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.
Aleva Neurotherapeutics SA of Switzerland has raised CHF 4 million (€3.3 million) in a Series B financing round to advance development of its implant technology for deep brain stimulation. The round was led by Banexi Ventures Partners.
Fresh from a private placement that raised €77.8 million, ThromboGenics NV of Belgium is expanding its commercial presence in the US ahead of the expected regulatory approval later this year of its lead product for eye disease, ocriplasmin.
The battle for Illumina Inc has heated up following Illumina’s rejection of a revised takeover bid from the Roche group on 2 April 2012, and a statement from Roche criticising the US company’s management.
AstraZeneca Plc is to pay $50 million upfront to Amgen Inc in a deal where the two companies will jointly develop and commercialise five monoclonal antibodies from Amgen’s clinical inflammation portfolio. AZ announced the agreement on 2 April.
For the second time in a little more than a year, GlaxoSmithKline Plc has raised its stake in Theravance Inc of the US with whom it has collaborations for late-stage products for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.
ThromboGenics NV, a Belgian company developing ophthalmic medicines, has raised €77.8 million in a private placement of its shares arranged by KBC Securities NV, Merrill Lynch International and Petercam NV.
A new financing initiative to support early-stage drug development is being launched in the UK – this time to support promising projects in the field of oncology.
Promethera Biosciences SA, which is developing a therapy for liver disease using allogeneic stem cells derived from healthy adult human livers, has raised €23.6 million in a series B financing round that included four corporate investors.
Celtic Therapeutics Management LLLP, the New York offshoot of Celtic Pharma, has launched a Swiss-based company to develop antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) in order to take advantage of the growing participation of major pharmaceutical companies in this sector.