Wilex AG has announced plans to reduce its Munich, Germany workforce by about 25% following the failure of its lead cancer product – an antibody for renal cell carcinoma – to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial.
Is it possible to envisage a situation where drugs could be approved sooner by a regulatory authority, but for a more restricted use? And if so, would this be a way for pharmaceutical companies to get real-life data on a drug that could then be used to expand the approved indication and satisfy the requirements of a European health authority for reimbursement?
Smith & Nephew Plc of the UK has moved to strengthen its position in wound care with the acquisition for $782 million in cash of most of the assets of privately-held Healthpoint Biotherapeutics of Fort Worth, Texas, US. The acquisition was announced on 28 November 2012.
Sanofi SA has entered a collaboration with Selecta Biosciences Inc in the US to develop immunotherapies for up to three different allergies.
MorphoSys AG has negotiated rights to exclusively license new peptide technology from privately-owned Lanthio Pharma BV in the Netherlands. MorphoSys will also make an equity investment in Lanthio as part of a Series A round. Figures weren’t disclosed.
TxCell SA of France, which is developing cell-based immunotherapies for chronic inflammatory diseases, has raised €12.4 million from existing shareholders and a new investor to finance a proof-of-concept study of its lead product for Crohn’s disease.
Pharming Group NV has received a $10 million milestone payment from its partner Santarus Inc following the successful Phase 3 trial of Ruconest, its lead drug for hereditary angioedema (HAE). The trial result was reported on 7 November.
A new vaccine technology based on messenger RNA is reported to be effective in animals with influenza A. Data from the studies has been published online in Nature Biotechnology. The vaccines were developed by CureVac GmbH.
The Belgian drug regulator has approved the start of a Phase 3 trial of an autologous cell therapy for patients with chronic heart failure – understood to be the first such trial ever. The therapy was developed by Cardio3 BioSciences SA and the US Mayo Clinic.
Leading institutions in the UK, including the Wellcome Trust, have announced plans to create a repository of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in order to study how genetic variation and defects impact cell behaviour and disease.