San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Santarus, Accelrys, & More
Bruce V. Bigelow1/18/13Follow @bvbigelow
This week’s assortment of San Diego life sciences news includes a sweet CEO interview, a dollop of FDA approval, a savory corporate acquisition, and other morsels for your enjoyment. Best of all, our news is zero calorie—and it begins now.
—One interesting tidbit of life sciences news occurred earlier this month, when Roche Chairman told the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung the pharmaceutical giant had dropped it’s bid to acquire San Diego’s Illumina (Nasdaq: ticker[[ILMN]]). But Illumina CEO Jay Flatley gave up even more interesting fodder in a wide-ranging interview with Xconomy’s Luke Timmerman. Among other things, Flatley says Illumina’s didn’t move to acquire Verinata Health to compete directly with Sequenom, one of Illumina’s biggest customers, in prenatal genetic testing. Oh really?
—San Diego-based Santarus (Nasdaq: SNTS) said the FDA approved its extended release drug for treating patients with ulcerative colitis. Santarus combined the steroid drug budesonide with its drug delivery technology, which deposits budesonide along the length of the colon. The company plans to begin marketing the drug as Uceris in March.
—San Diego scientific software developer Accelrys (Nasdaq: ACCL) said it had acquired Vialis, a longtime strategic partner based in Liestal, Switzerland, that serves the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemicals, and agro-science industries. Accelrys said it had paid … Next Page »
