In keeping with the trend toward global drug development, regulatory consultancies from Sweden and the US have merged, creating a network of more than 1,000 experts with knowledge of medical technology, science and US and European regulatory procedures.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has signed an agreement with a service company in Germany to gain access to technology for industrialising cell and gene therapies. The two parties will also discover new chimeric antigen-receptor T (CAR T) cell therapies.
UK-based Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc has decided to align its financial year with the calendar year as part of a move to make its reporting practices more compatible with those in the US. This follows the company’s listing on Nasdaq and an expansion of its operations in Philadelphia.
eTheRNA immunotherapies NV, a 2013 spinout from the Free University of Brussels, has raised €24 million in a Series A equity financing for the development of its TriMix-based immunotherapy for treating melanoma, breast cancer and infectious diseases.
Nanobiotix SA, a developer of X-ray enhancement products, has raised €21.3 million with a private equity placement to finance the further development of its lead product NBTXR3 for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma and a number of other cancers.
Evotec AG has decided to spin out a group of preclinical neurology assets into a new company that will receive €14 million in start-up capital in order to accelerate development of a prospective drug for multiple sclerosis.
Cambridge Epigenetix Ltd has raised $21 million in a Series B equity financing for the further development of its epigenetic tools for analysing the DNA methylome. Prominent financers from California, US provided the bulk of the funding.
BerGenBio AS, a privately-held Norwegian company, has raised NOK212 million (€22.4 million) in new equity to advance the clinical development of its lead product BGB324 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and non-small cell lung cancer.
Andrew Witty, the chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline Plc since May 2008, is to retire from the company on 31 March 2017, GSK announced on 17 March. Mr Witty rose to the top position after a succession of sales and marketing positions across the globe.
After achieving financial stability and the successful launch of its lead asthma product flutiform, the board of Skyepharma Plc has agreed to merge with Vectura Group Plc, another developer of respiratory products.