Facing inevitable challenges ahead beyond peak performance for its wildly successful cystic fibrosis franchise, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is continuing to look to the future, announcing Aug. 24 it licensed rights to CRISPR gene-editing technology from Arbor Biotechnologies Inc. Co-founded by Feng Zhang and David Walt, Arbor's tech could figure into new Vertex cell therapies for diabetes, hemoglobinopathies and other diseases.
In one of the biggest collaboration deals of the year, Shape Therapeutics Inc. entered a collaboration and license agreement with Roche Holding AG to develop gene therapies for targets in areas that include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and rare diseases. Seattle-based Shape is eligible to receive an initial payment, development, regulatory and sales milestone payments that could exceed $3 billion in aggregate value.
Building on a March deal leveraging lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology from Genevant Sciences Corp. to fight liver fibrosis, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has signed a second agreement with the company for the development and commercialization of therapies for up to two rare liver diseases. The deal includes up to $303 million in up-front and potential milestone payments for Genevant, plus royalties on possible product sales, adding to the first deal's similarly structured $600 million package.
Pfizer Inc. has turned up the temperature in the already hot CD47 inhibitor space by offering $18.50 per share or $2.26 billion cash to acquire Trillium Therapeutics Inc., a biotech with two clinical-stage CD47 inhibitors.
The completion of the third largest biopharmaceutical acquisition on record has significantly boosted M&A values in 2021, although the industry still falls more than 38% below the same period last year.
Illumina Inc.’s acquisition of cancer diagnostic specialist Grail Inc. is on go in a $7.1 billion transaction that is structured so that it can be unwound with limited impact on Illumina. However, a number of regulatory entities are closely scrutinizing the deal for a potential regulatory challenge, a fact of life that shaved nearly 10% off the value of the company’s shares in early Aug. 19 trading, and which could ultimately scuttle the transaction altogether.
Visus Therapeutics Inc. has expanded its ophthalmic drug portfolio, in-licensing investigational therapies for glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration from Cella Therapeutics LLC, which will be developed by Finland’s Delsitech Ltd. using its extended-release depot technology.
Innocare Pharma Ltd. has signed a licensing agreement with Incyte Corp. for the exclusive rights to the monoclonal antibody Monjuvi (tafasitamab) for hematology and oncology indications in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Under the terms of the deal, Innocare will pay Incyte an up-front fee of $35 million, as well as up to $82.5 million in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones and tiered royalties.
Abclon Inc. has filled the missing link in its development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) by partnering with Abtis Co. Ltd. and gaining access to its ADC linker.
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has added two potential drugs to its pipeline targeting autoimmune and kidney-related diseases through an acquisition and a licensing deal. Victoria, British Columbia-based Aurinia is building on its first ever FDA approval at the beginning of the year, for Lupkynis (voclosporin) for treating active lupus nephritis in adults.
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