Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. agreed to codevelop and commercialize up to three of Innovent Biologics Co. Ltd.’s immuno-oncology (I-O) and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates with the signing of a $11.4 billion deal, including $1.2 billion paid up front. Announced after U.S. market hours Oct. 21, the $1.2 billion up-front payment includes a $100 million equity investment by Takeda through the issuance of new shares at HK$112.56 (US$14.49) per share – representing a 20% premium. Innovent is also eligible to receive up to $10.2 billion in milestones, inclusive of payments for all three candidates.

Alkermes grabs Avadel in $2.1B deal; Avadel settles with Jazz

Alkermes plc disclosed an agreement to take over Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc for up to $20 per share in cash, which values Avadel at about $2.1 billion and represents a premium of 38% to the weighted average trading price over the last three months and 12% to the closing price on Oct. 21. Both boards have cleared the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. Wall Street seemed to take the move in stride, with shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) trading at $31.60, up 15 cents, and those of Avadel (NASDAQ:AVDL) selling for $18.60, up 72 cents. Separately, Avadel said it has resolved a patent dispute with Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc over Lumryz (sodium oxybate), the U.S. FDA-approved therapy for cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness in adults with narcolepsy. Among other terms, Jazz will make a $90 million payment to Avadel, which won the green light for Lumryz in early May 2023.

Alector stock and staff halved after phase III fail in dementia

The failure of Alector Inc.’s phase III study of latozinemab in treating dementia halved the company’s stock at midday. That is also about the same percentage of staff that Alector is letting go after the clinical trial stumble. The study, part of a collaboration with GSK plc, missed its co-primary endpoint of slowing progranulin gene mutation in patients with frontotemporal dementia. It produced a statistically significant effect on the biomarker co-primary endpoint of plasma progranulin concentrations but secondary and exploratory endpoints produced no treatment-related effect on the participants. The company’s stock (NASDAQ:ALEC) at midday was trading at $1.58, a drop of 50.6%.

Newco Elevara raises $70M for phase II trial of CDK4/6 inhibitor in RA

Elevara Medicines Ltd. has raised $70 million in a series A to fund a phase IIa/IIb trial of ELV-001, a first-in-class, oral cyclin dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor, in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in patients who do not have an adequate response to methotrexate and anti-TNF biologic therapies. ELV-001 (formerly TCK-276) was discovered by Teijin Pharma Co. Ltd., which carried out the phase I/Ib development. Now Elevara has acquired full rights to develop and commercialize the product worldwide, with Teijin having an equity stake and due to receive milestone payments.

Flagship Pioneering launches Expedition to advance covalent-binding drugs

Expedition Medicines, which Flagship Pioneering has incubated for the past three years, came out of stealth mode with a $50 million commitment from Flagship to support Expedition’s platform technology to discover small molecules that can covalently bind to their target. The linkage doesn’t require the deep pockets needed for ionic-binding drugs and can therefore potentially drug targets that have previously been deemed undruggable. Through a 2023 agreement between Pfizer Inc. and Flagship, Expedition has been using its platform to identify drug candidates for multiple targets in prostate cancer that Pfizer is interested in.

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