The US Food and Drug Administration has turned back an application from Eli Lilly and Company for baricitinib, a candidate treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, saying that more data is needed to determine the most appropriate doses of the drug for use in patients.
The management of Stada Arzneimittel AG, Germany’s leading generics producer, has accepted a €4.1 billion offer for the company from two private equity firms, Bain Capital Private Equity LP of Boston Massachusetts, US and Cinven Partners LLP of London, UK.
Roche said that its kinase inhibitor Alecensa (alectinib) has produced better results in a Phase 3 trial of patients with a specific type of lung cancer than a rival treatment marketed by Pfizer Inc.
David Meeker, who has led Genzyme since Sanofi SA took over the US specialty pharma company in 2011, is to step down at the end of June to make way for Bill Sibold, head of Genzyme’s multiple sclerosis, oncology and immunology businesses.
Sweden-based Medivir AB has reported positive Phase 2 data for a recently acquired histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor in a trial of patients with early-stage cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL), a haematologic cancer that presents in the skin.
Nanobiotix SA, which is developing technology for enhancing radiotherapy treatments, has raised €25.1 million in a private share placement to finance its portfolio and the expected European market launch of its lead product NBTXR3.
Switzerland-based Symetis GmbH has made a major step onto the US medical device market after agreeing to be acquired by Boston Scientific Corp. The deal, announced on 30 March, consolidates the two companies’ technologies for treating valvular heart disease.
Cardian Ltd, a new spin-out from Imperial College London, has received £1.5 million in seed funding to commercialise a device for monitoring patients with heart failure and help physicians manage their care. The device does not need batteries or a power line.
UK-based Abzena Plc is proposing to raise about £25 million through a private share placement to finance the expansion of its technology services to companies in the US and Europe. The company is listed on the AIM market, which is part of the London Stock Exchange.
Verona Pharma Plc, which is developing therapeutics for respiratory diseases, has filed registration documents for a public offering of its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) on Nasdaq in New York. UK-based Verona is already listed on the AIM market in London.