Finance, Grants, Deals

Sinclair Pharma Plc and IS Pharma Plc, two specialist pharmaceutical companies listed in London, intend to merge through an exchange of shares, subject to certain conditions.

Philogen SpA, an Italian biotech company that is developing advanced antibodies for cancer treatments, has become the first European biotechnology company to offer its shares to the public in 2011. The company is developing products for the treatment of angiogenesis-related disorders.

Evotec AG has agreed to pay about €12 million for Kinaxo Biotechnologies GmbH, a Munich-based drug discovery company, which supports the development of targeted drugs.

Cellnovo Ltd of the UK, the developer of a diabetes pump management system, has raised £30 million in a Series B financing round from a group of international investors led by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners of Paris, France.

Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a three-year research agreement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to explore a new strategy for regenerating beta cells in people with Type 1 diabetes.

Merck & Co Inc has ended its multi-year drug-target discovery alliances with Galápagos NV of Belgium citing changes in its corporate strategy. It will pay Galápagos €12 million for work completed in 2010.

The European Union has allocated €3.3 million to a gene therapy consortium which is working on a possible treatment for acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), a metabolic disorder. A treatment has been developed by Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT).

In separate statements, Santhera Pharmaceuticals of Switzerland and Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA of Italy have announced that discussions are taking place between them, the outcome of which cannot be predicted.

In yet another example of the fast pace of cancer research, Sanofi-Aventis has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Oxford BioTherapeutics Ltd to gain access to a preclinical antibody programme that can be used to develop antibody-drug conjugate products.

Amgen Inc has made an agreed bid for privately-owned BioVex Group Inc of the US of which has a therapeutic cancer vaccine in late clinical development against metastatic melanoma and head and neck cancer.