News

One of the UK’s most promising vaccine developers, Acambis Plc, has agreed to be acquired by Sanofi Pasteur Holding in an all-cash deal valued at £276 million.

Four days after announcing its first ever research agreement with the University of Cambridge in the UK, GlaxoSmithKline has disclosed a five-year collaboration with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in the US to discover new therapies based on stem cell science.

The main scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is recommending that two new medicines for use in surgical settings be granted marketing authorisations in Europe. But it has rejected an application for a new therapy  to treat an inherited disorder known as Friedreich’s Ataxia. In a third decision, it reversed an earlier negative opinion for an orphan drug for adults with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Roche said that it has agreed to pay C$191 million in cash for a Canadian biotechnology company, ARIUS Research Inc, which has developed a new antibody platform.

The European Medicines Agency has recommended restrictions on the oral use of medicines containing norfloxacin for the treatment of urinary infections.

Roche said that it has reached an agreement to take over the privately-owned Mirus Bio Corporation of Madison, Wisconsin, for $125 million in order to gain access to the company’s RNAi delivery technology.

GlaxoSmithKline has signed its first ever research agreement with the University of Cambridge in the UK to develop a novel, centrally-acting agent with therapeutic potential for obesity and addictive disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed.

GlaxoSmithKline has decided to concentrate its research on eight areas, including biopharmaceuticals, and to increase its collaborations with external partners. In the future, up to 50% of the company’s drug discovery programmes could be sourced externally, GSK’s chief executive officer, Andrew Witty, told investors on 23 July 2008.

Shareholders of Genentech Inc initially looked like they would not accept Roche’s cash bid of $89 per share for all the shares of Genentech that it doesn’t already own. Following the takeover announcement on 21 July 2008, Genentech shares were trading above the bid price with an early quote at $93.50.

There is at least one forum every year where biopharmaceutical executives can pose questions directly to the management of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. This is the ‘CDER Town Meeting’ at the annual meeting of the Drug Information Association (DIA).