MorphoSys AG has agreed to pay $13 million for rights to an anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody that is scheduled to start a Phase 1 study in cancer patients in the US shortly. It is the company’s first in-licensing deal for a clinical compound.
Scientists from Yale University have shown that lung tissue engineered in a laboratory and implanted into rats can restore partial lung function. The findings represent a first step towards the goal of generating fully functional lungs in vitro.
Gilead Sciences Inc has agreed to pay up to $120 million to acquire CGI Pharmaceuticals Inc, a privately-held US company with a library of small molecule kinase inhibitors. CGI’s lead preclinical compound may have application in RA.
Sanofi-Aventis SA has entered into a licensing agreement with Metabolex Inc of the US to develop a novel treatment for Type 2 diabetes that targets the G protein-coupled receptor 119. The deal could be valued at $375 million if a product is commercialised.
Crucell NV has announced the start of a project to discover a universal prophylactic vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a cause of serious respiratory illnesses in infants and children. It will be working with a unit of Johnson & Johnson.
The Pharming Group NV said that its recombinant human C1 inhibitor for hereditary angioedema, Rhucin, has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency. This ends a three-year effort to gain regulatory approval for the drug.
SkyePharma Plc said it is reviewing all of its options following a meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration during which the agency outlined the work that would be required to meet its approval criteria for Flutiform, an asthma drug.
At the request of the US Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer Inc has suspended the clinical development programme for its investigational compound for osteoarthritis, tanezumab. The clinical hold follows reports of adverse events.
Diamyd Medical AB has partnered its lead antigen-based therapy for the treatment and prevention of Type1 diabetes with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc (OMJPI), a unit of Johnson & Johnson.
Experts say that existing European law permits the establishment of common criteria for determining the relative effectiveness of licensed drugs. But will it happen?