Finance, Grants, Deals

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc has announced plans to acquire TxCell SA in a deal that will give it ownership of the French company’s regulatory T cell technology for the development of therapies against autoimmune diseases.

A new company has been launched in the UK to develop a peptide-based nanoparticle for the delivery of DNA and RNA into cells for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. The company, NanoGenics Ltd, aspires to replace the live vectors that are currently used to deliver gene therapies with a peptide-based nanoparticle which mimics natural viruses but with qualities enabling repeat dosing.

Kite Pharma, a unit of Gilead Sciences Inc, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Gadeta BV, a privately-held Dutch company, to discover and develop gamma delta T cell receptor (TRC) therapies for cancer. Kite’s first product, a chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for lymphoma. The company’s collaboration with Gadeta is focused on the treatment of solid tumours.

Novartis has negotiated an exclusive global licencing deal with MorphoSys AG and Galapagos NV for rights to their jointly developed monoclonal antibody for atopic dermatitis, MOR106. The antibody originated in MorphoSys’ laboratories and targets interleukin-17C, a cytokine that has been shown to play an important role in inflammatory skin disorders.

Genmab A/S has deepened its commitment to bispecific antibody technology under a licencing deal with Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH which involves research on multiple new cancer targets. Genmab earns royalties from a marketed monoclonal antibody product for cancer, but in recent years it has been turning to new modalities, such as bispecific antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates, to fill its pipeline.

Germany’s BioNTech AG has reached an agreement with Genevant Sciences Ltd, a new therapeutics company, to develop five products for the treatment of rare diseases using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. The partnership will draw on BioNTech’s expertise in personalised medicine, including RNA therapeutics, with Genevant’s lipid nanoparticle delivery technology.

Abzena Plc, the UK service provider, is to manufacture antibodies for two prospective radiopharmaceuticals being developed by Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd of Australia for the treatment of prostate cancer, one of the four most common cancers in the world.

Forbion Capital Partners of the Netherlands has raised €270 million at the first close of its fourth life science fund, exceeding the target amount of €250 million. Forbion IV will support promising biotech companies predominately in the UK and the EU.

About 20% of the funds will target opportunities in North America.

The Wellcome Trust is to use its expertise in life science and financial muscle to launch a new investment fund that will enable high-risk research projects to develop quickly and move towards commercialisation. The Wellcome Leap Fund will have capital of £250 million to be allocated over five years starting in 2020.

The fund will be wholly owned by the Trust with its own chief executive officer and an independent board of directors. Recruitment of the CEO is expected to start shortly, the Trust announced on 10 July.

London, UK-based Abingworth has raised $315 million for its twelfth life science fund bringing the total amount of funds under management to over $1.2 billion. The new fund, Abingworth Bioventures VII, will invest in companies in Europe and the US.

Abingworth invests across all stages of drug development including early and late-stage venture deals, clinical co-development projects and public equities. The typical investment per company is in the range of $15 to $30 million.