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.
Artios Pharma Ltd has negotiated a collaboration potentially worth up to $6.9 billion with Merck KGaA to develop new oncology compounds on up to eight targets using technology that kills cancer cells by blocking their ability to repair damaged DNA. The technology, known as DNA damage response, targets the genetic background of tumours irrespective of where they are located in the body.
France-based MaaT Pharma SA has raised additional money through a government supported programme to accelerate development of a fermentation process for its microbiome-based products. Bpifrance, the national investment bank, has secured an additional €7.35 million for the company in an extension to an existing Series B financing round. This brings the total raised from the round to €25.35 million.
A Swiss start-up co-founded by a former executive at Roche has raised CHF 54 million in a Series A financing round to advance projects for orphan neurological disorders including four products in-licensed from Roche. The company, Noema Pharma AG, was launched in 2019 with seed funding from Sofinnova Partners. Now, less than two years later, it has a pipeline of clinical stage assets.