A Chinese scientist’s reported use of the Crispr gene editing tool to alter a gene in two embryos which were implanted into a mother’s womb has created an uproar in the scientific community. The edit was performed when the embryos were just a day old and involved alterations to the CCR5 gene in order to prevent the offspring from contracting HIV. They were reported on YouTube videos, rather in a scientific journal, after twin girls bearing the DNA changes were born.
The Bayer Group plans to reduce its global workforce by 10% over the next three years as it prepares to integrate Monsanto Co into its global operations following its acquisition of the US agrochemical company for $66 billion in June. A significant number of the job losses will be in Germany, Bayer announced on 29 November.
A new precision medicine for patients whose cancers have a specific genetic feature has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration – the second time the agency has based a decision on a common biomarker rather than the location of a tumour in the body.
The Germany-based biotech company, Adrenomed AG, has raised €24 million in a Series D financing round to secure the clinical development of a new medicine for septic shock, a life-threatening condition that occurs when a person’s blood pressure drops after an infection.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new oral treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in adults who are 75 years or older and who have other chronic conditions that may preclude the use of intensive chemotherapy. The drug, Daurismo (glasdegib), is an inhibitor of the Hedgehog pathway which when abnormal, is thought to contribute to the development of cancer stem cells. Daurismo was developed by Pfizer Inc.
The European Commission has cleared Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd’s proposed $62 billion takeover of Shire Plc, subject to its disposal of an investigational drug in Shire’s portfolio for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The Shire compound overlaps with Entyvio, a drug marketed by Takeda for the same disease.
Takeda has offered to divest the experimental treatment, including the rights to its development, manufacture and marketing to a purchaser that would have an incentive to produce a competitor to Entyvio.
Evotec AG has launched a new drug discovery collaboration involving artificial intelligence – this time to identify small molecules to treat rare hereditary metabolic diseases. The partner is Immuneering Corp of Cambridge, Massachusetts which is 51% controlled by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Immuneering applies AI and other advanced algorithms to data derived from high throughput screening. The goal is to identify molecular structures that could form the basis of new medicines.
Boston Scientific Corp has reached agreement with the board of BTG Plc on the terms of a takeover offer which values the UK specialty pharma company at £3.3 billion. The deal will be executed through Bravo Bidco Ltd, an entity indirectly owned by the US company.
Boston Scientific is offering 840 pence in cash per share of BTG. This represents a premium of 36.6% to the BTG closing share price of 615 pence on 19 November and a 51% premium to the company’s 90-day volume-weighted average share price for the period ended 19 November.
Immunocore Ltd is expanding a 2013 collaboration with Genentech (Roche) to co-develop a bi-specific biologic for cancer. The compound is based on soluble T cell receptors that have been designed to recognize intracellular cancer antigens, and then kill cancer cells through an anti-CD3 effector function.
In this case, the targets are tumours expressing the melanoma-associated antigen A4. Called IMC-C103C, the molecule is poised to enter clinical development in early 2019.
A new treatment for sleeping sickness, a life-threatening tropical disease, has received a positive review by the European Medicines Agency, paving the way for its approval in sub-Saharan Africa where the illness is endemic. The medicine, Fexinidazole Winthrop (fexinidazole), was developed through a collaboration between Sanofi SA and the non-profit organisation, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).