Proximagen Group Plc of the UK has expanded its central nervous system franchise with the purchase of rights to two assets from GlaxoSmithKline Plc that are in development for cognition, neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s disease.
AstraZeneca Plc said it is discontinuing development of the monoclonal antibody, motavizumab, for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus disease. But it will continue work on the antibody as a treatment for RSV, a respiratory tract infection.
Eli Lilly and Co has completed the acquisition of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc, a privately-held company in which its venture capital unit has had an equity stake since 2005. Avid has an imaging agent for detecting amyloid plaque that is poised for review by the FDA.
Merck Serono and the US unit of Sanofi-Aventis SA have signed an agreement to jointly explore new combination therapies against cancer. They will look at combinations of agents that could block specific pathways in cancer cells.
Privately-owned NovImmune SA of Geneva, Switzerland has raised an additional CHF 20 million (€15.7 million) from a syndicate led by BZ Bank Aktiengesellschaft to advance its monoclonal antibody development programmes.
The US Food and Drug Administration has recommended that the breast cancer indication be removed from Avastin (bevacizumab), which is used in combination with paclitaxel, because the treatment does not prolong overall survival. However, the European Medicines Agency said it will allow the indication to remain because there is still clinical benefit based on progression free survival.
Evotec AG has entered into a licensing agreement with the AstraZeneca Plc subsidiary, MedImmune, to generate biological factors that play a role in beta cell regeneration. The deal includes a €5 million upfront payment to Evotec.
ImmunoGen Inc of Waltham, Massachusetts has reported initial data from two early clinical trials of its antibody-drug conjugate for first-line treatment of breast cancer patients which showed meaningful response rates when the product, trastuzumab-DM1, was used as a single agent, or in combination with a monoclonal antibody. Data from a Phase 1b/2 trial, which was reported on 10 December, showed that 57.1% of patients with HER2 metastatic breast cancer responded to treatment with the drug, plus the antibody (pertuzumab). The study consisted of 21 patients who had not received prior systemic anticancer therapy for metastatic disease. In a separate Phase 2 study, 47.8% of 137 patients receiving trastuzumab-DM1 as a single agent responded to treatment. This compared with a response rate of 41.4% of patients treated with Herceptin and a taxane. The ImmunoGen antibody-drug conjugate consists of trastuzumab plus a cytotoxic agent and a linker.
The management of Genzyme Corp has again asked shareholders to reject an all-cash $69 per-share-offer from Sanofi-Aventis SA saying that it substantially undervalues the company. Sanofi has extended its offer for Genzyme until 21 January 2011.
Bavarian Nordic A/S has reached an agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration on the design of a Phase 3 trial for its candidate vaccine for prostate cancer, Prostvac. The Special Protocol Assessment was announced on 8 December.