UCB SA, a Belgian company developing an antibody targeting a toxic protein tied to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), said Roche Holding AG has negotiated an exclusive global license to the potential therapy for $120 million up front, plus almost $2 billion in milestone payments following positive proof of concept for the anti-tau candidate, UCB-0107, in AD.
Chinese biotech startup Lynk Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., of Hangzhou, has in-licensed global rights from Kobe University and Riken Research Institute in Japan to develop renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, which have a novel mechanism of action that can increase chances of developing anti-RAS cancer drugs.
LONDON – Astrazeneca plc is broadening its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) relationship with Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. in a potential $6 billion development and commercialization deal. The two companies are to work together on DS-1062, Daiichi’s trophoblast antigen2 (TROP2) ADC, which is in phase I development in multiple tumors that express the cell surface glycoprotein. These include breast cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), areas of strategic focus for Astrazeneca. The agreement builds on the March 2019 $6.9 billion pact between the two for Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), the HER2-targeted ADC now on course for blockbuster status, following FDA approval in December 2019 and U.S. launch at the start of the year.
The top two biggest money biopharma deals in 2020 occurred in June, putting the month ahead of all other months for the year in terms of deal values and volumes.
Strata Oncology Inc. has inked an agreement with newcomer Elevation Oncology to ramp up patient identification and enrollment for the latter’s phase II CRESTONE study evaluating the use of seribantumab in patients with recurrent, locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors of any origin that have a neuregulin-1 (NRG1) gene fusion.
HONG KONG – Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc. is gaining access to the “library of libraries,” inking an agreement with Twist Bioscience Corp. in one of the Osaka, Japan-based firm’s recent efforts to build a sustained innovative R&D growth engine.
Fulcrum Therapeutics Inc. and Myokardia Inc. agreed to discover, develop and commercialize therapies for treating genetic cardiomyopathies, a deal spun out of two companies with a mutual appreciation of each other’s abilities as well as personal relations and networking, Fulcrum’s CEO told BioWorld.
DUBLIN – Roche Holding AG has joined Jnana Therapeutics Inc. in its quest to drug the human repertoire of solute carrier (SLC) metabolite transporters as a means of tackling a swath of immune-mediated and neurological diseases. The Basel, Switzerland-based pharma is paying Boston-based Jnana $40 million up front and could pay over $1 billion more in research funding, preclinical, development and commercial milestones, as well as sales royalties, in a multitarget deal.
The two-year standstill provision in Assembly Biosciences Inc.’s potential $540 million pact with Beigene Ltd. to advance hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapies was “highly negotiated,” said Jason Okazaki, Assembly’s chief legal and business officer.
LONDON – Glaxosmithkline plc (GSK) is putting £130 million (US$164.3 million) into one of the leading COVID-19 vaccines developers, Curevac AG, acquiring a 10% stake, and will also invest £104 million cash up front to fund research and development of the company’s mRNA vaccines.
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