Frank Vinlaun

Drug developer Chelsea Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CHTP) is expanding its financial cushion to the tune of $100 million in advance of a regulatory decision on what could be the company’s first approved drug. A recently filed shelf registration shows the company laying groundwork to raise the money if needed. Pharmaceutical companies often make shelf filings to give themselves financial leeway to raise cash in a pinch. But the filing doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll pull money from the shelf; doing so dilutes existing shareholders. Even so, Charlotte-based Chelsea needs to give itself a bit more financial wiggle room. Chelsea last year...

Gastrointestinal treatments company Tranzyme Pharma (Nasdaq: TZYM) has secured $9.3 million in financing — enough to carry the company through the third quarter. Durham-based Tranzyme said that the loan came from an amendment and restatement of its existing debt financing facility with Oxford Finance and Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: HRZN). Tranzyme will use a portion of the proceeds to pay off a portion of its existing debt, leaving the company with $20 million in outstanding debt. Terms of the amended notes provide that Tranzyme pay interest only through February 2013. Tranzyme, which completed an initial public stock offering...

Medical device company TearScience has received 510(k) clearance on the latest version of its evaporative dry eye treatment. The Morrisville-based company’s novel dry eye treatment initially received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance last summer. The company’s LipiFlow device works by clearing the channels that supply the eye with the oily film that keeps the tear film from evaporating, leading to dry eyes. Dry eye has traditionally been treated with eye drops to address dryness symptoms or to reduce inflammation. TearScience’s eye treatment is administered in a doctor’s office. Enhancements to the latest version of the medical device include...

Antibiotics developer Cempra Pharmaceuticals is one of three healthcare companies expected to go public this week. A total of eight initial public offerings are expected, according to Renaissance Capital, a Greenwich, Connecticut research firm specializing in initial public offerings. Besides Chapel Hill-based Cempra’s planned $86 million IPO, the other healthcare-related IPOs on Renaissance’s radar for this week are Greenway Medical Technologies and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. Cempra’s two lead drug candidates are antibiotics that would address drug-resistant bacteria. Cempra is targeting an antibiotics market Datamonitor estimates was $19.6 billion in the United States, Japan and the five major European markets in...

Neglected tropicals diseases affect more than one billion people globally, but they have not figured prominently in pharmaceutical industry plans. Those priorities look to be changing with Monday’s announcement that 13 pharma companies, including GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), are joining with public sector and nonprofit partners to control or eliminate so-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The partnership includes the World Health Organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Department for International Development and the U.S Agency for International Development. Their goal is to eliminate or control 10 of the 17 NTDs identified by the WHO by 2020. If successful,...

Medical device firm Charter Medical has received European regulatory clearance for cryogenic stem cell containers. The CE Mark means that Charter’s cryogenic storage containers for hematopoietic stem cells, the stem cells that form blood and immune cells, can now be marketed in Europe. The containers are designed for cryogenic storage, preservation and transfer of these cells. The containers are already in use by some customers in the United States. Winston-Salem-based Charter Medical specializes in the collection, processing, storage and filtration of body fluids in medical device and bio-processing industries. Products include blood filtration devices, blood transfusion and single-use containers...

Pozen (Nasdaq:POZN) CEO John Platchetka likens the drug partnering process to a relay race. One runner at full speed finishes and hands the baton to another runner at full speed to finish the race. That’s the ideal. But in many cases, Big Pharma isn’t yet running when it receives the baton. Pozen developed migraine treatment Treximet, which was taken through late-stage clinical trials and commercialized by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK). Osteoarthritis drug Vimovo was similarly taken through phase 3 studies and commercialized by AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN). In those partnership deals with GSK and AstraZeneca, Pozen experienced gaps of at least a year...

Diagnostics company LipoScience, which is in the midst of plans for an initial public stock offering, now has a new chief operating officer. Timothy Fischer joined LipoScience in 2010 as the company’s vice president of research and development. Now as COO, Fischer will continue overseeing R&D as well as commercial operations and medical affairs. Fischer brings to his new post more than 25 years of experience, particularly in in vitro diagnostics. Before joining LipoScience, Fischer was vice president of development for the women’s health and cancer business at Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BD). Raleigh-based LipoScience has developed and commercialized a blood...