Finance, Grants, Deals

Novo A/S, the holding company for the Danish diabetes and enzymes empire, has invested €90.3 million in Evotec AG, the German research service and product development company.

Prexton Therapeutics SA of Geneva, Switzerland has raised €29 million in a Series B financing round to support two Phase 2 studies of Foliglurax, an experimental compound for Parkinson’s disease that targets a positive allosteric modulator.

Novo Nordisk A/S has turned to the University of Oxford for support in developing new approaches to treat Type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects nearly 9% of the global population. While Novo has a dominant global market position in the field, it is seeking to discover new treatments for people living with the disease and its complications.

Johnson & Johnson Inc is making an agreed offer to buy Actelion Ltd for $30 billion in a transaction that will have tax and portfolio benefits for it while providing money for the launch of a new Switzerland-based R&D start-up to be led by Actelion’s current management.

A proposed liberalisation of rules that govern financial transactions in the European Union is the subject of a public consultation that started on 20 January and will continue until 17 March. The consultation is being managed by the European Commission.

(The following editorial appears in the January 2017 edition of MedNous) Yes, there are plenty of geopolitical risks going into 2017, but the biopharma industry is entering the New Year with plenty of cash and good prospects for innovation. In this issue we look at some recent developments.

Germany-based Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH has secured its most significant collaboration to date with the signing of a research and licencing agreement with Amgen Inc to develop T cell engaging bispecific immunotherapies targeting multiple cancers.

Macrophage Pharma Ltd, a two-year old company set up to advance small molecule drugs targeting tumour-associated macrophages, has raised £9 million in Series A finance from specialist oncology investors.

Eternygen GmbH, a privately owned company based in Berlin, has raised €8 million in Series A financing to support the research and development of sodium coupled citrate transporter inhibitors for the potential treatment of a variety of metabolic diseases.

In one of the strongest signs yet that cancer detection is becoming a mainstream investment, Illumina Inc said it has received “indications of interest” from undisclosed investors to supply $1 billion in venture capital to Grail Inc, its diagnostics’ spinout.