Fluidic Analytics Ltd, a 2013 spin-out from the University of Cambridge’s chemistry department, has raised £5.3 million in a Series B investment round to progress its line of laboratory research tools for characterising proteins that can reveal an individual’s disease state or state of health.
Bayer AG has agreed to pay $128 per share in an all-cash bid for Monsanto Co to create one of the largest suppliers of seeds and agricultural chemicals. Including debt, the transaction is valued at $66 billion and is one of the largest German takeovers of a US company.
Promimic AB, a Swedish biomaterials company, has secured SEK 23.8 million (€2.49 million) in new equity to prepare for the commercial launch of its orthopaedic and dental implant products in the US.
Verily Life Sciences LLC, a subsidiary of the IT conglomerate Alphabet Inc, and Sanofi SA, have created a jointly owned company called Onduo which will provide services to patients with Type 2 diabetes by tapping into the potential of big data to help patients manage their disease. Onduo will be based in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the mecca of the global biotech industry.
A study of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who were treated with a new GlaxoSmithKline Plc medicine compared with the standard of care, has shown a benefit for the new medicine in everyday clinical practice.
Rigontec GmbH, which is developing RNA-based immunotherapeutics for cancer and viral diseases, has completed a €29.25 million series A funding with a final €15 million tranche issued to its venture capital shareholders.
Camstent Ltd, which is developing a bacteria-resistant polymer coating for medical devices, has raised £850,000 from a combination of existing and new investors to bring its first product to market – a polymer coated catheter designed to prevent urinary tract infections.
Bayer AG has raised its non-binding offer to buy Monsanto Co for a third time since May to $127.50 per share. A report in The Wall Street Journal on 5 September indicates that the two companies are having constructive talks.
Preliminary data from a national immunisation programme in the UK for the meningitis B vaccine Bexsero has shown the vaccine to be effective in infants up to the age of one year. Bexsero is currently the only meningococcal B vaccine licensed in Europe.
In keeping with the widespread interest in precision medicine, OncoDNA SA, a privately held company that identifies cancer treatment options for doctors and patients, has raised €7.7 million in an equity placement.