News

While new collaborations spring up regularly among developers of antibody drugs, existing partnerships also expire.

GW Pharmaceuticals Plc expects to complete its US regulatory submission for Epidiolex, a drug for childhood epilepsy, in October. Provided the review is favourable the drug could be launched in 2018, the company said.

An experiment in which CRISPR-Cas9 was used to repair a gene mutation in a human embryo appears to have solved two safety problems associated with this technology while raising ethical questions about its long-term application.

After securing rights to a compound developed by Innate Pharma SA in 2011, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) has expanded its investment in innate immunity with the purchase of IFM Therapeutics Inc of Boston, Massachusetts.

Shire Plc has disclosed for the first time that it is considering a possible listing for its neuroscience division which includes its revenue-generating drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A review of the franchise is underway with a decision expected by the end of the year.

With US regulatory approval of a partnered antibody product now in hand, MorphoSys AG has started to move quickly to consolidate its position as an independent drug developer.

Imbruvica (ibrutinib), a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor developed by Pharmacyclics LLC, has received a further approval in the US – this time to treat adult patients with chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD).

Denmark’s Zealand Pharma A/S started its previously announced initial public share offering on Nasdaq in the US on 1 August with the goal of raising $86 million for the clinical development of two of its peptide therapeutics.

Galapagos NV reported cash and cash equivalents of €1.3 billion on 30 June in a first-half year report that also highlighted an ambitious research and development programme for small molecules targeting inflammatory indications and cystic fibrosis.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Idhifa (enasidenib), a new targeted therapy from Celgene Corp for treating patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Also approved is a diagnostic that can detect a specific genetic mutation.