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Tue. Jan. 24, 2012 Warren Group: Mass. single-family home sales drop in December The volume of single-family home sales in Massachusetts fell 5 percent in December from a year ago, and condo sales took a bigger hit, the Warren Group reported this morning. That reversed a trend of the five previous months, which posted year-over-year sales gains, said the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks local real estate activity. For December 2011, the median sale price of single-family homes statewide dropped 4.2 percent to $267,250.	Advertisement
Genzyme’s Framingham plant wins FDA approval to produce Fabrazyme Genzyme Corp., the Cambridge unit of French drug maker Sanofi SA, said that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its manufacturing plant in Framingham for the production of Fabrazyme, a treatment for Fabry disease. Earlier this month, the Framingham plant was also approved for Fabrazyme production by European regulators.
Boston financial advisors and assistant win $24 million in arbitration Two Boston financial advisors and their assistant won a $24 million arbitration ruling against Citigroup Inc. late last week, one of the largest awards of its kind on record. he advisors, James Bryan Minchello and Robert Vincent Minchello, claimed Citigroup stiffed them for tens of millions of dollars in commissions and other fees after they brought their stable of clients from Bank of America to Citigroup’s Smith Barney brokerage unit in 2002.
Avila in line for $4m milestone payment Avila Therapeutics Inc., a Bedford biotechnology company developing drugs that treat diseases through protein silencing, said that it has achieved the first milestone in its alliance with Clovis Oncology --- a milestone that triggers a $4 million milestone payment to Avila. The alliance is working on a potential treatment for some forms of non-small cell lung cancer. Avila and Clovis Oncology entered into a partnership for the worldwide development and commercialization of this drug candidate in May 2010.
Planning trip to Patriots v. Giant Superbowl? Prepare to pay and pay - and pay some more New England Patriots fans hoping to attend the team’s Super Bowl rematch with the New York Giants are going to have to shell out: the cheapest tickets into Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis are already going for more than $2,000, and round-trip flights from Boston average $800. By game time, ticket prices are expected to top those for last year’s Greenbay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers matchup, which old for more than $4,000.
Mass. gas prices are up another 2 cents a gallon The average price of gas in Massachusetts is $3.429 a gallon in the latest weekly AAA survey, up 2 cents from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said today. It was the fifth consecutive week of increases. The national average is $3.38 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.10 a gallon.
NStar proposes price cut for natural gas customers NStar said today that it is proposing a price cut that if approved by state regulators, would save customers who heat with natural gas about $15 a month when compared with current rates and about $30 a month when compared with the rates from last winter. Boston-based NStar said a steady decline in natural gas prices has prompted it to propose the price cut. Such a proposal needs the approval of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.
Stacy Enxing Seng will preside over Covidien’s vascular therapies business Global health care products company Covidien PLC said that Stacy Enxing Seng has been appointed president of its vascular therapies global business unit. Enxing Seng, 47, joined Covidien in July 2010. Covidien is incorporated in Dublin but has its headquarters in Mansfield. In her new job, Enxing Seng will be responsible for managing a global organization of 4,000 employees with $1.4 billion in revenue. Covidien reported 2011 revenue of $11.6 billion.
Oasys appoints Bob Muscat as its CEO Oasys Water Inc. announced the appointment of Bob Muscat as chief executive as the Boston-based company looks to commercialize its technology for desalination, brine recovery, and water reuse. Before joining Oasys, Muscat served as general manager of GE Energy’s Environmental Services business. In 2009, Oasys finalized $10 million in venture capital funding. The company seeks to develop an economical way to convert saltwater into drinking water.
Verastem plans IPO next week Verastem Inc., a Cambridge company that is seeking to create drugs that target cancer stem cells, is scheduled to launch an initial public offering next week, according to Renaissance Capital LLC, a New York firm that tracks initial offerings of stock.
Alnylam is cutting 61 jobs Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge biotechnology company, said it plans to cut its workforce by 33 percent, or 61 jobs, as part of a “strategic corporate restructuring” plan. One goal of the plan is to save about $20 million in 2012 cash operating expenses. All the company’s employees work in Cambridge. Alnylam said it is looking to align its resources as it accelerates development of promising drug candidates in its pipeline, including one for hemophilia.