The Roche Group is to pay $7.1 billion upfront to acquire Telavant Holdings Inc, developer of a late-stage antibody therapeutic for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The deal also includes a near-term milestone payment of $150 million.
Telavant’s lead product, RVT-3101, is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits TL1A, a member of the tumour necrosis family which is expressed in immune cells. It is abnormally expressed in autoimmune diseases, including IBD.
Agomab Therapeutics NV, a Belgian biotech founded in 2017 to explore the potential of a critical biological pathway to achieve tissue repair, closed a $100 million Series C financing round on 11 October to support clinical development of a drug for fibrostenosing Crohn’s disease. The drug, AGMB-129, is a small molecule inhibitor of ALK5 (also known as TGF beta receptor 1), a regulator of fibrosis. Fidelity Management & Research Company led the round, with participation from new investors EQT Life Sciences, Canaan, Dawn Biopharma and existing investors.
MinervaX ApS of Denmark announced receipt on 11 October of €54 million in an upsized venture financing event to support its candidate prophylactic vaccine against the Group B streptococcus bacterium, a cause of serious illness in newborns. The financing syndicate includes new investors EQT Life Sciences and OrbiMed, with participation from nine other investment groups. It will raise MinervaX’s financial reserves to €125 million, enabling the company to start a Phase 3 trial of the vaccine for maternal immunisations in 2024. A vaccine is also under investigation for older adults.
In a boost for precision medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb Co is to spend up to $5.8 billion to buy Mirati Therapeutics Inc of the US which uses molecular biology to design drugs that are intended to arrest cancer growth by targeting specific genetic mutations. BMS will pay $58 per share for the precision medicine company, representing an outlay of $4.8 billion. If Mirati shareholders decide to buy additional non-tradeable contingent value rights, the value of the acquisition could rise to as much as $5.8 billion.
The radiopharmaceutical sector has a new player. This is Eli Lilly and Co which is to pay $1.4 billion to acquire POINT Biopharma Global Inc of Indianapolis, US, a clinical stage company with candidate radioligand therapies for the treatment of cancer. The deal, valued at $12.50 per share in cash, has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close by the end of the year.
Sanofi SA is to expand its portfolio with the in-licensing of a candidate vaccine targeting extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, a gram negative bacterium that causes urinary tract infections and potentially sepsis. The vaccine was developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc and is currently in Phase 3 development
Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, one of Japan’s largest pharmaceutical companies, is to expand its oncology pipeline with the addition of more bispecific antibodies, a therapy type that is said to enable better precision medicine for treating cancer. Under a collaboration with Adimab LLC of the US, the Japanese company will have an option for exclusive rights to novel bispecific antibody candidates for the treatment of multiple cancers. The deal involves an undisclosed upfront payment, R&D funding, and success-based milestone payments.
A new company which is developing RNA editing therapeutics launched on 19 September with $30 million in initial funding led by ARCH Venture Partners, one of the biotech industry’s largest financiers. The company, AIRNA Corp Inc, plans to use the funds to advance a product candidate to treat the inherited genetic disease alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. This is a deficiency that raises a person’s risk of lung disease including the risk of contracting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It will also investigate therapies for high unmet needs.
A fund created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support private enterprise has awarded $5 million to Transimmune AG of Germany to enhance the potency of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases. Transimmune, which is a spin-out of Yale University in the US, will initially focus on a therapeutic vaccine for people living with HIV.
A new research collaboration potentially covering multiple therapy types for the treatment of cancer was unveiled by Moderna Inc and Immatics NV on 11 September. The partnership brings together Moderna’s messenger RNA (mRNA) technology with Immatics’ expertise in engineering T cell receptors (TCRs) and developing biologics. The goal is to develop bispecific therapies, vaccines and cell therapies for cancer.