BIOTECH
Sarepta to raise money after FDA approval
Tapping capital markets at an opportune time, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. said Wednesday it will seek to raise up to $225 million in a stock sale as it moves to launch its first approved drug and finance research and clinical studies of that drug and other treatments. Cambridge-based Sarepta won Food and Drug Administration approval Monday for a weekly infusion that will treat boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. As a condition of approval, FDA regulators required Sarepta to conduct a follow-on study to confirm the drug’s effectiveness in a larger patient group. The company is also testing other Duchenne drug candidates. In a regulatory filing, Sarepta said will offer underwriters of its public offering, including financial firms J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, a 30-day option to purchase 15 percent of the shares being sold. Sarepta said it plans to use proceeds from the stock sale to advance its drug candidates in clinical trials and bankroll its commercial and manufacturing operations. — ROBERT WEISMAN
Banking
Massachusetts regulator stepping down
The state’s top banking regulator, David Cotney (left), will step down on Friday after six years on the job, the Massachusetts Division of Banks confirmed Wednesday. Cotney had been with the Division of Banks for 20 years, starting as a bank examiner, before he was named banking commissioner in 2010. Cotney will be replaced by Terry McGinnis, former general counsel for Eastern Bank, the state’s largest community bank. Neither Cotney nor McGinnis could immediately be reached for comment. McGinnis’s appointment marks the first time in nearly three decades that the state’s banking commissioner will come from the banking industry and not from regulatory side. Bankers, lobbyists, and attorneys have been expecting Governor Charlie Baker to appoint his own commissioner since he took office in 2015. The banking commissioner oversees more than 200 banks and credit unions with combined assets of more than $400 billion. The office supervises nonbank companies such as mortgage lenders and brokers, consumer finance firms, and debt collectors. — DEIRDRE FERNANDES
Banking
Buffett mum on Wells Fargo for now
Warren Buffett, the biggest investor in Wells Fargo & Co., said it’ll be more than a month before he publicly discusses the bank’s phantom-account scandal. “If I start commenting on that or anything else, it will lead down too many paths so I will wait until November to speak about it, the election, or any other subject,’’ Buffett told the Fox Business Network, according to its website. Wells Fargo is a sensitive topic for the billionaire, who controls a 10 percent stake in the San Francisco-based lender and is seeking Federal Reserve approval to increase the holding. Lawmakers from both major political parties faulted chief executive John Stumpf at a Congressional hearing Tuesday, with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for his resignation. Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is backing the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton, a Democrat who wrote in a letter to the bank’s customers that she was “deeply disturbed’’ by Wells Fargo’s conduct. The election is scheduled for Nov. 8. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Retail
General Mills looks to boost food lines
Sprinkle more cinnamon on Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, switch to antibiotic-free chicken for Progresso soups, pump up the protein in Yoplait yogurts. Those are some of the tactics General Mills is hoping can keep people interested in its stable of products. Like other major food companies, General Mills is struggling to navigate fickle American tastes and increasing competition, especially from smaller players promising something newer or more wholesome. General Mills said it plans to add more protein to its Yoplait Greek 100, since people are increasingly looking for foods that will keep them fuller for longer. But keeping people interested in products isn’t always about jumping on health trends. Jeff Harmening, General Mills’ president, noted that what people want varies depending on the product. For Cinnamon Toast Crunch, sales rose after the company added more cinnamon. But for Cocoa Puffs, Harmening said sales were up after the company made them ‘‘more chocolatey.’’ — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Automotive
Tesla cars aren’t fast enough for some Norwegian drivers
Tesla Motors Inc. customers in Norway are seeking money back from the US electric car manufacturer, saying their models that were marketed with an “insane mode’’ of acceleration didn’t go fast enough. Some 126 owners of the Tesla Model S sedan’s P85D performance version are seeking reimbursements after the model only reached 469 horsepower instead of a pledged 700 hp, said Kaspar N. Thommessen, an attorney at Wikborg Rein law firm representing the plaintiffs. The car “has too low horsepower,’’ the lawyer said Wednesday in an e-mailed response to questions. “And of course, it affects the car’s performance, according to the consumers.’’ A spokesman said Tesla’s own tests and independent checks showed the P85D can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles an hour in 3.1 to 3.3 seconds. That indicates the performance figures “have always been accurate,’’ said spokesman Sandvold Roland. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Automotive
Lawsuits against VW stacking up in Germany
A German court has been flooded with new lawsuits against Volkswagen from investors who say they lost billions as the value of the carmaker’s shares plunged after its diesel emissions scandal. The surge could add to the company’s financial woes as it deals with the fallout from the revelation a year ago that it had cheated on emission tests. In Germany, a regional court in Braunschweig near Volkswagen’s headquarters said it had registered more than 1,400 complaints from institutional and individual shareholders seeking about $9.2 billion in damages. Of those suits, 750 were submitted on Monday alone — equivalent to about half the number of cases it typically processes in a year. The company had already reached a $15 billion settlement in the United States and set aside billions for costs related to the deception. It also faces a raft of complaints from customers in Europe, though regional law means it is harder for disaffected vehicle owners to unite to sue the carmaker. — NEW YORK TIMES
Biotech
Eleven Biotherapeutics acquires Canadian cancer drug developer
Eleven Biotherapeutics Inc., a Cambridge biotech developing cancer drugs, said Wednesday it acquired Toronto-based Viventia Bio Inc., another cancer drug developer, in a stock transaction valued at $13.5 million. Eleven said it purchased all of the Canadian company’s stock by issuing just over 4 million shares of Eleven stock, representing 19.9 percent of the company. Eleven shares closed at $3.50 Wednesday, up 3.8 percent. The combined company, to be called Eleven, will focus on treatments for bladder, head, and neck, and other cancers. It will be headed by former Viventia chief executive Stephen Hurly. Eleven’s current CEO, Abbie C. Celniker, will step down but remain a company director. — ROBERT WEISMAN
Retail
Hot toys for upcoming holidays
Coming off its best Christmas in years, the US toy industry is wagering that the Pokemon Go craze will command a lot of space on kids’ wish lists. Pokemon-branded video games from Nintendo Co. and a plush Pikachu character that wiggles its ears from Tomy Co. highlight the Toy Insider’s Hot 20 list, an industry publication’s best guess at what items will be the most coveted this holiday-shopping season. But while yet another installation of the Star Wars series, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,’’ comes out in December, just one Star Wars toy made the hot list. It’s a Lego A/S construction set of an X-wing fighter. The list also features only one item tied to “Frozen,’’ the gigantic Disney hit from 2013: a doll from Jakks Pacific Inc. that lights up and makes sounds. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
