Biogen has warned that uptake for its newly approved Alzheimer’s therapy will be slow in the beginning and doctors confirm it will take time to figure which patients can and should be treated.

In a busy month, MD Anderson also partners with Ipsen on an unspecified cancer drug and licenses poziotinib IP to Spectrum. Using IP from UCLA, Bloom launches with focus on neuroprotective epilepsy therapies.

Optogenetics – technology to control neurons with light – has swept through basic neuroscience research. Efforts to commercialize optogenetics are complex, but a spunky group of start-ups plan to develop therapies using the technology.

The market for oncology companion diagnostics is poised for significant growth, according to Sagient Research Systems. Reporting from ASCO 2014, Sagient analysts highlight key presentations on companion diagnostics, provide information on oncology diagnostic market trends, and note movement in clinical trials toward more adaptive designs with smaller patient numbers and incorporation of companion diagnostics.