Sangamo Therapeutics Inc is to exclusively license cellular conversion technology from UK-based Mogrify Ltd in order to develop allogeneic cell therapies for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The two companies announced the agreement on 21 April, but did not disclose the size of the upfront and milestone payments.
The German biotech BioNTech SE has joined forces with Pfizer Inc to co-develop a candidate vaccine against infection from the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which had affected 1.7 million people globally as of 12 April and resulted in 105,952 deaths.
Evotec SE has set up a gene therapy research and development site in Austria, broadening its drug discovery capabilities to include advanced therapies as well as small molecules and biologics. The company announced the new site on 6 April, while simultaneously disclosing a contract with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd to generate gene therapies for the Japanese company’s four therapeutic areas: oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience and gastroenterology.
The Danish antibody pioneer Symphogen A/S is to be acquired by Laboratoires Servier, culminating more than two years of close partnership between the two companies focused on oncology. The value of the transaction was not disclosed however the sums already committed by Servier for access to Symphogen’s portfolio are considerable. Potential milestone payments under the companies’ existing partnership amount to DKK 9 billion (€1.2 billion).
Oncology developer iTeos Therapeutics Inc has raised $100 million in an oversubscribed fundraising led by RA Capital Management and Boxer Capital LLC bringing total monies generated under its B financing round up to $175 million. The funds will enable the company to progress two early clinical-stage compounds for treating solid tumours which target mechanisms of immunosuppression.
Netherlands-based AM-Pharma BV has raised new capital of €47 million, enabling it to start plans for a pivotal Phase 3 trial of its therapy for acute kidney injury, a disease with a high mortality rate and no approved pharmacological treatments. The newest financing, which involves a commitment from Cowen Healthcare Investments, brings total proceeds for the Phase 3 programme to €163 million, which will also support preparations for registration. The company intends to enrol 1,400 patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury in the trial with sites across 12 countries.
Silence Therapeutics Plc has entered into a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca Plc to develop and commercialise small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics for a number of therapeutic areas – reviving a relationship that goes back more than 10 years. The two companies have agreed to develop siRNA molecules, which tell the body to eliminate or ‘silence’ instructions for making disease-causing proteins. These molecules will be directed against cardiovascular, renal, metabolic and respiratory disorders.
UK-based Oxford Biomedica Plc has secured a new agreement to supply lentiviral vectors for gene therapies, this time with Juno Therapeutics, a member of the Bristol-Myers Squibb group. Announced on 18 March, the non-exclusive licence gives BMS access to the UK company’s lentiviral vector platform and is coupled with a five-year clinical supply agreement.
Italy-based MolMed SpA, which is recognised for its expertise in cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing, is to be bought by AGC Inc of Japan which is part of the Mitsubishi group. AGC is offering €0.518 per ordinary share of the Italian company for a total deal value of €240 million. The offer is being backed by MolMed’s largest shareholder Fininvest SpA.
The German biotech BioNTech SE has joined forces with Pfizer Inc to co-develop a candidate prophylactic vaccine against infection from the coronavirus 2019-nCoV which has affected 167,515 people globally as of 16 March and resulted in 6,606 deaths.
The agreement was announced by both companies on 17 March and aims to accelerate development of BioNTech’s vaccine for the disease, BNT162, which is a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule. The candidate vaccine is expected to enter clinical testing by the end of April.