Windtree Therapeutics Inc. is out-licensing China rights for phase III-ready heart failure candidate istaroxime to Lee’s Pharmaceutical Ltd. for $138 million, plus royalties. Lee’s, of Hong Kong, plans to begin a phase III study for istaroxime in acute heart failure in greater China, while Windtree, of Warrington, Pa., will conduct a global trial in cardiogenic shock, a form of sudden heart failure. Windtree reported positive phase II data in April 2022 that tested istaroxime in cardiogenic shock, which happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to vital organs.
Taiwan’s Bora Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. is acquiring Upsher-Smith Laboratories Inc. from Sawai Group Holdings Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Corp. of Americas for $210 million to boost its commercial presence in the U.S.
A tire company is the latest to test out the waters of the biopharmaceutical industry with Tirebank Co. Ltd. and 13 affiliated individuals becoming the largest shareholders in flailing Korean antibody biotech Pharmabcine Inc. with a 13.31% stake.
Korean confectionary company Orion Holdings Inc. is growing its biotech presence by purchasing a majority stake of 25% in one of the hottest Korean antibody-drug conjugate developers, Legochem Biosciences Inc., although stocks dropped on the news. Under the contract announced Jan. 15, Seoul-headquartered Orion agreed to acquire a 25.73% stake in Daejeon-based Legochem by securing about 9.36 million shares for a total of ₩548.7 billion (US$412.11 million) by the deadline of March 29, 2024.
U.S. biopharma Sermonix Pharmaceuticals Inc. handed off China rights of lasofoxifene, an oral endocrine therapy in development for breast cancer, to Shanghai’s Henlius Biotech Inc., for an undisclosed up-front payment and up to $58 million in milestone fees.
Shanghai-based Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals has signed a number of licensing deals over the last week for China rights to cardiovascular drugs to advance its pipeline and its global ambitions, partnering most recently with Tokyo-based TMS Co. Ltd. after the Chinese company acquired global rights for TMS-007 (also known as BIIB-131) from Biogen Inc.
Boston-based Praxis Precision Medicines Inc.’s shares rose nearly 25% on Jan. 8 after it announced a pipeline update and licensing deal for its tremor drug, ulixacaltamide (PRAX-944), with Shanghai’s Tenacia Biotechnology Co. Ltd.
Amid a flurry of dealmaking activity to start 2024, Allorion Therapeutics Inc., a 2020 startup based in Natick, Mass., and Guangzhou, China, has been extra busy. Two days after disclosing a potential $540 million deal with Astrazeneca plc, Allorion inked a licensing agreement with Avenzo Therapeutics Inc. that could total more than $1 billion.
Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Inc. is picking up LG Chem Ltd.’s oral small-molecule drug, LB-54640, for potentially $305 million, effectively growing its MC4R pipeline that houses U.S. FDA-approved Imcivree (setmelanotide) for genetic obesity disorders.
Amid a flurry of dealmaking activity to start 2024, Allorion Therapeutics Inc., a 2020 startup based in Natick, Mass., and Guangzhou, China, has been extra busy. Two days after disclosing a potential $540 million deal with Astrazeneca plc, Allorion inked a licensing agreement with Avenzo Therapeutics Inc. that could total more than $1 billion.
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