A novel licensing deal among two German universities and the UK Medical Research Council’s commercialization arm is expected to lead to the development of a potential new therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
BioMedPartners of Switzerland said that it has closed its second healthcare venture capital fund, BioMedInvest II, at CHF 106 million (€71.7 million). The new fund will invest in private, early to mid-stage healthcare companies in Europe.
Actelion Ltd of Switzerland has received the support of an advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration to expand the use of its drug for Gaucher disease to include Niemann-Pick disease.
Bavarian Nordic A/S, the Danish vaccine developer, has fixed the terms for its DKK 318.1 million (€42.7 million) rights issue.
Galápagos NV has entered into an alliance with Roche to develop potential therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Galápagos has received €6 million upfront and said potential milestone payments could exceed €400 million.
The US Food and Drug Administration has put a ‘clinical hold’ on a proposed first-in-man study of a new embryonic stem cell treatment for eye disease, according to the developer.
Cell Medica Ltd of London, UK has signed a research and development agreement with a medical research center in Texas to help it commercialise clinically-proven cell therapies which have been pioneered by the US researchers.
Proximagen Neuroscience Plc, a university spin-out that raised £50 million in an offer of its shares in 2009, is making an agreed, all-cash offer for Minster Pharmaceuticals Plc. Both companies are developing CNS drug candidates.
The Vienna based F-Star Biotechnologische Forschungs-und Entwicklungsges has raised €8 million in a Series A financing round to support its technology platform for discovering and developing antibodies.
The Danish antibody developer, Affitech A/S, has negotiated a bridging loan of DKK 9.33 million (€1.25 million) to cover its needs while it negotiates a larger financing during the first quarter. The loan has been extended by three existing investors.