News

The European Medicines Agency has given a positive opinion for a new Amgen Inc medicine that has shown an ability to kill or slow down the growth of multiple myeloma cells by blocking the cells’ proteasome.

Austria-based Nabriva Therapeutics AG has raised $92.25 million gross in an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Nasdaq market to finance development of its portfolio of anti-infective medicines. Leerink Partners LLC and RBC Capital Markets LLC jointly managed the offering.

Replimune Ltd, a UK start-up, has raised $30 million in Series A finance to develop therapeutics based on the use of oncolytic viruses, or viruses that infect and destroy cancer cells. The funding round is being led by Atlas Venture with participation from Forbion Capital Partners and Omega Funds.

Allergy Therapeutics Plc reported strong growth in European sales for the year to 30 June, giving it a platform for the future launch of its candidate short-course vaccine against grass allergy, Pollinex Quattro Grass.

Amgen Inc has moved to strengthen its cardiovascular portfolio with the agreed purchase of Dezima Pharma BV of the Netherlands which has a new drug for dyslipidemia in a Phase 2b clinical trial. Dezima is backed by Forbion Capital Partners and other venture funds.

Desktop Genetics Ltd, which brings CRISPR genome editing technology to a computer with access to the cloud, has raised £1.37 million in equity financing from a group of biotech executives, business angels and venture capitalists, including the chief executive of Syncona Partners LLP.

An experimental vaccine against the Ebola virus has received further support from the US government enabling the developers to improve their manufacturing and storage capabilities. The vaccine is being developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bavarian Nordic A/S.

Generic drug producer Mylan NV has made formal offer to buy all the outstanding shares of Perrigo Company Plc on terms that were not quite as favourable as its initial offer last April. Based in Ireland, Perrigo manufactures over-the-counter and generic drugs.

Actelion Ltd, which has a portfolio of drugs to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), said it has initiated preliminary discussions with ZS Pharma Inc, the details of which have not been disclosed. ZS Pharma has technology for treating ion imbalances.

A Phase 3 trial which was testing a new indication for the marketed respiratory medicine Relvar/Breo Ellipta failed to demonstrate that it could improve the survival rate for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a history of heart disease.