Somatix partner backs off

Bristol-Myers Squibb let lapse its 90-day right of first refusal to commit to funding SOMA's Phase III trials of GVAX in advanced melanoma, sending SOMA off to shop for new partners for the program.

SOMA (Alameda, Calif.) contends that the pharma company has not forsaken it. The gene therapy company said Bristol-Myers needed more time than the window provided. "They've said 90 days is just too short of a period to make a decision, so let's keep talking," said CFO Mark Bagnall...