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Give Us the Money

Sep 26, 2008

Nuvelo and Arca Biopharma announced yesterday that they will be merging to make a late-stage cardiovascular biotechnology company. Nuvelo's alfimeprase, a drug to treat blood clots, failed last year but Nuvelo retained $76 million. This is an example, says Reuters, of failed or failing biotechs being taken over for access to their excess cash. The San Jose Business Journal writes that the combined company should have enough funding until the end of 2009.

Breaking News
The Scan

Pig Organ Transplants Considered

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Food and Drug Administration may soon allow clinical trials that involve transplanting pig organs into humans.

'Poo-Bank' Proposal

Harvard Medical School researchers suggest people should bank stool samples when they are young to transplant when they later develop age-related diseases.

Spurred to Develop Again

New Scientist reports that researchers may have uncovered why about 60 percent of in vitro fertilization embryos stop developing.

Science Papers Examine Breast Milk Cell Populations, Cerebral Cortex Cellular Diversity, Micronesia Population History

In Science this week: unique cell populations found within breast milk, 100 transcriptionally distinct cell populations uncovered in the cerebral cortex, and more.