Finance, Grants, Deals

GlaxoSmithKline Plc has negotiated rights to a candidate treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc which uses RNA interference (RNAi) technology to reduce levels of the liver enzyme ALT and address the disorder. The candidate therapy, ARO-HSD, targets the protein-coding gene HSD17B13 which is involved in the metabolism of hormones, fatty acids and bile acids. NASH is a disorder in which excessive fat builds up in the liver, causing inflammatory damage and fibrosis.

Novo Nordisk A/S is to acquire Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc, a company developing candidate RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for multiple diseases including cardiometabolic, viral, and chronic liver indications. Under the terms of the agreement, Novo will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dicerna for $38.25 per share for a total equity value of $3.3 billion.

Sanofi SA has announced an equity investment of $180 million in Owkin, a company with an AI platform which enables scientists to conduct research on diseases without having to pool data centrally. The model, called ‘federated learning,’ enables data scientists to securely connect to decentralised, multi-party data sets and create AI models for targeted drug discovery. Owkin is based in New York City, US but has scientific roots in France.

Syncona Ltd has taken the lead in financing a new cell therapy company that is developing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived medicines. Clade Therapeutics, located in Cambridge, US, has a platform technology that ‘cloaks’ human pluripotent stem cells and their adult derivatives enabling the development of immune compatible cell transplantation therapies. The company is initially focused on demonstrating the potential of cloaked immune cells as cancer treatments.

Organon, a recent spin-off of Merck & Co Inc, is to expand its portfolio of assets in reproductive health with the acquisition of Forendo Pharma Ltd of Finland. Organon has agreed to pay up to $954 for the Finnish company, a figure that includes potential outlays for the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Forendo’s lead product is being developed for endometriosis, a chronic condition that affects up to one in 10 women of reproductive age.

Agomab Therapeutics NV is to acquire Origo Biopharma SL of Spain for an undisclosed sum in order to advance its strategy of targeting growth factor signalling pathways for the development of new therapies. The acquisition comes less than a year after Agomab, which is based in Belgium, raised $74 million in a Series B financing round led by Redmile Group of San Francisco, with participation from Cormorant Asset Management LLC of Boston, US.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd is to acquire the cell therapy company GammaDelta Therapeutics Ltd, exercising an option that it obtained in 2017 from the UK company’s venture capital sponsor Abingworth LLP. Takeda is to make a pre-negotiated upfront payment for GammaDelta as well as potential development and regulatory milestone payments. In 2017, Takeda committed to invest up to $100 million in GammaDelta which included an equity investment.

Blackstone Life Sciences, an active investor in the biopharma sector, is to provide $150 million upfront to Autolus Therapeutics Plc to support its lead T cell product, obecabtagene autoleucel, for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), as well as earlier oncology projects.

Valneva SE, the France-based vaccine company, has raised $102 million in a global share offering to specialised investors which included an offering of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) in the US and a private share placement in Europe and elsewhere. The proceeds are expected to be used for the company’s vaccine portfolio which includes a candidate Covid-19 vaccine. Valneva’s ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Paris, and its ADSs trade on Nasdaq.

Janssen Biotech Inc has expanded its European partnerships with a new bispecific antibody deal – this time with F-star Therapeutics Ltd of the UK. Janssen already has projects underway using bispecific technology from Genmab A/S. The deal with F-star will explore new antibody therapeutics that are both bispecific and tetravalent, meaning they simultaneously target immune and tumour cells whilst having two additional sites for antigen binding.