MorphoSys AG has successfully outlicensed its first proprietary antibody, MOR103 for rheumatoid arthritis, to GlaxoSmithKline Plc in a deal potentially valued at €445.5 million. The German company is set to receive an upfront payment of €22.5 million.
Horizon Discovery Ltd has announced the final closing of its Series C funding round with share placements valued at £6.9 million. The total sum raised in the round is £18.2 million which will be used to advance its research tools including cell lines.
Bharatt Chowrira, the chief executive of Addex Therapeutics Ltd since August 2011, has stepped down from his position as the company takes steps to further reduce costs and seek financial support for its allosteric modulation drug platform.
The ReNeuron Group Plc said it expects to seek final regulatory and ethical approvals in early July to start a Phase 2 study of its stem cell treatment for patients disabled by a stroke.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved two new drugs from GlaxoSmithKline Plc for patients with metastatic melanoma linked to specific gene mutations. These are the third and fourth melanoma drugs to be approved since 2011.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has paid €250 million in cash for the Switzerland-based vaccine company, Okairos AG, which has developed technology applicable to both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine products.
Prosensa Holding BV of the Netherlands, which is developing an antisense oligonucleotide for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has made a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public share offering.
Ugichem GmbH of Austria, which has developed a new antisense drug technology platform, has raised €2.25 million from public and private investors to advance preclinical drug candidates for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
AstraZeneca Plc is to pay up to $443 million to acquire Omthera Pharmaceuticals Inc of Princeton, New Jersey, a five-year-old company with a single product – a late stage omega-3 free fatty acid composition to treat hypertriglyceridaemia.
A consortium led by Merus BV of the Netherlands is set to receive €5.9 million from the European Union’s FP7 programme to develop a prospective antibody-based therapy and screening tools for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.