MorphoSys AG expects revenue this year to be on the upper end of a range announced in August, while earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) will show a loss, but smaller than that reported for 2017. This follows higher third quarter sales which were boosted by a €47.5 million upfront payment from Novartis for rights to a candidate drug for atopic dermatitis.
The European institutions are a fertile source of funding for small and medium-sized life science enterprises, (SMEs), but gaining access to this capital requires a different set of skills than pitching for venture capital. This was one of the conclusions of a discussion at the BioEurope conference in Copenhagen on 6 November which featured presentations by Laszlo Helmle of the European Commission; Pierre Meulien of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and Auvo Kaikkonen of the European Investment Bank.
SwedenBIO, which represents more than 250 companies in the life science sector in Sweden, is stepping up efforts to introduce biopharma and medical technology companies to US investors as the sector becomes increasingly important to the national economy.
Targovax ASA has reconfigured its portfolio to put priority on the development of a candidate oncolytic virus for cancer which has shown promising early clinical results in mesothelioma and checkpoint inhibitor refractory melanoma.
The trial results for ONCOS-102, the oncolytic virus, were highlighted in the Norwegian company’s financial report for the third quarter, which showed a cash balance of NOK 173 million (€18.2 million) on 30 September, down from NOK 261.6 million on 31 December 2017.
In line with previously announced plans to diversify its portfolio, Novo Nordisk A/S has entered into a collaboration with a university spin-out, Embark Biotech ApS, to discover new treatments for obesity and associated metabolic pathologies.
A European research consortium in which Plasticell Ltd is a partner organisation has won a €3.7 million award from the EU to create cellular models of a group of neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, which result from the acute or progressive loss of cells in the brain. The goal is to produce patient-specific human neural models in test tubes, microchips or model organisms that can be used to discover new therapies.
Orchard Therapeutics Ltd took the next step in its quest to become a global gene therapy company on 31 October with an initial public offering on Nasdaq which is expected to raise $200 million. Founded in 2015, the company has already generated nearly $300 million in venture capital.
The IPO consists of 14,285,715 American Depositary Shares representing 14,285,715 ordinary shares at a price of $14 per ADS before underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on 2 November.
Novo Nordisk A/S expects sales and operating profit to increase in 2018 on a currency-adjusted basis as it takes steps to reduce its workforce and diversify its portfolio. The Danish producer of diabetes products is expanding into other biologic products as well as new delivery technologies for insulin.
Sanofi reported higher net earnings per share in the third quarter and is forecasting a rise for the year as a whole. But a continued decline in US insulin sales translated into a lower gross profit margin for the quarter and the first nine months of 2018.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has issued improved guidance for adjusted earnings per share for 2018 following an increase in sales at constant exchange rates for the third quarter and first nine months, and a better operating margin. In a teleconference with journalists on 31 October, Emma Walmsley, the chief executive, highlighted sales of the company’s shingles’ vaccine Shingrix, the HIV medicines Triumeq and Tivicay, and new respiratory products.