Merck KGaA has become the second large German pharmaceutical company to reconfigure its profile with the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich Co for $17 billion. The deal, announced on 22 September, has been approved by the boards of both companies.
CureVac GmbH, a pioneer in RNA technology, is set to work with Boehringer Ingelheim on two new oncology projects that will seek to improve outcomes for patients with non-small lung cancer by leveraging existing treatments with a cancer vaccine.
Kymab Ltd has successfully challenged a European patent issued to its competitor, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, for transgenic mouse technology that is a foundation for developing therapeutic antibodies. The patent was said to lack an inventive step as required by European patent law.
A court in Hunan Province, China has found GlaxoSmithKline’s subsidiary, GSK China Investment Co Ltd (GSKCI), guilty of bribing non-government personnel and ordered it to pay a fine of £297 million, the UK company announced on 19 September.
Evotec AG is to take legal action against Andromeda Biotech Ltd following allegations that certain employees of the Israel-based company had engaged in misconduct in relation to a Type 1 diabetes programme for which Evotec was due milestone payments and royalties.
Bayer AG has announced plans to seek a separate stock market listing for its materials science business, which serves the automotive and construction industries, in order to focus on life science. Life science currently accounts for about 70% of group sales.
France-based OSE Pharma SA, which is developing immunotherapies for cancer, is planning an initial public offering of its shares on the Euronext stock exchange in Paris. Proceeds from the offering would be used to finance a Phase 3 study of its lead product for non-small cell lung cancer.
Under pressure to accelerate the development of novel compounds, three of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies have announced deals valued at up to $700 million – deals that could potentially result in new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and two rare, genetic heart diseases.
Antibiotic drug development has received a boost with the decision by a syndicate of Scottish investors to support MGB Biopharma Ltd, which has an agent to treat Gram-positive infections in development. The drug is set to enter the clinic in the first half of 2015.
MorphoSys AG has received grant funding for up to €1 million from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to support development of antibodies against two undisclosed G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) . The two-year grant will cover the cost of early drug development.