Company News

Novartis Pharma AG has entered into an option and collaboration agreement with BioArctic AB to develop an antibody treatment for a neurodegenerative disorder that takes advantage of the Swedish company’s technology for helping drugs cross the blood-brain barrier. The target for the prospective treatment has not been disclosed. But the transporter technology is public and is being used by BioArctic in multiple projects. It is based on the transferrin receptor, a protein responsible for the delivery of iron to cells. This can also enable antibody drugs to cross the barrier.

The US Food and Drug Administration has suspended the licence of a vaccine developed by Valneva SE to prevent chikungunya virus infection following 32 serious adverse event reports, including 21 hospitalisations and three deaths. The vaccine, Ixchiq (chikungunya vaccine, life), was given an accelerated approval by the FDA in November 2023 and since then has been approved in several other countries, some of which are also reviewing patient data. Valneva is expected to start a post-marketing study of the vaccine on 1 October to further assess the risks.

Anocca AB has raised SEK 440 million ($46 million) from Mellby Gård, a Swedish investment group, and existing shareholders to conduct a programme of trials of T cell immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer. The trials will investigate multiple approaches for targeting mutations in the KRAS gene which is involved in the regulation of cell division. KRAS mutations are drivers of pancreatic cancer, as well as lung and colorectal cancers.

Evotec SE ended the half year with a decline in revenue and an operating loss. However with a reorganisation and spending cuts underway, the company expects a recovery in earnings by 2028. Group revenue in the first half year was €371.2 million, down by 5% from a year earlier while the operating loss was €47.8 million. The loss was less than the year-earlier shortfall of €122.8 million, but still reflected weak demand for the company’s traditional services. Group revenue for the year is expected to be in a range of €760 to €800 million compared with €797 million in 2024.

The private equity and investment groups Nordic Capital and Permira, are poised to take over Bavarian Nordic A/S of Denmark in order to help the company scale up its vaccine work globally. An offer of DKK 19 billion ($2.95 billion) was published on 28 July and accepted by the company’s management subject to the approval of shareholders. Bavarian Nordic is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen and also has an American Depository Share (ADS) programme allowing US investors to trade the shares locally.

Novo Nordisk A/S confirmed on 6 August that sales growth for the year is expected to be between 8 and 14% at constant exchange rates while the increase in operating profit is expected to amount to 10 to 16%, also at constant exchange rates. This confirms an announcement on 29 July and is considerably lower than the projection in May, reflecting a reassessment of the business outlook for the rest of the year when demand for the company’s obesity and diabetes products is expected to be less robust. 

Merck & Co Inc’s $10 billion acquisition of Verona Pharma Plc is set to close in the 2025 fourth quarter marking one of the larger transactions in the biopharma space in recent times. The deal will give Merck a recently approved asset for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that is on a promising trajectory. When Merck announced its offer on 9 July, some share analysts were already predicting blockbuster status for the asset, Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine), which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on 26 June 2024.

argenx SE continued to build momentum towards its goal of treating 50,000 patients with its medicines by 2030 as both its pipeline and clinical development activities increased. By 30 June, the company’s lead product Vyvgart (efgartigimod), which was first approved in 2021, had already achieved three approved indications, and the company was conducting or making plans for registrational studies for two other products.

Sanofi SA has become the latest European pharma company to retreat from the consumer healthcare business in order to focus on proprietary drug development. On 30 April it divested its controlling stake in Opella, one of the world’s largest producers of over-the-counter medicines, to the private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice – a deal that generated €10 billion in cash for the French company whilst still leaving it with a 48.2% interest. Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, holds the remaining 1.8%.

AstraZeneca Plc gave its strongest endorsement yet of the US as a centre for life science innovation with the publication of second quarter results on 29 July. These showed a double-digit increase in revenue of which 44% was generated from the US. Speaking to journalists on the same day, Pascal Soriot, the chief executive, said market size, favourable prices, and a strong research environment made the US a prime investment location.