News

Johnson & Johnson Inc is to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc of the US in a deal that will significantly strengthen its neuroscience franchise. The transaction will be executed at $132 per share in cash for a total equity value of $14.6 billion. Announced on 13 January, the deal is the largest biotech merger since 2023, according to the Axios news website. The lead asset Caplyta (lumateperone), is an approved therapy for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and depressive episodes associated with bipolar 1 or 2 disorder.

Eli Lilly and Co is to acquire an early clinical-stage cancer programme from the Boston, US, developer Scorpion Therapeutics Inc in order to increase its offering in breast cancer. The candidate drug, STX-478, is an inhibitor of PI3K-alpha. PI3Ks are a family of enzymes involved in cellular functions such as cell growth.

Netherlands-based argenx SE released a summary of its preliminary 2024 financial results on 13 January showing that global sales of its antibody drugs for autoimmune indications reached $2.2 billion last year of which $737 million was generated in the fourth quarter. In a statement, Tim Van Hauwermeiren, the chief executive, said the company is on course to be profitable in 2025. Founded in 2008, argenx has built a portfolio of antibody therapies based on discoveries around the neonatal Fc receptor which is responsible for maintaining the circulation if immunoglobuline G (IgG) in the body.

Nippon Shinyaku Co Ltd of Japan is to acquire development and commercialisation rights to gene therapies for two rare metabolic disorders under a new agreement with Regenxbio Inc of the US. The deal relates to the development of therapies for mucopolysaccharidosis 1, also known as Hurler syndrome, and mucopolysaccharidosis 2, also known as Hunter syndrome. Both diseases are caused by the absence or malfunctioning of lysosomal enzymes which are needed to break down long chains of sugar carbohydrates.

AbbVie Inc is to pay an upfront fee and potential milestone payments of up to $1.055 billion to Simcere Zaiming of China for an option to license a candidate drug for multiple myeloma. The asset is a trispecific antibody that is currently in Phase 1 studies in patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma in both China and the US. The antibody has a CD3 engaging arm and binding sites for two tumour antigens. These are G-protein coupled receptor class 5 member D (GPRC5D) and the B cell maturation antigen.

A new company focused on obesity and cardiometabolic disorders was launched on 9 January with $411 million in a Series A venture financing. Named Verdiva Bio Ltd the company is registered in the UK with leadership in Europe and North America and a start-up portfolio from China. The company’s financing syndicate is co-led by Forbion of the Netherlands and the US private equity group General Atlantic with five other participants including Lilly Asia Ventures.

Demand for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) took a leap on 9 January after Netherlands-based Synaffix BV disclosed two new deals for its proprietary ADC technology. The first agreement is with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp of Japan and the second with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH of Germany. The value of the Mitsubishi deal was not disclosed, however that with Boehringer involves a potential milestone payment of up to $1.3 billion in addition to an undisclosed upfront payment. 

The Belgian biotech Galapagos NV is to separate into two publically listed biotech entities with a focus on cell therapy and medical innovation. Announced on 8 January, the transaction will create an incubator company, provisionally called SpinCo, and a reconfigured Galapagos with a focus on cell therapies. SpinCo will be capitalised with approximately €2.45 billion of cash from Galapagos to investigate new medicines in oncology, immunology and/or virology. It will seek a listing on the Euronext stock exchange.

Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec), the gene therapy developed by Novartis for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), has shown efficacy in a Phase 3 study of patients aged two to less than 18 years who are able to sit but have never walked independently. SMA is a genetic neuromuscular disease caused by the lack of a functional SMN1 gene that affects muscle functions and basic movement. Zolgensma was first approved in the US in 2019, and one year later in the EU, as a paediatric drug for children less than two years old and administered as a single, one-time infusion. 

A kinase inhibitor for the treatment of lung diseases has been recommended for use in children and adolescents from the age of 6 years by the European Medicines Agency. The treatment, Ofev (nintedanib), was authorised for adults in 2014 and subject to approval by the European Commission, will be available for children in 2025. The indication is progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease which includes a group of rare respiratory disorders characterised by the build-up of scarring in the lungs which can lead to breathing difficulties.