AstraZeneca Plc has invested in a UK university spin-out that has a platform for developing vaccines and medicines using self-amplifying RNA. The company, VaxEquity Ltd, was founded in 2020 by Robin Shattock, head of immunology of infection at Imperial College London and Morningside Ventures, a Chinese venture capital and private equity group. Both Morningside and AstraZeneca have made equity investments in the company, the sizes of which were not disclosed.
A bid by Philip Morris International Inc for Vectura Group Plc became unconditional on 15 September following acceptance by investors representing 74.77% of Vectura’s shares, the two companies announced. In August, the Vectura board of directors accepted the offer and this has now been approved by shareholders.
A new Dutch biotech company was launched on 16 September to discover and develop antibody-based drugs for diseases caused by oxidative stress. Oxitope Pharma BV was founded and seed funded by Forbion Capital Partners and uses technology in-licensed from the University of California San Diego, US.
Anjarium Biosciences AG, a Swiss company with technology for delivering gene therapies to patients without the use of a viral vector, has raised CHF 55.5 million (€50.96 million) from a group of investors co-led by Gimv and Abingworth LLP. The money will be used to expand the company’s staff and advance several of its programmes towards the clinic.
France-based Coave Therapeutics (formerly Horama SAS) has entered into a licensing deal, giving Théa Open Innovation, an ophthalmology company, rights to co-develop and commercialise a gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa.
AbbVie Inc has acquired rights to a gene therapy in development by Regenxbio Inc for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which the companies say has potential as a one-time treatment for the disease. The therapy’s viral vector encodes an antibody fragment which is expressed inside the body to inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
Netherlands-based AM-Pharma BV has reached an agreement with Kyowa Kirin Co Ltd giving that company exclusive development and commercialisation rights in Japan to its lead product, ilofotase alfa, for sepsis-associated acute kidney injury. The deal, announced on 8 September, is valued at up to €245 million including potential milestone payments.
Eli Lilly and Company is to make an equity investment in a small Dutch company that has a proprietary RNA editing technology currently directed at eye diseases but with potential for treating other disorders. ProQR Therapeutics NV of the Netherlands is to receive an equity investment of $30 million as well as a $20 million upfront payment, to support the research and development of potential new medicines for genetic disorders in the liver and nervous system.
Sanofi SA is to acquire Kadmon Holdings Inc of the US for $1.9 billion, adding a recently Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) to its transplant portfolio. The acquisition, announced on 8 September, has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies.
Sanofi’s transplant portfolio currently consists of Thymoglobulin (anti-thymocyte globulin), an antibody preparation that acts as a broad immunosuppressive and immunomodulating agent, and Mozobil (plerixafor), an haematopoietic stem cell mobiliser.
Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc has expanded its presence in the field of allogeneic cell therapy under a collaboration with Genentech aimed at developing new medicines for cancer. Originally founded to research T cell receptor (TCR) technology for autologous applications, Adaptimmune has recently been branching out into allogeneic, or ‘off-the-shelf’ therapies.