GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to acquire the specialty oncology company Sierra Oncology Inc which is poised to make a regulatory submission for its lead product momelotinib in the US in the second quarter. A submission to the European Medicines agency is anticipated in the second half of 2022. Momelotinib has been developed to treat patients with myelofibrosis with anaemia. The acquisition has been valued at $1.9 billion.
France-based bioMérieux SA is to acquire Specific Diagnostics Inc of the US in order to strengthen its position in the detection of infections from antibiotic resistant pathogens. Specific Diagnostics, a privately held company, has developed an antimicrobial susceptibility test that can detect Gram negative bacteria directly from blood cultures in an average of five hours.
A synthetic peptide being developed by Bicycle Therapeutics Plc of the UK has shown promising results in a Phase 1/2 study of patients with urothelial carcinoma. The drug, BT8009, is a synthetic short peptide which is being developed for advanced solid tumours associated with Nectin-4 expression. Results for eight out of 34 patients from the study were reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in April.
An antibody construct developed by Affimed NV of Germany has generated objective responses from a small group of lymphoma patients – all of whom had exhausted all available treatment options. The Phase 1/2 investigator-led study is being conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the US. Updated clinical data were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in April.
A new gene therapy project has been launched by ViGeneron GmbH of Germany and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc that would potentially result in the development of a treatment for an inherited retinal disorder. The two companies announced their collaboration on 6 April but did not identify the disease.
The Roche Group has disclosed data from a one-year analysis of an open-label Phase 3b trial of its multiple sclerosis treatment Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a monoclonal antibody targeting CD20-positive B cells, a specific type of immune cell thought to contribute to myelin and nerve cell damage in the disease. The results showed that 75% of Ocrevus-treated patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and primary progressive multiple sclerosis showed no evidence of disease progression.
Following a year in which revenue from partnerships rose and new deals were secured, Evotec SE has forecast a higher turnover for 2022 and more aggressive spending on R&D. Werner Lanthaler, the chief executive, gave an upbeat financial forecast in a briefing for analysts on 12 April, emphasising the resilience of the company’s core service business where it provides drug discovery support to third parties across a wide range of disease areas. In 2021, the company was involved in 842 alliances and recorded a repeat business of 91%.
Carlyle, a private equity firm, is to expand its healthcare business with the acquisition of UK-based Abingworth LLP which has been providing venture capital to life science companies for decades. The transaction will combine Carlyle’s $301 billion of assets under management with the more than $2 billion in assets controlled by Abingworth. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A panel of three arbitrators in the US has ruled against Genmab A/S in a royalty dispute with Janssen Biotech Inc effectively reducing royalty payments due to Genmab from a licensing agreement for the multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex (daratumumab). In an announcement on 8 April, Genmab said it is considering whether or not to appeal against the decision.
The European Medicines Agency has created a new forum to discuss the way cancer drugs are developed and administered in order to improve the healthcare outcomes for patients. The forum was launched in late March in partnership with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), a non-profit organisation located in Belgium,