Frank Vinluan
Frank is a business journalist with more than a decade of experience covering various aspects of technology and life sciences. Based in Raleigh, he was a staff writer at the Triangle Business Journal covering technology, biotechnology and energy before joining MedCityNews.com as North Carolina bureau chief. Prior to moving to North Carolina’s Research Triangle in 2007 he held business reporting positions at The Des Moines Register and The Seattle Times. Frank has a bachelor’s degree in history from Carleton College and a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield.
Recent posts
Arrakis Therapeutics has been scouting elusive pharmaceutical quarry: small molecules able to “drug” RNA, the molecular messengers that carry the genetic instructions for proteins. Most drugs in use today act on... Read more »
The gastrointestinal system is often viewed as a barrier to drugs. Conditions ideal for breaking down food also break down drugs in ways that can limit how well they work. Interaction... Read more »
Hatteras Venture Partners is kicking off its latest fund with $94 million it plans to deploy to life sciences startups.
The cash committed so far is the first closing of a... Read more »
Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio) has raised $235 million in financing to support its research and development of gene therapies for rare, genetic disorders.
The funding came from TPG Capital and Vida Ventures,... Read more »
Executives from five of the companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurers testified Tuesday before the Senate finance committee. It was the latest in a series of hearings centered... Read more »
[Updated 9:11 p.m. ET. See below.] The FDA is refusing to review a Zogenix drug developed to treat seizures caused by a rare form of epilepsy.
Zogenix said Monday... Read more »
Trevi Therapeutics is trying to turn an old opioid drug into a new therapy for tough-to-treat itching conditions, and it has filed for an initial public offering to finance clinical trials.... Read more »
An experimental blood disease drug cited as one of Celgene’s key pipeline assets has been filed for FDA approval.
Summit, NJ-based Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) said Friday that it submitted the... Read more »
Scott Gottlieb’s last day as FDA commissioner is today. His resignation announcement last month surprised some, given the earlier denials about leaving. But after two years of commuting between Connecticut,... Read more »
So far this year, NGM Biopharmaceuticals has licensed a drug to Merck, extended a research agreement with that partner, and laid the groundwork to continue mid-stage testing of its wholly-owned lead... Read more »
One problem with drugs for muscular disorders is that not enough medicine reaches the muscle, says Romesh Subramanian, CEO of Dyne Therapeutics. Subramanian’s startup has developed a way to deliver drugs... Read more »
Less than a year after launching and only days after advancing its lead program into clinical trials, drug developer IFM Tre is in line to be acquired by Novartis.
According to... Read more »
Precision BioSciences has joined the club of publicly traded gene editing biotech companies, raising $126 million in its stock market debut.
On Wednesday evening, Durham, NC-based Precision Bio sold 7.9 million... Read more »
Urovant Sciences says its experimental drug for overactive bladder could offer advantages compared to an FDA-approved treatment marketed by Astellas Pharma. But late-stage clinical results released Tuesday raise questions whether Urovant... Read more »
An experimental drug developed by Dermira to treat atopic dermatitis has hit the main goal of its mid-stage study, helping to build a case that the injectable treatment could measure up... Read more »
While all eyes in the biopharmaceutical world are currently trained on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s proposal to buy Celgene for $74 billion, it wasn’t that long ago that another company’s gaze was... Read more »
X4 Pharmaceuticals is the latest biotech to join the public markets, but it didn’t follow the IPO path to get there.
Cambridge, MA-based X4 said Wednesday that it completed its “... Read more »
An experimental multiple sclerosis treatment identified as a key asset in Bristol-Myers Squibb’s proposed acquisition of Celgene has been filed for regulatory approval in Europe.
Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) submitted its... Read more »
It’s been more than three years since the FDA approved salmon from AquaBounty Technologies, but debates about labels and other requirements have kept the genetically engineered fish from reaching dining plates.... Read more »
An experimental Vertex Pharmaceuticals cystic fibrosis treatment that combines three of the company’s drugs has hit the main goals of two late-stage studies.
It’s the second cystic fibrosis (CF) three-drug cocktail... Read more »
