Ship with FedEx
  FedEx is now offering member companies discounts of up to 35% off select FedEx services, both U.S. and international services. The BIO program with FedEx is one of the many cost-savings programs offered by BIO through its Business Solutions program. There is no charge for BIO member companies to participate in any of the BIO Business Solutions programs -- it is a benefit of membership. Learn more about the BIO and FedEx program.     

SmartQuote

Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof." --John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist