News

Japan-based Sosei Group Corp has entered a global collaboration and licencing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Plc to discover small molecule agonists of a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) associated with inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal immune disorders. It will use technology developed by Heptares Therapeutics, a UK company it acquired in 2015. The deal is the newest collaboration for Sosei, which is using the Heptares’ structure-based drug design platform to grow its business.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorisation to Moderna Inc for a vaccine for Covid-19 following trial data showing it was 94.1% effective in preventing the disease. The decision comes just a week after the agency issued an emergency authorisation for a vaccine developed by BioNTech SE and its partner Pfizer Inc. Both vaccines are based on messenger RNA (mRNA), a technology never before used in a human vaccine. The two vaccines work by instructing cells in the body to make copies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

Gilead Sciences Inc and Galapagos NV have dropped plans to make a new submission in the US for their small molecule drug Jyseleca (filgotinib) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) following a meeting with the Food and Drug Administration. The parties discussed the points raised in the agency’s complete response letter in August in which it refused to approve the drug because of concerns about its benefit/risk profile at a dose of 200 mg.

Hemab ApS, a new company led by scientists with experience in haemophilia drug development, has been launched in Copenhagen, Denmark to develop bispecific antibodies for treating rare bleeding disorders. The company was incubated by Novo Seeds, the early-stage investment arm of Novo Holdings A/S. The size of the seed funding was not disclosed.

AstraZeneca Plc is to acquire the US specialty pharmaceutical company Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc for $39 billion – at once giving it five marketed drugs and more than 20 development programmes for rare diseases and immunology. The cash and share offer will be paid in part with an underwritten bridge-financing facility. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 and be immediately earnings accretive.

Evotec SE and the service group Sartorius AG are taking a controlling stake in a new German company, Curexsys GmbH, in order to support the emerging science of therapeutic exosomes. Exosomes are small vesicles that transfer proteins and nucleic acids from one cell to another. Researchers have shown that exosomes can be engineered to contain drugs, something that is being exploited by a growing number of biotech companies.

The US has become the second western country to give an emergency use authorisation to a Covid-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech SE in partnership with Pfizer Inc. The vaccine, BNT162b2, is based on messenger RNA (mRNA), a technology never before used in a human vaccine. It was given an emergency authorisation by the Food and Drug Administration on 11 December for individuals 16 years and over.

Sanofi SA and its partner GlaxoSmithKline Plc are to test a new antigen formulation for their  Covid-19 vaccine in order to generate a better response from older adults. Assuming all data are positive, the vaccine would be available in the 2021 fourth quarter rather than mid-2021, the companies announced on 11 December 2020.

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH is to pay €1.18 billion to acquire NBE-Therapeutics GmbH, a Swiss developer of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), in order to expand its portfolio of drugs targeting difficult-to-treat solid tumours. NBE-Therapeutics’ lead compound NBE-002 is currently in Phase 1 clinical studies for triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of breast cancer with limited treatment options.

Forbion Capital Partners of the Netherlands has secured €460 million for an oversubscribed fifth fund, the proceeds of which will be used to build a portfolio of 15 companies developing new medical therapeutics. About 80% of the investments are expected to be made in Europe, with the balance targeting assets in North America.