UCB SA said that a Phase 3 study of its antibody, Cimzia (certolizumab pegol), in the new indication of axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) reached its primary endpoint. Cimzia is a peglated, anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) compound.
The Roche group said sales of its pharmaceutical products should accelerate in 2012 giving a rate of growth in the low to mid-single-digits. This follows a first quarter in which group and pharmaceutical sales rose by 2% in constant currencies.
Risk sharing deals in drug development often involve a Big Pharma company and a small, research-intensive biotech. Typically, the larger partner pays for rights to a promising asset on the expectation that its investment will pay off years later when the compound becomes a marketed pharmaceutical. Very often the larger company is cash rich, while the smaller one is cash poor but rich in intellectual property.
Shire Plc has reached an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of privately-held Pervasis Therapeutics Inc of Cambridge, Massachusetts which has a clinical-stage, cell-based therapy for enhancing blood vessel repair.
Wilex AG expects to file for the registration of its experimental antibody for renal cell carcinoma, girentuximab, in the US and Europe during the first half of 2013. Data from a pivotal trial of the drug are expected in the fourth quarter of this year.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd has agreed to pay $800 million upfront, plus future performance-based milestones, for privately-owned URL Pharma Inc. URL has a marketed product for gout that had 2011 net sales of $430 million.
Wilex AG has announced the start of a Phase 1b/2 trial in patients with solid tumours of its experimental drug that inhibits the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK). The study will be conducted in the UK.
Aleva Neurotherapeutics SA of Switzerland has raised CHF 4 million (€3.3 million) in a Series B financing round to advance development of its implant technology for deep brain stimulation. The round was led by Banexi Ventures Partners.
Fresh from a private placement that raised €77.8 million, ThromboGenics NV of Belgium is expanding its commercial presence in the US ahead of the expected regulatory approval later this year of its lead product for eye disease, ocriplasmin.
Researchers from the US and Canada have reported generating a new type of cell line, endodermal progenitor cells, which they say could be used as a new tool for modeling human disease including diabetes and liver disease.