Finance, Grants, Deals

Poxel raises €13 million for anti-diabetic agent

Country
France

Venture-capital backed Poxel SA of France has raised €13 million in a Series B round to support the clinical development of its lead product for Type 2 diabetes, Imeglimin. The financing was led by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.

Intercell to merge with Vivalis

Country
Austria

Austria’s leading biotechnology company, Intercell AG, has agreed to merge with Vivalis SA of France in an all-share transaction that will give Vivalis’s shareholders a controlling stake in a new, combined company to be located in Lyons, France.

MorphoSys to sell service business

Country
Germany

MorphoSys AG has announced plans to sell its service business, AbD Serotec, to Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc for €53 million in cash. The divestment will enable the German company to focus on its therapeutic antibody business.

Lundbeck to divest non-core products

Country
Denmark

H. Lundbeck A/S is to sell 10 non-core assets to Recordati S.p.A. of Italy in order to focus on its newer products in the area of neurological disorders. The Danish company said it will receive up to $100 million which will be reinvested in new products and geographical expansion.

AstraZeneca invests in antisense compound

Country
United Kingdom

AstraZeneca Plc has signalled its interest in antisense technology with the recent announcement of a new strategic alliance with Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc in oncology. The main asset is an inhibitor of the STAT3 protein which is overexpressed in numerous cancers.

Biocartis completes €34.5 million Series D round

Switzerland-based Biocartis SA has raised €34.5 million in a Series D round to commercialise a molecular diagnostics platform that is aimed at the life science research market. The round was led by the Flemish investment company, PMV NV.

Sofinnova Partners raises €240 million for new fund

Country
France

Sofinnova Partners has raised €240 million for its seventh venture capital fund which will support entrepreneurs who are developing new biopharmaceutical technologies, medical devices and industrial biotechnology products.

Bicycle Therapeutics raises £3.75 million

Country
United Kingdom

Venture-capital backed Bicycle Therapeutics Ltd has secured Astellas Venture Management as a new investor as part of a tranched equity financing that will bring it £3.75 million in new money to support a move from research into drug discovery.

Amgen to acquire DeCODE for $415 million

Country
United States

Genome-based drug discovery received a lift on Monday with the announcement that Amgen Inc has agreed to pay $415 million in cash for DeCODE Genetics of Iceland, long considered to be a leader in population-based studies of human disease.

Newron acquires NeuroNova of Sweden

Country
Italy

The management of Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A has overcome the opposition of a key shareholder and reached an agreement to acquire privately-held NeuroNova AB of Sweden in an all-share deal valued at €15.5 million.