Finance, Grants, Deals

Two oligonucleotide drugs are to enter the clinic this year for the treatment of Huntington’s disease and epilepsy using a technology that directly targets the brain and spinal cord. The developer, Atalanta Therapeutics Inc of Boston, US, announced the prospective trials on 28 January alongside the close of a $97 million Series B financing round which will bring the candidate therapies up to the clinical proof-of-concept stage. The financing was co-led by the private equity group EQT Life Sciences and Sanofi Ventures.

Netherlands-based Forbion has raised €164.5 million for a fund that supports projects in the food, agriculture, materials and environmental sectors. Founded in late 2023, the BioEconomy Fund I represents a different branch of the biological sciences than Forbion’s traditional pharmaceutical holdings. The goal is to support environmentally-friendly businesses that can shape future behaviour and consumption.

Gilead Sciences Inc. has agreed to spend up to $1.7 billion to acquire rights to a package of preclinical assets directed against inflammatory diseases from LEO Pharma A/S of Denmark. Founded in 1908 and majority owned by a foundation, LEO has a global commercial presence in dermatology. The collaboration with Gilead will give the company financial support to further develop a small molecule programme for the treatment of multiple inflammatory diseases including atopic dermatitis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

GSK Plc is to pay $1 billion upfront and potentially $150 million in milestone payments for IDRx Inc of the US which has an early clinical stage product for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST). The deal was announced at the start of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, US, on 13 January. It marks a significant expansion of the UK company’s portfolio.

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.

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.

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.