Circassia Ltd, which is testing a novel immunotherapy for four major allergies, has announced plans to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. At an estimated £175 million, the initial public offering would be one of the UK’s largest.
Shire Plc of Ireland said that two pivotal Phase 3 studies of the central nervous system drug Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) have failed to show efficacy in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
Sanofi SA reported a 5.7% decline in net sales for 2013 to €32.9 billion and a 24% drop in net profit attributable to shareholders to €3.7 billion as product sales declined in all geographical areas apart from the emerging markets.
Innate Pharma SA of France has purchased rights to an immune checkpoint inhibitor from Novo Nordisk A/S of Denmark that is ready for Phase 2 development in oncology. Checkpoint inhibitors are currently attracting a lot of interest because they have shown an ability to thwart tumours.
More than a year under new management, AstraZeneca Plc is focused on rebuilding its late-stage pipeline. But it will take some time before this translates into revenue and profit growth for the company as a whole. Presenting the company’s 2013 results on 6 February, Pascal Soriot, the chief executive, said that both revenue and core earnings per share will drop again this year, after declines in 2013.
Uniqure BV of the Netherlands, which is the first company with a licensed gene therapy, expects to raise about $81.9 million from an initial public offering of its shares on the Nasdaq over-the-counter market in the US.
BerGenBio AS has raised NOK 75 million ($12.5 million) with a private equity placement to finance development of its lead drug candidate, BGB324, which is in Phase 1b studies. The compound is said to interfere with cancer drug resistance and metastases.
GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, which has an expanding portfolio of cannabinoid medicines, has raised $94 million in a follow-on offering of an earlier initial public offering on Nasdaq. The funds will be used to support development of an epilepsy compound.
Anergis SA of Switzerland has raised CHF 8 million (€6.5 million) from its venture capital backers in order to advance its lead vaccine product, AllerT, for birch pollen allergy into Phase 3 development.
Amgen Inc and Merck & Co Inc have announced plans to collaborate on the development of a new combination therapy for advanced melanoma. This will combine Amgen’s oncolytic virus product with Merck’s PD-1 inhibitor.