The German diagnostics company Definiens AG has raised €15 million from a syndicate co-led by Wellington Partners in order to support development of new tissue-based diagnostic tests for oncology and immunotherapy.
Shire has rebuffed a third cash and share takeover approach from AbbVie Inc that values the company at about £27 billion. Announcing the rejection, Shire said the proposal undervalues the company, which has a leading position in medicines for rare diseases.
Pixium Vision SA of France has raised €34.5 million with an initial public offering of its shares on the Euronext stock exchange in Paris. The proceeds will be used to advance two products that aim to treat blindness caused by a degeneration of photoreceptor cells in the retina.
Cardio3 BioSciences SA of Belgium is to sell shares valued at €25 million to Medisun International Ltd of Hong Kong in a two-part deal that will also see it participate in a joint venture with
Abzena Ltd, which provides services to companies developing biopharmaceuticals, said it intends to make an initial public offering of its shares on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Financial details have not yet been disclosed.
MorphoSys AG and Merck Serono have become the latest companies to collaborate on potential treatments for cancer that modulate the immune system’s natural ability to fight tumours. Together they will discover and develop therapeutic antibodies against undisclosed immune checkpoints.
Synairgen Plc of the UK has outlicensed an experimental compound for severe asthma to AstraZeneca Plc for an upfront fee of $7.25 million and potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones of up to $225 million.
Autifony Therapeutics Ltd, a 2011 spin-out from GlaxoSmithKline Plc with technology to treat hearing disorders, has received £2.2 million in grant funding from UK Technology Strategy Board.
A UK-based service provider, BioSilta Ltd, has raised €2.5 million from its founding investor and the new investor Omega Funds in order to support the commercial expansion of its reagent-based growth systems for bacterial cultures.
ArGEN-X BV has announced its intention to make an initial public offering of shares on the Euronext exchange in Brussels in order to support the development of its therapeutic antibody portfolio. Further details were not yet available.