Deep Apple Therapeutics Inc. could bring in as much as $812 million in a new collaboration and license deal with Novo Nordisk A/S. The total includes an unspecified up-front payment, research costs and milestones. The two plan to develop and commercialize oral small molecules for non-incretin GPCR targets for treating cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity, a core specialty for Novo Nordisk. Deep Apple’s machine-learning based platform will be used for drug discovery while Novo gets the global development, manufacturing and commercialization rights. Deep Apple, created and incubated by Apple Tree Partners, raised a $52 million series A in late 2023.

Philochem, BMS ink $1.35B deal for prostate cancer candidate OncoACp3

Philochem AG’s ligand-targeting approach drew to the table Bristol Myers Squibb Co. in a potential $1.35 billion deal granting BMS subsidiary Rayzebio Inc. exclusive worldwide rights to OncoACP3, a diagnostic and therapeutic small-molecule candidate targeting prostate cancer. Under the terms, Philochem is getting $350 million up front, with up to $1 billion tied to development, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus mid-single-digit to low-double-digit royalties. The news sent shares of Philochem’s parent company, Philogen Group, up 21% on the Italian Stock Exchange June 11.

3Sbio revs on with phase II data in tight PD-1/VEGF bispecific race

3Sbio Inc. reported interim phase II study results of its PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, SSGJ-707 – a “fabulous” asset, according to Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Bourla, that landed in Pfizer’s cancer arsenal via a potential $6 billion deal in May, of which $1.2 billion was paid up front. “We paid $1.2 billion,” Bourla said at the Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference June 9. “I hope we will pay $6 billion.” The latest study results penned by Lin Wu, of Hunan Cancer Hospital in Changsha, China, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology May 28, and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting last month, showed “promising” efficacy results of SSGJ-707 in treatment-naïve patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, along with a “manageable” safety profile.

Is US willing to pay the price of drug security?

When it comes to the U.S. biopharma market, pricing seems to be the driving focus of most congressional conversations. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., hit pause on that conversation today at a House subcommittee hearing on the drug supply chain, when he asked, “Are we sacrificing security for price?” Noting China’s move to control rare earth mineral exports, Bentz asked what prevents the U.S. from being in similar trouble in the biopharmaceutical sector. “Nothing,” Ronald Piervincenzi, CEO of U.S. Pharmacopeia, responded.

Series B brings Slicebio $135M for Stargardt disease asset

Three months after dosing the first patient with its dual vector gene therapy, Splicebio SL has closed a $135 million series B to fund the phase I/II trial of SB-007 in the treatment of Stargardt’s disease to completion. Other adeno-associated virus gene therapies for the inherited retinal disorder have entered the clinic, but SB-007 is the first with the capacity to deliver a full version of the ABCA4 gene that underlies Stargardt’s. That gives SB-007 the potential to treat all patients with the autosomal recessive disease, regardless of their specific mutations.

Newco news: Mosanna launches with $80M for sleep apnea drug

Mosanna secured $80 million in a series A round to develop MOS-118 as a treatment for the nearly 1 billion people globally with obstructive sleep apnea. The newco estimates that the capital will allow the company to get through both a phase I and phase II program for the drug.

ABPI: UK’s rebate rates ‘send a terrible message’ to global investors

The U.K. government has doubled the rate that pharmaceutical companies must repay on sales of branded drugs, under the statutory rebate scheme, to a record 31.3%. Only 1-2% of total sales of branded drugs fall under the statutory scheme, but the increase is seen as a sign that an ongoing review of the voluntary scheme is not going well. “The U.K.’s sky-high and unpredictable payment rates send a terrible message to international investors, at a time when the U.K. is trying to position life sciences research as an engine for health and growth,” said Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

Also in the news

32 Biosciences, Abbsiko, Alys, Anatares, Bioduro-Sundia, Biorestorative, Cervomed, Cristcot, Curadev, Day One, Deepcure, Devonian, Eluminex, Enhanced Genomics, Fibrobiologics, Fibrogen, Gilead, Grifols, Idorsia, Innoviva, Insmed, Jazz, Lyell, Macrogenics, Medicovestor, Merck, Microbiotica, Neurocrine, Odyssey, Outlook, Pierre, Recursion, Renibus, Sanyou, Scorpion, Silicogenix, Synaptixbio, Tevard, Unicycive, Vivavision, X4, XL-protein