Skyepharma Plc is on course to generate new product and technology platform revenue in the future following positive regulatory and reimbursement reviews for both its flutiform asthma drug and a GlaxoSmithKline Plc product that uses Skyepharma’s delivery technology.
BTG Plc has received the go-ahead from the Food and Drug Administration to market a non-surgical procedure for the treatment of patients with varicose veins, a condition that is estimated to affect more than 30 million adults in the US from the ages of 18 to 70 years.
Algeta ASA has confirmed receipt of a preliminary acquisition proposal from Bayer AG that values the company at NOK 336 (€40.5) per share. Bayer is Algeta’s partner for Xofigo, a new radiopharmaceutical for prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.
Novartis is to buy back $5 billion of its shares from the market as part of a broader strategy to increase productivity and improve the financial returns for its shareholders. The Switzerland-based multinational announced the share buyback on 22 November, saying the purchases would start immediately and be executed over a period of two years.
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has given positive opinions to seven new medicines including Gilead Sciences’ new treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus infection, sofosbuvir. The EMA issued the opinions on 22 November.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Olysio (simeprevir), a new therapy to treat hepatitis C virus infection developed by Janssen Research & Development LLC (Johnson & Johnson) and Medivir AB of Sweden.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for the Bayer/Onyx Pharmaceuticals cancer drug Nexavar (sorafenib), and also authorised a GSK vaccine for the prevention of H5N1 avian influenza.
Barcelona-based Grifols SA has become a strategic investor in TiGenix NV through the purchase of new shares valued at €12 million. The deal brings Grifols, the world’s third largest producer of plasma-derived products, further into the cell therapy arena.
Algeta ASA is considering establishing a third leg to its biopharmaceutical business by possibly in-licensing targeted therapies for cancer. This emerged during a briefing by the Norwegian company for analysts, which was called to discuss the commercialisation of Xofigo, the company’s lead asset. Xofigo is a radiopharmaceutical for men with prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.
Mission Therapeutics Ltd of the UK has raised £20 million in a series B financing round to support the development of enzyme inhibitors that are thought to have the potential of targeting difficult-to-treat cancers. The enzymes are deubiquitylating enzymes involved in the DNA damage response.