Reports + Research

FDA Approves First Objective Test for Traumatic Brain Injury

A blood test called Banyan BTI (Brain Trauma Indicator), developed by Banyan Biomarkers, is the first to provide objective information to assess patients with suspected mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as concussions. The test can be used to identify patients with head trauma who could safely forego the need for a CT scan, thereby avoiding unnecessary radiation to the brain and reducing costs of care. More than 90 percent of patients presenting to the emergency department with mild TBI or concussion have a negative CT scan.

MediciNova Raises $40 Million to Advance Multiple Sclerosis Drug

The San Diego-based company plans to use the proceeds from the stock offering to continue development of its multiple sclerosis (MS) drug ibudilast, including a Phase 3 clinical trial for progressive multiple sclerosis. In addition to MS, ibudilast is being developed to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and methamphetamine addiction. The company is also evaluating another drug, tipelukast, in four conditions: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, high triglyceride levels, and pulmonary fibrosis.

MabVax Reports Positive Date in Phase 1 Pancreatic Cancer Trial

While this is an early clinical trial in a handful of patients, MVT-5873 with chemotherapy produced “meaningful reductions in tumor volume” for patients newly diagnosed with pancreatic and other CA19-9 positive malignancies. MVT-5873 is an antibody discovered in patients who had been given a cancer vaccine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The trial is continuing to enroll patients.

Read + Listen

POW!  Podcast of the Week

On BioTech Nation Radio, Dr. Steve Mento from Conatus Pharmaceuticals talks about livers and their scientific work in treating NASH and cirrhosis of the liver.

BOW!  Book of the Week

This book gets a five-star rating after more than 3,000 reviews.  For President’s Day, it’s worth (re)visiting the book that was made into a major motion picture by Steven Spielberg: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Events

It’s Happening Here

February 22
San Diego Venture Group is holding an expert panel on Fundraising for HealthTech this Thursday at JLABS.

March 1
Are you interested in exploring the use of behavioral economics and psychology in the design and development of products and services that help people take action to improve their lives?  Then don’t miss the inaugural Action Design Meetup in San Diego taking place at UC San Diego.

March 1-2
The 11th Annual Future of Genomic Medicine (#FOGM18) conference is taking place at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

March 6-7
Ignite is UC San Diego’s flagship annual innovation conference, connecting risk-takers, rule-breakers and changemakers across the campus and community.

March 9
4th Annual UCSD Division of Regenerative Medicine Symposium will take place at the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine.

Client Disclosure: Banyan Biomarkers