GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, which develops and sells cannabinoid medicines, has arranged a $169.7 million offering of its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) in which six of the company’s eight directors sold ADSs valued at $43.4 million.
The German diagnostics company Definiens AG has raised €15 million from a syndicate co-led by Wellington Partners in order to support development of new tissue-based diagnostic tests for oncology and immunotherapy.
Shire has rebuffed a third cash and share takeover approach from AbbVie Inc that values the company at about £27 billion. Announcing the rejection, Shire said the proposal undervalues the company, which has a leading position in medicines for rare diseases.
Pixium Vision SA of France has raised €34.5 million with an initial public offering of its shares on the Euronext stock exchange in Paris. The proceeds will be used to advance two products that aim to treat blindness caused by a degeneration of photoreceptor cells in the retina.
Cardio3 BioSciences SA of Belgium is to sell shares valued at €25 million to Medisun International Ltd of Hong Kong in a two-part deal that will also see it participate in a joint venture with
Abzena Ltd, which provides services to companies developing biopharmaceuticals, said it intends to make an initial public offering of its shares on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Financial details have not yet been disclosed.
The European Medicine Agency has announced a review of ibuprofen medicines taken at high doses because of the risk of cardiovascular disease. The review covers medicines taken orally, but not topical treatments such as creams and gels.
A nanoparticle designed to treat soft tissue sarcoma has passed its first hurdle with the successful conclusion of a Phase 1 study in patients with the disease. The developer, Nanobiotix SA, plans to position the product alongside radiotherapy as a treatment for patients with locally advanced sarcoma for whom few treatment options exist.
A Phase 3 trial of the antibody therapeutic Cyramza (ramucirumab) has failed to reach its primary endpoint of overall survival in patients with liver cancer. The trial was comparing Cyramza plus best supportive care to placebo plus best supportive care as a second-line therapy.
MorphoSys AG and Merck Serono have become the latest companies to collaborate on potential treatments for cancer that modulate the immune system’s natural ability to fight tumours. Together they will discover and develop therapeutic antibodies against undisclosed immune checkpoints.