Sanofi SA has disclosed that it is making a $9.3 billion, non-binding bid for Medivation Inc of California, US which has at least two cancer products in mid-to-late stage development and a product for prostate cancer that it is marketing jointly with Astellas Pharma Inc of Japan.
Despite a steep decline in AdVair sales, GlaxoSmithKline Plc was able to report an 11% increase in group revenue to £6.2 billion in the first quarter due to strong demand for its new HIV and respiratory medicines, and its vaccines for meningitis.
The discovery of an antibody targeting a protein on regulatory T cells with a potentially stronger side-effect profile than existing immuno-oncology compounds, has led to a multi-million dollar collaboration between Netherlands-based Argenx NV and AbbVie Inc.
Enterome Biosciences SA of France has raised €14.5 million in a Series C equity financing from existing investors plus Nestlé Health Science SA to help bring its lead product into the clinic. The compound is a small molecule in-licensed from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
GeNeuro SA of Geneva, Switzerland has made an initial public offering of €33 million on the Euronext stock exchange in Paris. Part of the proceeds will be used to finance a Phase 2b proof-of-concept trial of an antibody for multiple sclerosis (MS).
A neuro-stimulation device developed by G-Therapeutics BV of the Netherlands has received €26 million in Series A equity finance to fund a clinical trial in patients with spinal cord injuries ahead of a regulatory submission.
Novartis reported savings of $0.5 billion in the first quarter from a series of measures designed to improve productivity as sales came under pressure from the loss of exclusivity for Glivec/Gleevec (imatinib), a kinase inhibitor used to treat multiple cancers.
In a review of the first quarter, the Roche Group has highlighted the progress of the checkpoint antibody atezolizumab, which is being investigated in both solid and haematologic cancers, and ocrelizumab, a new drug for multiple sclerosis.
In another strategy directed at immuno-oncology, Kymab Ltd has teamed up with Heptares to discover potential antibody therapeutics that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) with a view to strengthening the ability of the immune system to fight cancer. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Researchers at the University College London Cancer Institute have found a way of using T-cells to attack cancer without involving the entire immune system.This selective approach has the potential of reducing side-effects but so far experiments have only been carried out in mice.