News

Roche said it is acquiring Innovatis AG, a German cell analysis company, for €15 million. The sellers are two private equity funds operated by Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory AG.

ThromboGenics NV, the Belgian company that is developing products related to the vascular system, reported a net profit of €12.1 million in 2008 compared with a net loss of €16 million in 2007, but it left doubts as to whether it would be able to operate profitably in 2009.

The Roche Group has reached a “friendly” agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Genentech Inc that it doesn’t own for $95 per share or $46.8 billion in cash.

The ReNeuron Group Plc, which has received permission for a first-in-man trial of a neural stem cell treatment for stroke, has lined up financing for the year ahead.

The price of GW Pharmaceuticals Plc rose by 41.8% in London following the UK company’s announcement of positive Phase 3 results for its lead drug, Sativex, a cannabinoid compound for treating multiple sclerosis (MS).

Following positive Phase 3 data for its gene therapy for brain cancer, Ark Therapeutics plans to take three more gene-based medicines into the clinic in 2009. All three use an adenoviral vector platform to deliver a gene treatment.

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be issuing new guidelines on how scientists should conduct research using embryonic stem cells following President Barack Obama’s decision to lift restrictions on federal funding of this research.

Merck & Co. is acquiring Schering Plough Corp in a combination valued at $41.1 billion.

Pharmexa A/S of Denmark has decided to change its therapeutic focus from vaccines to human antibodies and will accomplish this by merging with the privately-owned Norwegian antibody research company, Affitech AS.

Galapagos NV said that spending on research and development will increase in 2009 as it brings two products into the clinic for the first time. Meanwhile, revenues are expected to rise by 30% to €100 million on the back of income from its services division and pharmaceutical company alliances.