Sanofi SA and Evotec AG are in negotiations for a collaboration under which Evotec would assume much of Sanofi’s drug discovery operations, including the management of the French company's global screening compound library in Toulouse.
Switzerland-based GeNeuro SA and Les Laboratoires Servier SAS of France have formed a partnership to develop an antibody that targets a protein expressed in the brain lesions of patients with multiple sclerosis thereby addressing a causal factor of the disease.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc of California has made an agreed bid to buy Prosensa Holding NV of the Netherlands for $680 million in cash.
London-based Cell Medica Ltd has raised £50 million from institutional investors to support development of its lead oncology product, CMD-003, for the treatment of patients with advanced lymphomas associated with the Epstein Barr virus.
Promethera Biosciences SA, a Belgian company developing cell-based treatments for in-born errors of metabolism and acquired liver disease, has raised €20.3 million in a Series C venture capital round and €5 million in loans and subsidies from the regional government of Wallonia.
The chief executive of H. Lundbeck A/S, Ulf Wiinberg, has resigned following a breach of the company’s code of conduct for failing to seek approval from the board for his receipt of shares in the biotech company Stratified Medical Ltd from the company’s founder.
Pfizer Inc has signalled its determination to stay ahead in oncology by agreeing to pay Merck KGaA up to $2.85 billion for rights to the German company’s early-stage checkpoint inhibitor and collaborate on up to 20 other immuno-oncology programmes.
AstraZeneca Plc has identified oncology as a key business segment as the company takes steps to restore revenue growth and maintain its independence. By 2020 it expects to bring six new cancer medicines to patients.
The US Food and Drug Administration has granted ‘breakthrough therapy’ status to a gene therapy that is in Phase 3 development for patients with an inherited eye disorder that can lead to blindness. The developer is Spark Therapeutics of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After issuing a complete response letter in late 2013, the Food and Drug Administration has now approved Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. This follows a review of efficacy data from two Phase 3 trials.