Evotec AG has deepened its commercial ties with Sanofi SA with an agreement to develop a beta cell replacement therapy for people with diabetes. The German company is already working with Harvard University on beta cell technology.
Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG has raised CHF 27.7 million (€25.79 million) from new and existing investors for the anticipated launch of Raxone, a product for the treatment of Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited form of vision loss.
CureVac GmbH is to start a third project with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this time to develop a vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus. The partners are already working on vaccines against HIV and rotavirus.
Shire Plc is set to pay $300 million to acquire privately-held Foresight Biotherapeutics Inc which has a late-stage candidate drug for infectious conjunctivitis which is under investigation for both viral and bacterial forms of the disease.
Shire Plc has made an unsolicited offer valued at about $30 billion to acquire a recent spinout from Baxter International Inc which potentially could double Shire’s revenue.
A new company has been set up in the UK to acquire clinical assets that large pharma companies may not be in a position to develop further. The first programmes acquired by Mereo BioPharma Group Ltd are three mid-stage clinical assets from Novartis.
A three-year collaboration between Ablynx NV and Merck & Co. Inc in immuno-oncology has been extended by one year in order to enable the parties to investigate up to 12 new molecules targeting individual protein targets and combinations of targets that could potentially treat cancer, Ablynx announced the new agreement on 22 July.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd has raised £70 million through a private placement of shares with new and existing investors in the UK, US and continental Europe to support development of the company’s electronic molecular analysis systems.
Immunocore Ltd of Oxford UK has raised $320 million (£205 million) in a private financing round to support development of its pipeline of bispecific biologic drugs for the treatment of cancer and viral infections.
ReNeuron Plc has outlined a three-year plan for the development of its stem-cell therapy portfolio that would, if successful, lead to regulatory applications for products in both stroke and retinitis pigmentosa. To support this development, it is proposing to raise £68.4 million in a share placement.