News

The antibody developer ArGEN-X NV has joined forces with the dermatology expert LEO Pharma A/S to investigate an antibody therapeutic for the treatment of inflammation-related skin diseases.

The future of the anti-inflammatory drug brodalumab is under review following a decision by Amgen Inc to quit a co-development and commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca Plc. This follows the observation of suicidal ideation and behaviour in a Phase 3 programme.

Merck Serono has extended its reproductive health franchise to include rights to three in vitro fertilization (IVF) products developed by Genea Biomedx Ltd of Australia. The financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

In a reversal of a recent trend, Boston-based PureTech Health Plc is planning to launch an initial public offering of shares on the London Stock Exchange with the intention of raising $160 million. In recent months, most life science IPOs have taken place in the US.

Biotech companies continued to enjoy substantial investment in the first quarter, especially for early-stage companies. But the bulk of this capital was raised through initial public offerings (IPOs) in the US rather than Europe. Panelists at a recent BioTrinity conference in London debated whether this imbalance in funding opportunity was likely to have long-term term consequences for the European industry.

Circassia Pharmaceuticals Plc is raising £275 million on the London Stock Exchange following its initial public offering in March 2014 of £202 million. The developer of immunotherapies for allergies will use the proceeds to buy two other companies for an aggregate of up to £239 million.

Roche has announced that two Phase 1/2 studies of its anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor (ALK) drug alectinib shrank tumours in patients with ALK-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer whose disease had progressed following treatment with crizotinib.

Juno Therapeutics Inc has acquired Stage Cell Therapeutics GmbH, a privately-owned biotechnology company in Germany, in order gain access to research and manufacturing technologies and to a pipeline of clinical and preclinical assets.

Pfizer Inc has acquired a minority stake in privately-held AM-Pharma BV which has a Phase 2 product for acute kidney injury related to sepsis. The US company made an upfront payment of $87.5 million to AM-Pharma in early May for the stake, and also secured an exclusive option to buy the rest of the company.

Gilead Sciences Inc has acquired privately-held EpiTherapeutics ApS for $65 million in cash. The Denmark-based company has a library of small molecules that inhibit the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription which has uses in combating cancer.