Radiopharmaceutical company Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has inked a deal worth up to AU$264 million (US$171 million) to license and develop next-generation radiopharma imaging and therapy technology targeting fibroblast activation proteins found in a wide range of cancers.
Zai Lab and Pfizer Inc. are teaming up in China to fight the deadly carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infection with novel antibacterial drug Xacduro (sulbactam-durlobactam). Through the collaboration, Zai Lab will leverage Pfizer’s commercial infrastructure in the anti-infective space to widen access to Xacduro in mainland China. Terms of the deal were not released.
Kura Oncology Inc. and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. have joined hands in a global strategic collaboration worth $1.49 billion to develop and commercialize ziftomenib, Kura’s selective oral menin inhibitor for treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematologic malignancies.
Vitalli Bio Inc. terminated a potential $477 million licensing deal for autoimmune disease drug, DWP-213388, signed a year ago with Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., although Vitalli still retains option rights to two more dual inhibitor candidates that could fetch up to $941 million.
Biopharma deal activity in October totaled $22.31 billion, marking a 72% jump from $13.01 billion in September. Year-to-date deal values have decreased by 2%, from $175.29 billion during the first 10 months of 2023 to $171.77 billion in the same period this year, positioning 2024 as the second-highest year on record, according to BioWorld.
Keymed Biosciences Co. Ltd. is out-licensing global rights, excluding China, for its bispecific antibody, CM-336, to Platina Medicines Ltd. in a deal worth up to $626 million plus sales royalties.
Merck & Co. Inc. has in-licensed Lanova Medicines Ltd.’s PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody LM-299 in a deal worth up to $2.7 billion in a move to bolster its Keytruda (pembrolizumab) fortress. Under terms of the deal, Merck (known as MSD outside the U.S.) gains an exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and commercialize LM-299 in exchange for an up-front payment of $588 million. Shanghai-based Lanova is eligible to receive up to $2.7 billion in milestone payments associated with the technology transfer, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of LM-299 across multiple indications.
Apollo Therapeutics Group Ltd. and Sunshine Lake Pharma Co. Ltd. inked a potential $938 million licensing deal for APL-18881 (HEC-88473), Sunshine’s dual fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21)/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist currently in a phase II study for type 2 diabetes.
Celltrion Inc. said it would acquire Iqone Healthcare Switzerland SA in the fourth quarter of 2024 for about ₩30 billion (US$21.34 million) to expand its European business. “This move represents a strategic shift in our growth strategy,” Taehun Ha, Celltrion vice president and Europe head, said in a statement Nov. 15.
University of Auckland senior research fellow Jeff Smaill first visited China in 2012 as part of a team of 15 scientists from the Maurice Wilkins Center, one of New Zealand’s centers of excellence, to meet with scientists at the Guangzhou Institute of Medicine and Health to find partners to collaborate on drug development projects. The scientists started collaborating that year, and the first project is already in phase I trials in China. It was a joint discovery and development partnership from the beginning, he said.
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