While the value of partnerships and collaborations have climbed mostly upward in recent years, the most impressive increase has been seen with deals that are worth $1 billion or more – led in 2023 with a $22 billion antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) pact between Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Merck & Co. Inc. But even without the October 2023 Daiichi/Merck partnership, the fourth quarter (Q4) of last year recorded a record number of high-money deals in the fields of cell and gene therapies, molecular glue degraders and ADCs, as well as in artificial intelligence efforts. According to BioWorld data, 2023’s Q4 hit an eight-year high for these types of mega-deals, not only in terms of volume, but in terms of value as well: There were 26 such deals worth $69.04 billion during the quarter. The crux of the matter, however, is that “despite the high potential value (in ‘biobucks’) of some of these partnership deals, the up-front value is generally far lower,” according to the 2024 EY M&A Firepower report released Jan. 8.

FOS drawing drug developer interest; Xenon speaks at JPM

Attendees at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco heard from Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. about the pipeline, including the phase III program testing XEN-1101 in focal-onset seizures (FOS). The space is bubbling, with names such as Biohaven Ltd. and Praxis Precision Medicines Inc. advancing prospects for the condition. Several million adults are afflicted with FOS in the U.S., with close to a half-million pediatric patients.

USPTO’s new enablement guidelines push for consistency

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published new employee guidelines this week to provide more consistency across technologies to ensure patent applications truly enable the breadth of the claims in keeping with the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi SA. “These guidelines will promote consistent analysis of the enablement requirement by examiners and Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges, which will result in clearer USPTO communications to applicants, patentees, and relevant third parties regarding any deficiencies in enablement compliance,” USPTO Director Kathi Vidal said in releasing the new guidelines.

Innovation in hard times: learning to endure for better days

Tough times can create great companies if they can navigate the turbulence, a panel of biopharma executives and academics told attendees at the Wuxi Global Forum 2024. The panel emphasized that disparate financial and scientific cycles will never go away, so being smart about choices and learning patience is key to success. Artificial intelligence captured a great amount of the panel’s attention, with one member cautioning about the overexuberance and overinvestment he sees in the sector. This new technology, another panel member added, is a tremendous opportunity for learning to understand the genetic validation of targets.

Newco news: Actimed continues raising funds to progress improved cancer cachexia asset

With a sizeable series B financing well underway, Actimed Therapeutics Ltd. is preparing to advance its compound, S-pindolol benzoate (ACM-001), into a phase IIb/III trial to treat cachexia secondary to colorectal cancer, having also recently completed a £4.75 million (US$5 million) series A extension round. Although the Berkshire, U.K.-based firm has not disclosed exact figures for its series B, Robin Bhattarcherjee, CEO of Actimed, told BioWorld it was looking at a “big raise,” that is “several multiples” higher than the £9.75 million raised so far, driven largely by the unmet need in treating cachexia.

China’s NMPA accepts Hutchmed’s sovleplenib NDA for primary immune thrombocytopenia

China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has accepted for review Hutchmed’s NDA for sovleplenib (HMPL-523) for treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).The NDA is supported by data from the Eslim-01 pivotal trial that met its primary endpoint of demonstrating a clinically meaningful and a statistically significant increase in durable response rate in patients treated with sovleplenib compared to placebo. A novel, selective, oral inhibitor targeting spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk), being developed for the treatment of hematological malignancies and immune diseases, sovleplenib has priority review status and breakthrough therapy designation for ITP.

Also in the news

Aclaris, Acorda, Aim Immunotech, Alcon, Alkeus, Alvotech, Arch, Ariceum, Aviceda, Bio-Path, Cantargia, Clearmind Medicine, Constant, Eisai, Eyepoint, Fermion, GSK, Inventiva, Junshi, Marius, Medincell, Mirati, Mitochon, Nodus Oncology, Praxis, Spago Nanomedical, Stada, Taysha Gene Therapies, Tme, Valneva, Vaxil, Vertex, Vyne