Merck & Co. Inc. has snagged a $290 million development and marketing deal for Orion Corp.’s potential oral prostate cancer drug, ODM-208, which aims to suppress production of hormones that drive this form of cancer.
Pediatric orthopedics company Orthopediatrics Corp. has signed a $33 million deal to buy competitor Pega Medical Inc. As part of the deal, Orthopediatrics will acquire Pega’s Fassier-Duval telescopic intramedullary system. The implant is designed to treat bone deformities in children with osteogenesis imperfecta. Orthopediatrics will pay a $31 million upfront cash payment plus $2 million in stock – which includes certain restrictions for three years.
Samsara Vision Inc. signed a deal with China’s Lansheng Medical Corp. (Myvision) to bring Samsara’s next-generation visual prosthetic devices to mainland China, Macau, the Hanain Province, and Hong Kong.
Numerous life sciences firms are targeting digital health and diagnostic companies for take-outs and licensing deals, placing the med-tech industry in a strong position in 2022.
Futura Medical plc has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with over the counter (OTC) distributor Cooper Consumer Health SAS to commercialize its topical, gel-based erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment Med3000, in the U.K. and Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, Cooper will pay an undisclosed price to Futura to manufacture and supply the product for five years, in compliance with EU competition law.
In sharp contrast with the biopharma industry, the med-tech industry has completed mergers and acquisitions worth a record amount in the first quarter of 2022, with the $63.7 billion combined value towering over every full year prior to 2021.
There’s a growing renewal of interest in CDK9 as a therapeutic target, including by two companies adding to the momentum with a $150 million deal. Sellas Life Sciences Group and Genfleet Therapeutics Inc. entered an exclusive license agreement granting Sellas rights to develop and commercialize the small molecule CDK9 inhibitor GFH-009 outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
There’s a growing renewal of interest in CDK9 as a therapeutic target, including by two companies adding to the momentum with a $150 million deal. Sellas Life Sciences Group and Genfleet Therapeutics Inc. entered an exclusive license agreement granting Sellas rights to develop and commercialize the small molecule CDK9 inhibitor GFH-009 outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Astrazeneca plc is selling its disease management platform Amaze to U.K. digital therapeutics company Huma Therapeutics Ltd. through a new collaboration agreement. The companies said they will work together to launch Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) companion apps for several therapeutic areas and accelerate adoption of decentralized clinical trials (DCTs). The partnership marks Astrazeneca’s first major deal in the digital health space.
As biopharma deal values climb, industry M&As are at a five-year low, not yet showing the pickup in 2022 that some analysts expected. BioWorld has recorded 330 deals, including licensings, joint ventures and collaborations, valued at $44.4 billion so far in 2022. That is a 41% increase in volume and a 31% increase in value over the same time frame last year.
