Smith & Nephew Plc of the UK has moved to strengthen its position in wound care with the acquisition for $782 million in cash of most of the assets of privately-held Healthpoint Biotherapeutics of Fort Worth, Texas, US. The acquisition was announced on 28 November 2012.
Sanofi SA has entered a collaboration with Selecta Biosciences Inc in the US to develop immunotherapies for up to three different allergies.
MorphoSys AG has negotiated rights to exclusively license new peptide technology from privately-owned Lanthio Pharma BV in the Netherlands. MorphoSys will also make an equity investment in Lanthio as part of a Series A round. Figures weren’t disclosed.
Ablynx NV of Belgium and Algeta ASA of Norway have announced plans to investigate synergies between their technologies to find out whether there is scope to develop new therapies for cancer.
At a time when Big Pharma is aggressively shedding research assets, venture capital firms with an appetite for risk are discovering new investment opportunities.
Dealmaking is at the heart of business development. But not all deals are the same. At a meeting of Bio-Europe in Hamburg, Germany on 13 November, business development executives from four companies talked about deals that have transformed their companies.
Novartis has expanded its strategic alliance with MorphoSys AG to incorporate the German company’s newest antibody library and antibody selection technologies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
AstraZeneca Plc has bought $25 million worth of shares in Regulus Therapeutics Inc in parallel with that company’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq over-the-counter market. Regulus is developing therapies targeting microRNAs, short ribonucleic acid molecules.
Johnson & Johnson Development Corp, a unit of Johnson & Johnson Inc, has completed the DKK 475 million ($82 million) purchase of 10.7% of the enlarged share capital of Genmab A/S as part of a previously announced collaboration.
Merck & Co. Inc has agreed to pay €110 million upfront to AiCuris GmbH & Co of Germany to gain access to its medicines targeting human cytomegalovirus, including a candidate antiviral which has been given ‘fast track’ designation by the FDA.