Finance, Grants, Deals

In a boost for precision medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb Co is to spend up to $5.8 billion to buy Mirati Therapeutics Inc of the US which uses molecular biology to design drugs that are intended to arrest cancer growth by targeting specific genetic mutations. BMS will pay $58 per share for the precision medicine company, representing an outlay of $4.8 billion. If Mirati shareholders decide to buy additional non-tradeable contingent value rights, the value of the acquisition could rise to as much as $5.8 billion.

The radiopharmaceutical sector has a new player. This is Eli Lilly and Co which is to pay $1.4 billion to acquire POINT Biopharma Global Inc of Indianapolis, US, a clinical stage company with candidate radioligand therapies for the treatment of cancer. The deal, valued at $12.50 per share in cash, has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close by the end of the year.

Sanofi SA is to expand its portfolio with the in-licensing of a candidate vaccine targeting extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, a gram negative bacterium that causes urinary tract infections and potentially sepsis. The vaccine was developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc and is currently in Phase 3 development

Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, one of Japan’s largest pharmaceutical companies, is to expand its oncology pipeline with the addition of more bispecific antibodies, a therapy type that is said to enable better precision medicine for treating cancer. Under a collaboration with Adimab LLC of the US, the Japanese company will have an option for exclusive rights to novel bispecific antibody candidates for the treatment of multiple cancers. The deal involves an undisclosed upfront payment, R&D funding, and success-based milestone payments.

A new company which is developing RNA editing therapeutics launched on 19 September with $30 million in initial funding led by ARCH Venture Partners, one of the biotech industry’s largest financiers. The company, AIRNA Corp Inc, plans to use the funds to advance a product candidate to treat the inherited genetic disease alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. This is a deficiency that raises a person’s risk of lung disease including the risk of contracting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It will also investigate therapies for high unmet needs.

A fund created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support private enterprise has awarded $5 million to Transimmune AG of Germany to enhance the potency of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases. Transimmune, which is a spin-out of Yale University in the US, will initially focus on a therapeutic vaccine for people living with HIV.

A new research collaboration potentially covering multiple therapy types for the treatment of cancer was unveiled by Moderna Inc and Immatics NV on 11 September. The partnership brings together Moderna’s messenger RNA (mRNA) technology with Immatics’ expertise in engineering T cell receptors (TCRs) and developing biologics. The goal is to develop bispecific therapies, vaccines and cell therapies for cancer.

Novo Nordisk A/S is to use artificial intelligence and real-world data to discover new drugs for cardiometabolic diseases under a collaboration with Valo Health Inc, a three-year old US company founded by venture capitalists.

Laboratoires Pierre Fabre SA has acquired a biotech company founded by Versant Ventures as part of a drive to expand its pipeline in oncology. The company, Vertical Bio AG, has a monoclonal antibody poised to enter clinical development for patients with non-small cell lung cancer – specifically those with mutations or amplification of the c-MET protein.

ROME Therapeutics Inc, a US company developing therapies based on the dark genome, has secured $72 million from a Series B round extension bringing the total amount raised up to $149 million. Strategic investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC Inc and Bristol Myers Squibb Inc joined the funding syndicate alongside new and existing investors.