Novo Nordisk A/S said it is discontinuing its research into inflammatory diseases following the termination of its anti-interleukin-20 treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, which was its most advanced drug candidate in the field.
Novartis is planning regulatory submissions in both the US and Europe for a new heart drug in the wake of trial results showing the drug's superior performance to enalapril, a standard treatment for hypertension and heart failure.
ThromboGenics NV of Belgium reported revenues of €7.1 million for the first half of 2014 and a loss of €23.9 million in the period but its directors estimated that the ophthalmic company would produce positive cash flow by 2017 and revenue of €100 million by 2019.
France-based Nicox SA, which is building a commercial ophthalmic business, generated €2.6 million in revenue in the 2014 first half, most of which came from product sales. Revenue for the period a year earlier was €0.2 million.
Ablynx NV improved its revenue and cash position in the first half of 2014 largely due to upfront payments from research partners Merck & Co Inc, AbbVie Inc and Merck Serono. The Merck programme is investigating immune checkpoint inhibitors for cancer.
Fresh from a successful European initial public share offering, the Belgian antibody developer ArGEN-X NV has given an update on the progress of its two lead products directed at potential cancer indications.
Medtronic Inc has paid €150 million in cash to acquire Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation BV, a Dutch company developing deep brain stimulation technologies for the treatment of the movement symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
An indirect affiliate of Johnson & Johnson Inc, Cilag GmbH International of Zug, Switzerland, has acquired Covagen AG from Covagen’s venture capital and other private investors for an undisclosed amount.
The Roche Group is to acquire InterMune Inc of the US for $8.3 billion in cash in order to gain access to that company’s respiratory portfolio that includes a marketed product for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies.
The Japanese stem cell scientist Yoshiki Sasai, whose papers on somatic cell reprogramming created controversy earlier this year and were later retracted by Nature, was found dead in early August, reportedly by suicide.