News

US-based Silicon Valley Bank, which supplied capital to some of the county’s most ambitious entrepreneurs, collapsed on 10 March after a run on deposits triggered intervention by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC is an independent agency created by the US Congress to insure bank deposits and maintain public confidence in the nation’s financial institutions. To protect insured depositors, the FDIC closed the bank and created a new entity that will continue to service these customers.

uniQure NV started 2023 with regulatory approvals in both the US and the EU for its gene therapy for haemophilia B as well as a pipeline of seven clinical and pre-clinical gene therapy projects – all in the field of neurology. Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec) for haemophilia B treats a genetic bleeding disorder and is the first gene therapy for this disease. Until its approval, the standards for haemophilia care were factor replacement therapies as well as a bispecific antibody treatment from Roche specifically developed for haemophilia A.

Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc has initiated a merger with a US cell therapy company in order to expand its pipeline and develop therapies for solid tumours. The UK-founded company, which has offices in Oxford and Philadelphia, US, is to combine with TCR2 Therapeutics Inc in an all-share transaction valued at about $103 million. The combined company will be 75% controlled by Adaptimmune shareholders, and 25% by those from TCR2. The company will list on the Nasdaq market under Adaptimmune’s stock symbol and be led by Adrian Rawcliffe, the current Adaptimmune CEO.

The Food and Drug Administration is to allow Intellia Therapeutics Inc to include the US in its global trial of a genome editing therapy for hereditary angioedema (HAE), a rare protein deficiency that can cause swelling in multiple parts of the body. To date, the Phase 1/2 study has been taking place at sites in the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK. The addition of sites in the US will increase the geographical reach of the programme, as well as the number of patients receiving the experimental therapy. Intellia is based in Cambridge, US.

Netherlands-based argenx SE expects to report data from multiple clinical trials of its lead product Vyvgart (efgartigimod) this year and in 2024 in a bid to secure a pivotal position in the sector for severe autoimmune diseases. Specifically, the company aims to build a market position around its knowledge of how the blockade of a protein called the neonatal Fc receptor can help patients overcome a host of serious pathologies.

Bayer AG will install a new chief executive on 1 June as it looks to expand its business across the agricultural, pharmaceuticals and consumer health sectors. The new CEO, Bill Anderson, is a former Roche executive with experience in the development and commercialisation of new medicines. He will take up the position on 1 June, succeeding Werner Baumann who has been with Bayer for 35 years.

MorphoSys AG is to stop work on its preclinical research programmes and reduce its workforce in Germany by about 17% in order to marshal resources for its late-stage oncology pipeline. The company announced the decision on 2 March to the Nasdaq and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges where it is listed, alongside a separate press release for investors. MorphoSys is due to report its 2022 fourth quarter and annual results on 15 March.

Pfizer Inc is reportedly holding talks to acquire Seagen Inc, the developer of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on 26 February. This comes several months after Seagen was courted by Merck & Co Inc, but these negotiations failed to conclude. The discussions with Merck reportedly centered on a deal worth $40 billion or more. Seagen currently has a market value of about $30 billion and would be expected to seek a premium over that price, the newspaper said.

Bolstered by $60 million in receipts from a private share placement, Immunic Inc ended 2022 with cash and investments of $116.4 million, enabling it to fund the clinical development of its products for multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and celiac disease into the fourth quarter of 2024. The financing, completed in October 2022, was supported by new and existing investors including Deep Track Capital, Commodore Capital and BVF Partners LP.

Galapagos NV ended 2022 with a new chief executive and a restructured pipeline that will expand the company’s research and development capabilities into biologics and cell therapies in addition to its traditional small molecule franchise. At a therapeutic level, the company dropped activities in fibrosis and kidney disease and will concentrate on immunology and oncology.