Finance, Grants, Deals

Sanofi SA is to acquire Kymab Ltd of the UK in order to gain full rights to a monoclonal antibody therapy, KY1005, with potential for treating a wide variety of immune-mediated and inflammatory disorders. The French pharma group is to pay $1.1 billion upfront for the company in addition to milestone payments of up to $350 million. The lead asset reported positive data from a Phase 2a study of patients with atopic dermatitis in August 2020. The same molecule is being studied in acute graft-vs-host disease and other immune disorders.

Angelini Pharma of Italy has agreed to spend up to $960 million to acquire a two-year old Swiss company with rights to an antiepileptic drug for the treatment of partial-onset seizures. The target company, Arvelle Therapeutics GmbH, was launched in 2019 with start-up capital of $207.5 in order to bring the antiepileptic, cenobamate, to the European market.

Japan-based Sosei Group Corp has entered a global collaboration and licencing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Plc to discover small molecule agonists of a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) associated with inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal immune disorders. It will use technology developed by Heptares Therapeutics, a UK company it acquired in 2015. The deal is the newest collaboration for Sosei, which is using the Heptares’ structure-based drug design platform to grow its business.

Gilead Sciences Inc and Galapagos NV have dropped plans to make a new submission in the US for their small molecule drug Jyseleca (filgotinib) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) following a meeting with the Food and Drug Administration. The parties discussed the points raised in the agency’s complete response letter in August in which it refused to approve the drug because of concerns about its benefit/risk profile at a dose of 200 mg.

Hemab ApS, a new company led by scientists with experience in haemophilia drug development, has been launched in Copenhagen, Denmark to develop bispecific antibodies for treating rare bleeding disorders. The company was incubated by Novo Seeds, the early-stage investment arm of Novo Holdings A/S. The size of the seed funding was not disclosed.

Johan Faber and Søren Bjørn, formerly with Novo Nordisk A/S, are the company’s founders, having previously been involved in research and development for new haemophilia drugs. Mr Faber is also the company’s chief executive officer.

AstraZeneca Plc is to acquire the US specialty pharmaceutical company Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc for $39 billion – at once giving it five marketed drugs and more than 20 development programmes for rare diseases and immunology. The cash and share offer will be paid in part with an underwritten bridge-financing facility. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 and be immediately earnings accretive.

Evotec SE and the service group Sartorius AG are taking a controlling stake in a new German company, Curexsys GmbH, in order to support the emerging science of therapeutic exosomes. Exosomes are small vesicles that transfer proteins and nucleic acids from one cell to another. Researchers have shown that exosomes can be engineered to contain drugs, something that is being exploited by a growing number of biotech companies.

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH is to pay €1.18 billion to acquire NBE-Therapeutics GmbH, a Swiss developer of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), in order to expand its portfolio of drugs targeting difficult-to-treat solid tumours. NBE-Therapeutics’ lead compound NBE-002 is currently in Phase 1 clinical studies for triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of breast cancer with limited treatment options.

Forbion Capital Partners of the Netherlands has secured €460 million for an oversubscribed fifth fund, the proceeds of which will be used to build a portfolio of 15 companies developing new medical therapeutics. About 80% of the investments are expected to be made in Europe, with the balance targeting assets in North America.

Syncona Ltd has provided £26.6 million in Series A funding to Resolution Therapeutics Ltd, a company it founded in August 2020 to exploit the wound healing capabilities of macrophages. Macrophages are cells of the innate immune system involved in the inflammatory response to injury or infection as well as in orchestrating the wound healing process that follows.