Two months into his new job as chief executive of UCB SA, Jean-Christophe Tellier said the plan is to keep the company’s strategy focused on central nervous system disorders and immunology, whilst taking some risks on experimental treatments for Parkinson’s disease and lupus erythematosus.
MorphoSys reported lower revenue and a loss in 2014. But during a briefing with analysts on 26 February, management said it will initiate more clinical trials this year and pursue possible in-licensing opportunities in order to strengthen its in-house antibody portfolio.
Ablynx NV reported a 37% rise in income to €49.3 million in 2014 led by a sharp increase in paid-for research and upfront payments from partnerships. The company’s operating losses narrowed by 8% to €16.2 million despite a 25% rise in research and development spending to €54.5 million.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Toujeo (insulin glargine), a basal insulin for the treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The compound has been developed by Sanofi SA and is intended to improve glycemic control in adults living with the disease.
Prexton Therapeutics SA, a 2012 spin-out of Merck Serono, has raised €8.7 million in a Series A financing round to support development of new compounds for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. The candidate compounds are allosteric modulators.
Shire Plc, whose portfolio is split between treatments for rare diseases and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, has acquired Meritage Pharma Inc and its late-stage product for eosinophilic esophagitis, an inflammatory disorder of the esophagus.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is to spend up to $1.25 billion to acquire Flexus Biosciences Inc and specifically, a preclinical small molecule compound and discovery programme, both directed at oncology indications. The assets complement BMS’s own immunotherapy products.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Farydak (panobinostat) for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma – the first histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor to be authorised for this disease. The approval was announced on 23 February 2015.
Merck & Co Inc is to partner with NGM Biopharmaceuticals Inc to build its capabilities in the area of therapies for metabolic diseases. The collaboration covers several preclinical candidate drugs including one for diabetes, obesity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Innate Pharma SA made further progress in 2014 in developing antibodies that enable the innate immune system to kill cancer but the cost of clinical development pushed its losses sharply higher.