News

The World Health Organization has added several cancer therapies to its Essential Medicines List in recognition of their contribution to extending the lives of patients with cancer. The list, which is updated every two years, is intended to guide health authorities on which medicines represent the best value for money based on their effectiveness.

The second quarter and half year results of Novartis AG show a pharmaceutical company in transition rather than one where the figures are strictly comparable with the previous period.

Vasant Narasimhan, the Harvard University-educated doctor who became chief executive in February 2018 has been busy with his plans to streamline the company into a leader of advanced therapies, supported by digitally-backed research.

Sosei Heptares has entered into a multi-target research collaboration and licence agreement with Genentech to discover and develop medicines that modulate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), membrane proteins that are involved in a broad range of biological processes and diseases.  GCPRs play a central role in cellular physiology including the regulation of the immune and nervous systems and the growth and metastasis of some types of tumours.

The investment group Medicxi Ventures (UK) LLP has raised €400 million for a third life science fund with the goal of investing across the life science sector from discovery to late-stage clinical programmes. Medicxi III closed in just six weeks, reflecting a renewed confidence in the sector.

Denmark-based Genmab A/S has raised $581.8 million from its initial public offering on the US Nasdaq market following a decision by underwriters to fully exercise their over-allotment option and buy more shares. Prior to the option exercise, Genmab had secured gross proceeds of $505.9 million. The final total was announced on 19 July. 

Netherlands-based AM-Pharma BV has raised €116 million from a European syndicate of investors to conduct a Phase 3 trial of a drug for sepsis-associated acute kidney injury – a condition for which no pharmaceutical treatment currently exists. The financing round will enable the Dutch company to complete development of its wholly-owned product recAP as an independent company. In 2015, Pfizer Inc took out an option to acquire AM-Pharma, but last year it let the option lapse. The US company still is a minority shareholder.

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH has acquired a private Swiss biotechnology company with a therapeutic cancer vaccine targeting late-stage colorectal cancer. AMAL Therapeutics SA has developed a vaccine that is based on a fusion protein designed to activate killer T cells to target and destroy a tumour while boosting immunological memory to prevent a relapse.

Gilead Sciences Inc has struck a $5 billion deal with Galapagos NV giving it rights to the Belgian company’s suite of small molecule drugs for inflammatory diseases as well as an equity stake in the company of up to 29.9%. The agreement also includes a pledge by Gilead to not increase its stake in Galapagos for 10 years.

Novartis, Amgen Inc and the non-profit organisation Banner Alzheimer’s Institute have stopped two pivotal studies of umibecestat, a candidate Alzheimer’s drug, because a review identified a worsening in some measures of cognitive function among patients. The trial was intended to run until 2025.

Slovakia has been added to the group of European countries whose pharma manufacturing inspections systems are on par with those in the US, enabling the Food and Drug Administration to automatically recognise products produced in the country’s factories.