Finance, Grants, Deals

Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc has entered into a collaboration with the Japanese company Noile-Immune Biotech Inc to develop new T cell therapies for cancer. The partnership will involve co-developing Adaptimmune’s T cell products with technology originated by Noile-Immune enabling the T cells to secrete interleukin 7 and the protein CCL19. This is expected to improve the proliferation and trafficking of T cells to solid tumours. Adaptimmune will make an upfront cash payment and milestone payments to Noile-Immune of up to $312 million across all programmes.

Glasgow, UK-based MGB Biopharma Ltd has completed a new funding round, enabling it to advance an ongoing Phase 2a trial of its candidate antibiotic MGB-BP-3 and prepare for the next stage of development. The candidate drug is being developed to treat Clostridium difficile-associated disease.

Celgene Corp, which is in the process of being acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, has reached an option agreement with privately-owned Immatics Biotehnologies GmbH of Germany that would give it access to prospective cell therapies for cancer. Celgene already owns clinical-stage T cell therapies for cancer arising from its 2018 acquisition of Juno Therapeutics Inc.

Amgen Inc has reached an agreement with Celgene Corp to buy its psoriasis asset Otezla (apremilast) for $13.4 billion in cash, thus enabling Celgene to proceed with its previously announced merger with Bristol-Myers Squib Company. The merger, announced in early January, will combine the oncology and inflammation franchises of BMS and Celgene. But US regulators had raised questions about the two companies’ potential dominance in the area of psoriasis. The asset disposal is expected to satisfy these concerns.

Synpromics Ltd, located near Edinburgh, UK, has been acquired by Asklepios BioPharmaceutical Inc (AskBio Inc) of the US in order to create a new gene therapy company with expertise in adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector therapies. Synpromics has expertise in gene control by way of a synthetic promotor technology that enables genes to be switched on and off to control protein production.

Bayer AG is to take full ownership of BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a regenerative medicines company that is developing engineered cell therapies in the fields of neurology, cardiology and immunology. Bayer, together with Versant Ventures, launched BlueRock in 2016 at a time of heightened interest in cell based therapies.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc has shifted three candidate vaccines targeting filoviruses to the US non-profit organisation, the Sabin Vaccine Institute, as it restructurings its portfolio to put a bigger emphasis on oncology, HIV and respiratory diseases. The products are prophylactic vaccines to prevent infection from the Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan and Marburg viruses. They entered GSK’s portfolio when the UK company acquired Okairos AG in 2013.

Less than a month after entering a collaboration with Genentech, Sosei Heptares has concluded a new G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-directed partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. The companies said they will initially discover targets for new gastrointestinal medicines, but this could expand to other therapeutic areas in the future.

Takeda already has a discovery collaboration with Sosei Heptares in the gastrointestinal area.

Germany-based Wellington Partners has closed its fifth life sciences fund with a capital raise of €210 million for investments in companies developing medicines, devices, diagnostics and digital technologies. The new fund will primarily target opportunities in Europe.

It expects to invest in approximately 15 to 20 companies with a particular focus on German-speaking geographies. It will however also consider opportunities in North America and Asia.

The French company, Alizé Pharma 3, has raised €67 million in a Series A financing round to advance two preclinical products for rare endocrine and metabolic diseases into clinical development. The funding round was led by Life Sciences Partners of the Netherlands and included Novo Ventures, Kurma Partners, Orbimed, Pontifax, Partners Innovation Fund and Innobio 2, which is managed by Bpifrance.