ST. PETERSBURG, FL - IRX Therapeutics Inc. IRX Therapeutics Inc.Latest from The Business JournalsIRX Therapeutics comes home to Tampa Bay areaIRX Therapeutics raises million for cancer drug developmentFollow this company will relocate to St. Petersburg from New York by the end of the year.

The company said it would staff more than 280 positions within five years, at a projected minimum average wage of $90,000 annually. (more…)

MIAMI, FL - Opko Health Opko HealthLatest from The Business JournalsPhoto Gallery: Fast Tech AwardsForbes: 21 South Florida residents among America’s richestOpko sells ophthalmic instrument unit for .5MFollow this company has acquired Claros Diagnostics, a Woburn, Mass.-based company that has developed a novel blood testing kit for urology and infectious disease.

The Miami-based biotechnology and pharmaceutical company (NYSE: OPK) said Claros “presents an ideal strategic fit.”

Opko said it is developing unique antibody based tests for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; and lung, pancreatic and other cancers.

“The combined Opko-Claros technology will also provide an ideal platform for use as companion diagnostics,” the company stated.

Last month, Opko Health signed a deal to sell its ophthalmic instrumentation business to OPTOS for $17.5 million, plus future royalties.

Opko shares were down 13 cents to $4.68 in morning trading. The 52-week high was $5.03 on Feb. 16. The 52-week low was $2.41 on Oct. 18, 2010.

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2011/10/13/opko-acquires-claros-diagnostics.html?ed=2011-10-13&s=article_du&ana=e_du_pub

ATLANTA, GA - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationLatest from The Business JournalsAlcon files patent infringement claim against Apotex‘Gray’ drug market preys on hospitals hereFen-phen deadline nearing, Dallas lawyer warnsFollow this company on Friday stamped its approval on Dendreon Corp. Dendreon Corp.Latest from The Business JournalsSeattle Genetics’ new drug price: 8K per patientHines marketing planned Perimeter office towerWhich Seattle-area stocks are down the most?Follow this company’s Atlanta cancer immunotherapy manufacturing facility.
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ATLANTA, GA _ BioDelivery Sciences International Inc.BioDelivery Sciences International Inc.Latest from The Business JournalsBDSI poised to file to market drugBDSI lines up M to finance drugFirm claims BDSI infringing on its methodFollow this company said that its drug Onsolis will soon be sold in Canada – a development that could generate up to $30 million in sales milestones for the Raleigh-NC-based company.
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ATLANTA, GA - The town of Jupiter, FL on Wednesday approved a $300,000 loan guarantee for ESI Florida, a biotechnology investment company that plans to create 150 jobs.
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Atlanta, GA – August 16, 2011 – Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc., an emerging leader in infectious disease, announced today that it has received FDA clearance to commence a Phase II proof-of-concept trial for its lead compound IkT-001. (more…)

ATLANTA, GA - Georgia dangled nearly $2 million in financial carrots to lure a global pharmaceutical company to Marietta, where it will create about 150 jobs.
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ATLANTA, GA - Top executives from Johns Hopkins Medical School, SRI International and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research InstituteLatest from The Business JournalsAll Children’s Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center improve 1Q financialsScripps Florida wins M grantAll Children’s, Johns Hopkins deal could lead to spinoffsFollow this company will headline the BioFlorida conference in Tampa in October.
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ATLANTA, GA - The North Carolina Biotechnology CenterThe North Carolina Biotechnology CenterLatest from The Business JournalsBiotech center bestows .4M in grantsState may set up nonprofit to funnel 0M to startupsLess than 5% of Triangle buildings LEED certifiedFollow this company has approved a four-year, $2.5 million grant to establish a Marine Biotechnology Center of Innovation. The center aims to use biotechnology to accelerate development of commercial products from the state’s marine life.

The award builds on a $100,000 planning grant given previously by the Biotech Center. That money was used to develop a business plan, making the MBCOI eligible for the Phase II funding, the biotech center said in a written statement.

With the new award, the MBCOI must meet business milestones and ultimately establish itself as an independent, self-sustaining entity. The first milestone will be the recruitment and hiring of a president and executive director to lead the MBCOI in identifying and prioritizing key market sectors.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/morning_call/2011/08/biotech-center-shells-out-25m.html?s=newsletter&ed=2011-08-03&ana=e_trig_rdup

DURHAM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Synageva BioPharma Corp., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic products for rare disorders (“Synageva”), and Trimeris, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRMS) (“Trimeris”) announced today that Trimeris has filed a Form S-4 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pertaining to the previously announced merger of Trimeris and Synageva. The Registration Statement has not yet been declared effective, and the information contained therein is subject to change. Once the Registration Statement has been declared effective, Synageva and Trimeris intend to set a date for a special meeting of each of their respective stockholders to approve the merger and deliver the final joint proxy statement/prospectus to their respective stockholders.

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20110718005536&div=928298533