Shares in Sierra Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:SRRA) surged 38.5% to $54.75 on April 13 as Glaxosmithkline plc made a $55-per-share offer for the company, which values it at $1.9 billion. The offer represents a premium of about 39% on Sierra’s April 12 closing share price of $39.52 and a premium of about 63% over its volume-weighted average share price over the last 30 trading days.
Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is receiving an up-front $35 million with a possible $417 million in regulatory and commercial milestones in its new license and supply agreement with Immedica Pharma AB, of Stockholm. Immedica is getting the exclusive European, Middle Eastern and North African rights to Iomab-B, an antibody radiation conjugate comprising apamistamab, a CD45-targeting antibody, and the radioisotope iodine-131. Actinium is eligible for royalties in the mid-20% range on net sales.
Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has in-licensed Eli Lilly and Co.’s olaratumab antibody, agreeing to pay $5 million up front for exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize radiolabeled forms of the antibody for the diagnosis and treatment of human cancers.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has stress-tested Engitix Ltd.’s extracellular matrix (ECM) drug discovery platform and is coming back for more, expanding the existing collaboration from liver fibrosis to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Cellpoint B.V. has picked up U.S and European rights to a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy from Shenzhen Pregene Biopharma Co. Ltd. Cellpoint will develop and commercialize the candidate, PRG-1801, for the treatment of hematological indications.
U.S. private equity group Carlyle is extending its reach into biotech financing through the acquisition of London-based venture capital firm Abingworth, with which it is forming Launch Therapeutics, an operating company that will fund and manage late-stage clinical development of programs sourced from pharma and biotech companies. The move will enable further scaling of the clinical co-development model Abingworth first devised in 2009.
Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. has out-licensed a preclinical bispecific antibody, HBM-7022, to Astrazeneca plc in a global licensing deal worth up to $350 million.
Everest Medicines Ltd. has formed a partnership with China Resources Pharmaceutical Group (CR Pharma) to co-launch an independent company to focus on the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. The new entity will take over rights Everest obtained through a collaboration with Providence Therapeutics Holdings Inc. They include the full technology platform and Everest’s mRNA manufacturing infrastructure.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Werewolf Therapeutics Inc. signed a licensing pact that could be worth more than $1.26 billion, assigning Jazz exclusive global development and commercialization rights to Werewolf's preclinical cancer prospect, WTX-613, a conditionally activated interferon (IFN)-alpha molecule known as an Indukine that emerged from Werewolf’s Predator protein engineering platform.
Pfizer Inc., with pockets bulging from COVID-19 vaccine money, is taking another step in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) development with its acquisition of Reviral Ltd.
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