MorphoSys AG has announced plans to sell its service business, AbD Serotec, to Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc for €53 million in cash. The divestment will enable the German company to focus on its therapeutic antibody business.
H. Lundbeck A/S is to sell 10 non-core assets to Recordati S.p.A. of Italy in order to focus on its newer products in the area of neurological disorders. The Danish company said it will receive up to $100 million which will be reinvested in new products and geographical expansion.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug to treat adults with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) – three months ahead of schedule.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new monoclonal antibody to treat inhaled anthrax, considered a potential biological terrorism threat because the spores of the bacterium are resistant to destruction and can be spread in the air.
The European Medicines Agency’s main scientific committee has recommended that a new treatment for alcohol dependence, Selincro (nalmefene), be licensed in Europe. The H. Lundbeck A/S drug is for adults with high rates of alcohol consumption.
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has turned down an application from Genzyme (Sanofi) to market an antisense compound for familial hypercholesterolaemia citing safety concerns. Genzyme said it will appeal against the opinion.
AstraZeneca Plc has signalled its interest in antisense technology with the recent announcement of a new strategic alliance with Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc in oncology. The main asset is an inhibitor of the STAT3 protein which is overexpressed in numerous cancers.
Switzerland-based Biocartis SA has raised €34.5 million in a Series D round to commercialise a molecular diagnostics platform that is aimed at the life science research market. The round was led by the Flemish investment company, PMV NV.
GlaxoSmithKline will continue to look for ways to improve the efficiency of its research and development operations even though it is on the cusp of achieving more new product launches in the next three years than at any time in the recent past.
Sofinnova Partners has raised €240 million for its seventh venture capital fund which will support entrepreneurs who are developing new biopharmaceutical technologies, medical devices and industrial biotechnology products.