Genenta Science SpA, an Italian gene therapy company, began trading on the US Nasdaq market on 15 December following an initial public offering that yielded gross proceeds to the company of about $36 million. On the second day of trading, the company had a market capitalisation of $196 million. Genenta is one of many European company to list on Nasdaq in order to broaden its investor base and establish a commercial presencez in the US.
Vaccitech Plc, co-inventor of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, is to acquire a US company with a complementary technology platform, positioning it for a further geographical expansion. The target company, Avidea Technologies Inc, has a similar research history to Vaccitech, but a different discovery platform. Vaccitech is paying $40 million upfront for Avidea of which $12.5 million is cash and $27.5 million is in shares. There is also a possibility of milestone payments. Vaccitech is listed on the US Nasdaq market.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug for the prevention of acute graft versus host disease (GvHD), a condition that occurs when donor bone marrow or stem cells attack healthy tissues in a patient undergoing a treatment for certain cancers, or an organ transplant. The drug, Orencia (abatacept), is already on the market having been approved for rheumatoid arthritis in 2005. The manufacturer is Bristol Myers Squibb Co.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co has launched its second preclinical collaboration with Immatics NV in order to explore the potential of an antibody-like bispecific molecule as a treatment for solid tumours. The newest agreement, announced on 14 December, gives BMS exclusive rights to an engineered bispecific molecule consisting of a receptor that binds to a cancer target and a region that recruits T cells to the tumour site to become activated. The upfront payment is $150 million.
Depixus SAS has raised €30.6 million in Series A financing to support development of technology that can extract information from DNA, RNA and proteins, thereby generating new insights into the function of the human genome. The round was co-led by Lansdowne Partners and the PSIM Fund which is operated by Bpifrance on behalf of the French state. The new financing brings the company’s total equity and grant funding to more than €41 million.
Switzerland-based Vifor Pharma Group is to be acquired by CSL Ltd of Australia for CHF 10.9 billion ($11.7 billion) creating one of the largest companies in nephrology and cardio-renal therapies. The merger comes less than a month after Vifor itself purchased two smaller companies.
The US Food and Drug Administration has placed clinical holds on six trials of the HIV medicine islatravir after some trial participants showed a decrease in total lymphocyte and CD4+ T cell counts – a sign of weakened immune systems. Developed by Merck & Co Inc, islatravir is being studied for both the treatment and prevention of HIV-1 infection. “With the FDA’s clinical hold, no new studies may be initiated,” the company announced on 13 December.
A new study by researchers from the University of Oxford has shown that the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has the potential to increase infections among the population, including individuals who have already been vaccinated. However there is no evidence thus far that the variant can cause severe disease, hospitalisation or deaths in vaccinated populations.
Sanofi SA is to expand its vaccine capacity with the acquisition of a privately-owned Austrian company, Origimm Biotechnology GmbH, that has a candidate product for acne vulgaris, a common, chronic skin disease. Acne vulgaris is linked to the bacterium Cutibacterium acnes, a complex Gram positive bacteria. The therapeutic vaccine, which is based on recombinant proteins, entered clinical studies in the third quarter.
A French start-up company with assets in-licensed from Sanofi SA has raised €12 million in seed financing to discover potential drugs for heart failure. Corteria Pharmaceuticals SAS will use data from subpopulations of patients with cardiovascular disease to identify targets for new therapies.