Archemix and GlaxoSmithKline Form Strategic Alliance To Develop Aptamers to Treat Inflammatory Diseases – Archemix and GlaxoSmithKline announced a worldwide strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialise aptamer therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Archemix will receive $27.5 million in upfront payments from GSK, including a $6.5 million equity investment by GSK in the company. Archemix could also be eligible to receive up to $200 million in development, regulatory and sales milestone payments for each of the seven aptamer therapeutics which may be discovered and developed as part of the alliance. More

Archemix Announces ARC1779 Data to Be Presented at Upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, December 6-9, 2008 – Archemix announced that data from the company’s Phase 2a clinical trial of ARC1779 will be presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Francisco, Calif., December 6 to 9, 2008. More

NitroMed and Archemix Announce Merger Agreement – NitroMed, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTMD) and Archemix Corp., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company working to develop aptamer-based therapeutics, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Archemix will merge with NitroMed in an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the merger agreement, NitroMed will issue new shares of its common stock to Archemix stockholders based on an exchange ratio to be determined prior to the closing of the transaction. Under the exchange ratio formula defined in the merger agreement, the former Archemix stockholders are expected to own approximately 70 percent of the combined company, and the former NitroMed stockholders are expected to own approximately 30 percent of the combined company, each on a fully-diluted basis. This ratio is subject to potential adjustments as described in the merger agreement. The name of the company will be changed to Archemix Corp. and will be headquartered at Archemix’s offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More

Archemix Signs Aptamer Therapeutics Agreement with Lilly – Archemix Corp. announced that it has signed an agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) regarding aptamer therapeutic R&D evaluation and access to intellectual property. More

Archemix Expands Collaboration with Ribomic for Rights to Develop Aptamer Therapeutics for Multiple Drug Targets – Archemix Corp. announced that it granted Ribomic Inc., a worldwide, non-exclusive license to certain of its intellectual property rights to develop aptamers against multiple targets. Archemix will receive an upfront payment of $6 million. More

Archemix’ ARC1779 Granted Orphan Designation in EU for the Treatment of TTP, a Life-Threatening Blood Disorder – Archemix Corp. announced that ARC1779 has received orphan drug designation from the European Commission (EC). ARC1779 also received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2008. More

Archemix’ ARC1779 Granted Orphan Designation for the Treatment of TTP, a Life-Threatening Blood Disorder – Archemix Corp. announced that ARC1779 has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ARC1779, a novel aptamer therapeutic, is a first-in-class anti-platelet agent for the treatment of a rare, life-threatening blood disorder known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP. There is no drug approved for the treatment of TTP and acute episodes of TTP are associated with a significant mortality rate, estimated to be as high as 20 percent. More

Archemix Announces Initiation of Phase 2 Trial for Aptamer Product Candidate ARC1779 in Patients with TTP, a Rare, Life-Threatening Blood Disorder – Archemix Corp. announced that it started a Phase 2 clinical trial of ARC1779, which is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ARC1779 as a first-in-class anti-platelet agent in patients suffering from a rare, life-threatening blood disorder known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP. More

Archemix CEO to Present at the 28th Annual Cowen and Company Health Care Conference – Archemix Corp. announced today that Dr. Errol De Souza, Archemix’s President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 28th Annual Cowen and Company Health Care Conference in Boston on Monday, March 17th at 9:30 a.m. More

Archemix Earns Milestone Payment from Initiation of Phase 1 Clinical Trial by Ophthotech – Archemix Corp. received a milestone payment from its collaborator Ophthotech Corp. The milestone payment has been triggered by Ophthotech's enrollment of the first volunteer in a Phase 1 study of E10030, an anti-platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) aptamer which is being developed for age related macular degeneration (AMD). More

Archemix and NascaCell Expand Strategic Alliance for Aptamer-based Drug Discovery – Archemix Corp. and NascaCell Technologies AG announced today an expansion of their strategic alliance focused on the use and development of aptamers for drug discovery applications. More

Archemix Earns Milestone Payment from Initiation of Phase 1 Clinical Trial by Nuvelo – Archemix Corp. announced today that it will receive a $1 million milestone payment from its collaborator Nuvelo, Inc. The milestone payment has been triggered by Nuvelo’s enrollment of the first volunteer in a Phase 1 study of NU172, a thrombin-inhibiting aptamer. More