A little more than three months after acquiring GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s marketed oncology drugs, Novartis has outlined a strategy for exploiting these assets, as well as developing its wider oncology portfolio.
A new implantable deep brain stimulation device has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with symptoms of both Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, two discrete disorders for which there are no medical cures.
Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SA, a specialty developer of gastro-intestinal products and a generic drug manufacturer, has announced plans to float a subsidiary on the Swiss Stock Exchange where it has a listing of its own. Terms of the offering are to be disclosed later.
Targovax AS of Norway and Oncos Therapeutics Oy of Finland have agreed to an all-share merger to create a Nordic oncology company with a combined portfolio of early-stage cancer vaccines poised to take advantage of new opportunities in immuno-oncology.
Bolstered by an initial public offering of its shares in 2014, the year-old Abzena Group Plc ended its first financial year with a cash balance of £15.8 million, up from £2.8 million a year earlier. Revenue growth was supported by the company’s immunology services.
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi), a developer of drugs for rare diseases, has terminated discussions with an undisclosed party in relation to a possible takeover proposal for the company. Sobi announced the end of discussions on 8 June.
Allergy Therapeutics Plc, a UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company, has paid €3.8 million in cash for Alerpharma SA of Spain in order to increase its presence on the Spanish market for allergy therapies where it already has a subsidiary.
Abivax SAS, which is developing a compound that inhibits HIV replication, has announced plans to raise €43.6 million in an initial public offering on the Paris Euronext exchange, a figure that could rise to €57.7 million if an overallotment option is exercised.
Lund, Sweden-based Active Biotech AB is to let go 84% of its workforce following the termination of a Phase 3 clinical programme for a prostate cancer drug that was shown to delay disease progression, but did not extend overall survival. The drug, tasquinimod, was being developed with Ipsen SA.
Silence Therapeutics Plc of the UK has confirmed that patients with incurable pancreatic cancer benefited from treatment with its RNA interference (RNAi) compound, which works by silencing a gene linked to a protein responsible for cancer metastases.