Proximagen Neuroscience Plc, a university spin-out that raised £50 million in an offer of its shares in 2009, is making an agreed, all-cash offer for Minster Pharmaceuticals Plc. Both companies are developing CNS drug candidates.
The Danish antibody developer, Affitech A/S, has negotiated a bridging loan of DKK 9.33 million (€1.25 million) to cover its needs while it negotiates a larger financing during the first quarter. The loan has been extended by three existing investors.
Pharming Group NV has raised €7.5 million in convertible debt that will help finance its activities while its lead product for hereditary angioedema, Rhucin, is being reviewed by the European Medicines Agency.
The newly merged Swiss company, Evolva Holding SA, has signed a deal with the Roche group to discover compounds with activity on targets in oncology and anti-infectives. The financial terms were not disclosed.
A bioinformatics company with a focus on biomarker discovery has received seed funding from two UK venture funds in order to carry out its work identifying markers suitable for helping investigators select patients for clinical trials.
NicOx SA of France said it has raised €100 million in a two-step capital increase giving it the financial means to set up a sales force in the US to help commercialise its lead anti-inflammatory drug, naproxcinod, which is being reviewed by the FDA.
The value to Big Pharma of novel antibiotics has been underscored by AstraZeneca’s decision to acquire Novexel SA of France for a total cash consideration of up to $505 million. Novexel currently has two anti-infectives in Phase 2 development.
Innate Pharma SA, a pioneer in the field of cancer immunotherapies, has raised €24.3 million gross in a share placement supported by France’s Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement and existing investors, Novo Nordisk A/S and Alta Partners.
Silence Therapeutics Plc, a company that has moved quickly to capitalise on the new science of ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi), has announced plans to merge with the privately-owned Intradigm Corp of the US, which is in the same business.
Galápagos NV said that it has expanded its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline to discover new drugs for multiple indications in the field of arthritis. The two companies are exploring drugs directed at the kinase target GT622.