The Dutch biotech company, Pharming Group NV, has raised €12 million in a private share placement, sweetened with warrants, with existing and new institutional investors. The proceeds will support the manufacture of Ruconest, which is awaiting FDA approval.
The German vaccine developer CureVac GmbH has secured a licensing agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson Inc) to develop an influenza vaccine based on its messenger RNA technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Pharmalink AB, a Sweden-based specialty pharmaceutical company, has raised SEK96 million (€11.1 million) in a Series C round to advance the clinical development of products to treat patients with cancer and renal disease.
The fortunes of biotech, at least in the US, have shifted. Gone is the gloom and in its place has arrived something close to euphoria, driven by a wave of initial public offerings (IPOs).
Ablynx NV and Merck Serono have expanded a partnership dating from 2008 to focus on early discovery across a range of therapeutic areas with the goal of identifying antibody-derived therapeutic proteins for later stage development.
Galapagos NV and AbbVie Inc have reached an agreement to co-develop small molecule drugs to treat cystic fibrosis. The goal is to identify compounds that can correct defects and/or restore the activity to the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator protein.
Ablynx NV has secured a licensing deal with AbbVie Inc for its antibody-derived therapeutic protein ALX-0061 to treat inflammatory diseases. The product targets the interleukin-6 receptor and is in Phase 2 for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has entered into a four-year contract with an arm of the US government to supply the monoclonal anti-toxin, raxibacumab, for stockpiling against a potential bioterrorist attack. The contract has a value of about $196 million.
MorphoSys AG has raised €84 million in a private placement of shares that received strong support from international investors. The company said the issue, which was priced at €55.76 per share, was heavily oversubscribed. The new shares will be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Affimed Therapeutics AG has announced plans to advance a bispecific antibody into a Phase 2 trial in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma with co-funding from the US Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The society will invest up to $4.4 million over two years in the project.