Finance, Grants, Deals

Silence Therapeutics Plc has entered into a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca Plc to develop and commercialise small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics for a number of therapeutic areas – reviving a relationship that goes back more than 10 years. The two companies have agreed to develop siRNA molecules, which tell the body to eliminate or ‘silence’ instructions for making disease-causing proteins. These molecules will be directed against cardiovascular, renal, metabolic and respiratory disorders.

UK-based Oxford Biomedica Plc has secured a new agreement to supply lentiviral vectors for gene therapies, this time with Juno Therapeutics, a member of the Bristol-Myers Squibb group. Announced on 18 March, the non-exclusive licence gives BMS access to the UK company’s lentiviral vector platform and is coupled with a five-year clinical supply agreement.

Italy-based MolMed SpA, which is recognised for its expertise in cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing, is to be bought by AGC Inc of Japan which is part of the Mitsubishi group. AGC is offering €0.518 per ordinary share of the Italian company for a total deal value of €240 million. The offer is being backed by MolMed’s largest shareholder Fininvest SpA.

The German biotech BioNTech SE has joined forces with Pfizer Inc to co-develop a candidate prophylactic vaccine against infection from the coronavirus 2019-nCoV which has affected 167,515 people globally as of 16 March and resulted in 6,606 deaths.

A saga involving CureVac AG, one of Europe’s most promising biotechs, entered a new phase on 16 March when the European Commission offered to provide up to €80 million in financial support to help the company scale up development and production of a vaccine against the coronavirus 2019-nCoV, also known as SARS-CoV-2.

The Swiss oncology company, Numab Therapeutics AG has raised CHF 22 million (€21 million) in a Series B round to advance a portfolio of cancer therapies based on multi-specific antibodies that can engage two or more antigens at once. The new investors include 3SBio and its subsidiary Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, which recently concluded a collaboration with Numab, giving the Chinese company rights to up to five antibody molecules in its portfolio.

Gilead Sciences Inc is to expand its presence in immuno-oncology with the acquisition of Forty Seven Inc whose lead product, magrolimab, is in clinical development for the treatment of several cancers. Gilead will acquire Forty Seven for $95.50 per share in cash giving a transaction value of about $4.9 billion. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter.

Immunocore Ltd has secured $130 million in Series B funding from new and existing investors to progress its portfolio of biologic drugs for cancer, infection and autoimmune disease. The company’s technology involves engineering T cell receptors and linking them to an antibody fragment that can activate the immune system to kill a cancer or a viral cell.

The UK synthetic biology company Evonetix Ltd has raised $30 million in a Series B financing round led by Foresite Capital, a San Francisco, US-based venture capital company. Evonetix will use the proceeds for the development of technology enabling the synthesis of DNA on a chip.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc is to acquire Qiagen NV of the Netherlands, significantly expanding its service offering to the global life sciences industry. The transaction values Qiagen at approximately $11.5 billion, which includes the assumption of Qiagen’s $1.4 billion in net debt. The offer price of €39 per share represents a premium of about 23% to the closing price of Qiagen’s shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on 2 March.