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
A panel of independent advisors to the FDA voted on Friday to recommend approval of an experimental peanut allergy drug from Aimmune Therapeutics. But concern about the risks of an... Read more »
Add another once-promising Alzheimer’s disease drug to the scrap heap.
Eisai and Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) are halting a Phase 3 test after an independent safety review concluded the risks of... Read more »
Wall Street welcomed three life science companies to the public markets this week. 10x Genomics led the way Wednesday, followed by SpringWorks Therapeutics and Satsuma Pharmaceuticals on Thursday. Combined, the three... Read more »
Peanut allergy sufferers know they need to stay away from certain foods that can put them in danger. But what about accidental exposure? Even trace amounts of peanut protein in their... Read more »
Gene-editing technology offers the potential to treat inherited disorders with selective edits and corrections to an afflicted individual’s genetic code. But with such molecular tinkering comes with the risk of unintended... Read more »
Hearing loss affects millions of Americans but to date, there are no FDA-approved medicines to treat them. Frequency Therapeutics is developing a hearing loss drug that taps into the body’s regenerative... Read more »
Being first to market with a new type of drug brings advantages. The first mover sets the bar for what physicians, payers, and patients can expect of that medicine and how... Read more »
IFM Therapeutics has lined up another pact with a big pharma company, and it’s the second one in less than a year with Novartis.
Boston-based IFM Therapeutics announced Thursday that Novartis... Read more »
Vir Biotechnology assembled its pipeline of infectious disease compounds through deal-making with other drug developers, along with financial support from blue-chip venture capital firms and the non-profit Bill & Melinda Gates... Read more »
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is paying $950 million to acquire Semma Therapeutics, a biotech startup developing a stem cell therapy for type 1 diabetes.
The deal announced Tuesday is Vertex’s first step into... Read more »
Three patents that extend the exclusivity of Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ franchise rare disease drug will now face a patent challenge from Amgen.
On Friday, a court within the US Patent and Trademark... Read more »
Celgene is selling a blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug to Amgen for $13.4 billion cash, a deal needed to close the company’s pending $74 billion acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY... Read more »
An experimental GlaxoSmithKline treatment for multiple myeloma has achieved the main goal of a key study, and the drug maker plans to file for regulatory approval by the end of this... Read more »
Biotech news tends to slow down in August but the past seven days have been busy for regulatory decisions. Three drugs and two devices won FDA nods.
Not all companies were... Read more »
Nearly four years ago, the FDA approved a therapy that uses a virus to infect tumor cells and break them down—the first such viral therapy for treating cancer. Oncorus CEO Ted... Read more »
Elanco Animal Health, the veterinary sector’s fourth-largest company measured by revenue, is poised to leap to number two through a $7.6 billion cash and stock deal for Bayer’s animal health unit.... Read more »
The dog days of summer are here and IPO activity has slowed, but that hasn’t stopped some biotech companies from securing a place in the line leading to Wall Street. Late... Read more »
Plant-based meats and milks still use proteins, just not proteins that come from animals. Motif Ingredients has raised $27.5 million to build a pipeline of these animal-free protein ingredients.
In addition... Read more »
Vor Biopharma has appointed Robert Ang to serve as president and CEO. Ang joins Cambridge, MA-based Vor from Neon Therapeutics, where he was chief business officer. His experience also includes... Read more »
A Rhythm Pharmaceuticals drug developed to reduce the weight gain and ravenous hunger in genetic obesity disorders has hit the goals of two late-stage clinical trials, and the company now plans... Read more »
