Galecto Biotech AB has expanded its investor syndicate and raised a further €5 million to support the development of its small-molecule modulators of the galectin family of proteins. Total capital raised thus far is €10 million.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has announced the start of a new academic collaboration to discover future drugs, this time with Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, US. The project will focus on proteolysis targeting chimeric molecules.
A syndicate led by Forbion Capital Partners of the Netherlands has secured $25 million in Series D financing for Argos Therapeutics Inc of the US to support a Phase 3 study of the company’s immunotherapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The trial is being run under an SPA.
AstraZeneca Plc is to acquire Ardea Biosciences Inc of San Diego, California which has a late-stage product for gout. The agreed deal values the US company at $1.26 billion, including the target company’s cash balances. Ardea is listed on Nasdaq.
Human Genome Sciences Inc has rejected as inadequate an unsolicited takeover bid from GlaxoSmithKline Plc that is priced at $13 per share in cash. The offer values the company at approximately $2.59 billion, according to the Associated Press.
Sanofi SA has entered into a collaboration with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to conduct a clinical trial to assess the safety and tolerability of a Sanofi phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitor for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
The Roche Group has decided not to extend the deadline of 20 April 2012 on its offer for Illumina Inc of $51.00 per share.
Merck & Co Inc is to pay Endocyte Inc $120 million upfront and up to $880 million in performance-based milestones for rights to a candidate compound for ovarian cancer, vintafolide. The compound is being tested with a companion diagnostic.
Risk sharing deals in drug development often involve a Big Pharma company and a small, research-intensive biotech. Typically, the larger partner pays for rights to a promising asset on the expectation that its investment will pay off years later when the compound becomes a marketed pharmaceutical. Very often the larger company is cash rich, while the smaller one is cash poor but rich in intellectual property.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd has agreed to pay $800 million upfront, plus future performance-based milestones, for privately-owned URL Pharma Inc. URL has a marketed product for gout that had 2011 net sales of $430 million.