Zealand Pharma A/S said it is set to receive a $20 million milestone payment from its partner, Sanofi SA, following the successful completion of the global Phase 3 programme for its glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist, lixisenatide, for type 2 diabetes.
Venture-capital backed ArGEN-X BV of the Netherlands said that it has advanced a third therapeutic antibody candidate into preclinical development, in this instance an antibody targeting the c-Met signalling pathway which is implicated in many cancers.
Sanofi SA reported mixed results for 2011 with a modest rise in sales, a decline in operating income and a rise in net profit resulting from a lower tax liability.
H. Lundbeck A/S reported an 8% increase in revenue for 2011. But restructuring and other costs increased at a faster pace leaving a profit from operations up by a smaller 1%. A higher tax bill meant that net income fell by 7% to DKK 2,282 million.
Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc said that enrolment of patients into four studies of a new agent against Gram-negative bacteria, GSK052, has been stopped pending investigation of a microbiologial finding in a small number of patients.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported an underlying sales growth of 4% in 2011 and improved pharmaceutical productivity, as the effects of a multi-year restructuring programme and a new R&D strategy started to deliver results.
Innate Pharma SA reported revenue and other income of €11.7 million in 2011, reflecting the impact of its licensing agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for rights to an anti-cancer monoclonal antibody in early clinical development.
Venture-capital backed Pieris AG has received a €1 million German government grant to support the development of a cancer compound that targets the c-Met signalling pathway. The funds will be used for biomarker discovery.
Cytos Biotechnology Ltd has received approval from a court in the canton of Zurich to restructure a convertible bond valued at about $44.8 million. This follows a move to cut its workforce last August from 82 to10 and to reduce the size of its executive.
Wilex AG is set to receive up to €2.6 million from the German government to support the preclinical and clinical development of a small molecule cancer compound that targets the P13K signalling pathway.