Novartis is to sell its blood transfusion diagnostics unit, acquired in 2006 as part of Chiron Corp, to the Spain-based company Grifols SA for $1.7 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2014.
Shire Plc has taken steps to strengthen its portfolio of drugs for rare diseases with the acquisition of the Nasdaq-listed ViroPharma Inc of the US which has a marketed product for the prophylactic treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE). The deal is valued at $4.2 billion.
The European Medicines Agency has updated a regulatory guideline on antibiotic medicine development with a view to encouraging work on new agents that target multidrug resistance where patients have limited or no remaining treatment options.
Evotec AG has joined forces with one of the new Johnson & Johnson Inc innovation centres to identify targets for Alzheimer’s disease with a view to discovering and developing potential therapies that could affect early-stage disease.
MorphoSys AG secured a profit of €16.9 million in the first nine months of 2013 compared with a year-earlier loss of €1.2 million on revenue of €63.6 million, up by 80% from a year earlier – the result of two transformative deals announced in June.
Johnson & Johnson Inc and two of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay about $2 billion to the US government and state Medicaid programmes to settle a drug mis-selling case and related matters in which the company is alleged to have improperly promoted the antipsychotic drug Risperdal (risperidone) to elderly patients with dementia.
Algeta ASA of Norway said that the US roll-out of its recently approved radiopharmaceutical, Xofigo, is proceeding according to plan with $17 million already recognised by its partner Bayer AG in the third quarter. Bayer licensed global rights for the product in 2009.
Biocartis NV has raised €30 million in a Series E equity fundraising ahead of the 2014 launch of a suite of molecular diagnostic products aimed at the global oncology market. The round was entirely supported by existing investors.
ArGEN-X BV has recruited a new venture capital investor to its cohort of financial supporters enabling it to prepare to move a novel antibody fragment with potential for autoimmune diseases into the clinic.
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRIP) has raised €192 million for its fourth BioDiscovery fund, increasing its investment capacity by almost 25% relative to its previous fund. Altogether EdRIP has now raised €450 million for life science.