Vectura Group Plc has given an undisclosed partner US rights to a generic version of a therapy for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that is being developed for delivery in a dry powder inhaler. The upfront payment is $10 million.
Shire Plc reported revenue of $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2011, up by 25% from a year earlier on increased sales of products for rare diseases and for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). GAAP operating income was $283 million.
SkyePharma Plc has initialed a licensing agreement with Sanofi SA under which the French multinational will pursue marketing authorisation applications for the asthma drug, Flutiform, in Mexico, and Central and South America.
Elan Corporation Plc has started to reap the benefits of a multi-year reorganisation which has transformed it from a diversified, but indebted enterprise into a leaner company specializing in neurology.
Pharming Group NV of the Netherlands has raised €3.2 million in a private placement of its shares with US specialist investors, extending its cash runway into the second quarter of 2012. The company’s lead product is a treatment for angioedema.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has announced plans to acquire privately-held Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc of San Diego, California, paying $325 million upfront, in order to expand its portfolio into potential treatments for fibrotic diseases.
Actelion Ltd reported a decline in revenue and a loss for the first six months of 2011 as the result of a damages award and a 12% decline in the Swiss franc value of dollar sales over the period.
Consort Medical Plc, a London Stock-Exchange listed medical device company, is leading a consortium of institutional investors who are committing up to £16.9 million over three years to a UK company with a point-of-care diagnostics platform.
The Roche group has agreed to pay €130 million upfront to acquire 100% of a Heidelberg-based company which is developing in vitro diagnostics for the early detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer. The company is Mtm Laboratories AG.
Amgen Inc is set to pay Micromet Inc €10 million upfront as part of a collaboration to research the company’s bi-specific antibody technology against three undisclosed solid tumour targets. Micromet is based in the US but has a research facility in Germany.