Oxford Biotrans Ltd, a spin-out of the University of Oxford, has received £2.5 million in a Series A funding round to commercialise an enzyme technology that has application to soft drinks and confectionary as well as to pharmaceuticals.
France-based TxCell SA has raised €8 million in a private share placement to support development of its two lead cell therapy products, the first of which is in a Phase 2b study in patients with refractory Crohn’s disease. The funds will also support general R&D and manufacturing activities.
Evotec AG has deepened its commercial ties with Sanofi SA with an agreement to develop a beta cell replacement therapy for people with diabetes. The German company is already working with Harvard University on beta cell technology.
Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG has raised CHF 27.7 million (€25.79 million) from new and existing investors for the anticipated launch of Raxone, a product for the treatment of Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited form of vision loss.
Novo Nordisk A/S, one of the world’s largest producers of diabetes products, reported a 25% increase in net sales for the first half of 2015 and a 57% rise in operating profit but much of the gain resulted from a higher value for the dollar.
CureVac GmbH is to start a third project with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this time to develop a vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus. The partners are already working on vaccines against HIV and rotavirus.
UCB SA reported sharply higher revenue and profit for the first half-year, buoyed by favourable exchange rates and sharply higher sales for a trio of drugs for neurological and inflammatory diseases. Revenue was up by 21% to €1.92 billion while operating profit rose by 173% to €415 million.
A team of scientists using technology from the Swiss company Humabs BioMed SA has isolated an antibody from a patient infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, which has been found to be effective in mice. The findings were reported by Davide Corti, Humabs’ chief scientific officer, and colleagues on 27 July in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Interim results from a Phase 3 trial in Guinea of a candidate vaccine against the Ebola virus have shown the agent to be safe and effective within six to 10 days of vaccination. The trial data were announced by Merck & Co Inc and published online in The Lancet on 31 July.
Shire Plc is set to pay $300 million to acquire privately-held Foresight Biotherapeutics Inc which has a late-stage candidate drug for infectious conjunctivitis which is under investigation for both viral and bacterial forms of the disease.