Shire Plc has bolstered its portfolio for the second time in two weeks with plans to acquire SARcode Bioscience Inc of the US which has a late-stage product for treating the symptoms of dry eye disease. The deal includes an upfront payment of $160 million.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has had its application for a new influenza treatment turned back by the US Food and Drug Administration owing to an administrative matter. Announcing receipt of a ‘complete response letter,’ GSK said the matter has recently been resolved.
A new UK company, Infirst Healthcare, that is developing new versions of existing cough, cold and pain medicines has raised £25 million from Invesco Asset Management Ltd to launch its first product in Europe and to complete development of a second.
The new management of AstraZeneca announced strategic plans to raise productivity at a press conference and at an analysts meeting on 21 March 2013.
Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA, an Italian specialist in diseases of the central nervous system, has achieved a remarkable turnaround with its Swiss-listed shares more than trebling in value in 2012
In the first big policy change since the appointment of a new chief executive, AstraZeneca Plc has announced plans to concentrate its research and development activities at just three sites in the UK, the US and Sweden.
Are venture capitalists getting better terms from their portfolio sales to Big Pharma or is it the other way around? In a lively discussion about the state of the biotech industry, panelists from the world of venture capital and industry said the relationship between the two parties can be prickly at times. But both sides need one another. The discussion took place at the annual Bio-Spring meeting in Barcelona Spain on 11 March 2013.
Zealand Pharma A/S of Denmark has announced the departure of its chief scientific officer, Christian Grøndahl, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests. Dr Grøndahl joined the company in 2010 and was appointed CSO on 3 January 2011.
Mesoblast Ltd of Australia has raised A$170 million (€136.3 million) in a private placement of its shares with existing and new investors including M&G Investment Management and Capital Research. The monies will fund the company’s cell therapies.
Shire Plc has expanded its portfolio of potential medicines for rare diseases with the acquisition of the privately-held Swedish company, Premacure AB, of Uppsala. The key asset is a protein replacement therapy for the prevention of retinopathy of prematurity.