Galapagos NV more than doubled its revenue in 2016 while paring its operating loss to a manageable €11.4 million compared with €89.4 million a year earlier. Moreover, the Belgian company finished the year with cash holdings of €980.9 million, which was greater than the cumulative investments made by all equity investors in the company since its founding in 1999.
Sweden-based venture capital fund HealthCap has provided funds to a new company that is developing alpha-particle emitting radiotherapeutics for cancer. Fusion Pharmaceuticals of Canada has raised $25 million in a Series A financing round.
Ablynx NV, which has a portfolio of therapeutic proteins derived from the llama, reported a 10% increase in revenue to €85.2 million for 2016, but a wider operating loss of €28.6 million mainly due to higher clinical research expenses.
Belgium-based UCB SA saw its underlying profit increase by 26% to €1.03 billion in 2016 as its core neurology and immunology products achieved higher sales and the growth in operating expenses was kept in check. Further profit growth is expected this year.
Genmab A/S reported a 60% increase in revenue to DKK 1.8 billion (€244.27 million) in 2016, largely due to higher than expected royalties on sales of Darzalex (daratumumab), a treatment for multiple myeloma, as well as milestone payments from its licensee Janssen Biotech Inc.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the monoclonal antibody brodalumab to treat adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, an autoimmune disorder that causes patches of redness and flaking on the skin.
The coming into force next year of new European rules governing clinical trials will simplify trial application procedures and make more study information available to the public. At a meeting of the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice on 22 February, healthcare professionals discussed how the new rules on transparency should build public confidence in the regulatory system and avoid potentially serious accidents.
Shire Plc’s financial performance in 2016 reflected the impact of its acquisition of Baxalta Inc, its largest takeover to date, as well as the integration of Dyax Corp, a developer of products for rare diseases which was acquired in 2015.
Scientists at the Salk Institute in California, US have described a series of experiments in which they were able to integrate stem cells from one species into the early-stage development of another. The research was published in the 26 January 2017 edition of Cell, and raises hopes for transplantation.
Merck & Co Inc is the latest company to abandon a programme for treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease because the treatment failed to show efficacy. On 14 February, the US company said it was stopping a Phase 2/3 study of verubecestat, an inhibitor of beta-secretase 1 (BACE1).