South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. and Shanghai-based Ignis Therapeutic Co. Ltd. signed a ₩804 billion (US$58 million) licensing deal on April 18, granting the latter global rights to a non-narcotic pain treatment candidate dubbed SKL-22544. A sodium channel blocker, SKL-22544 is in late discovery.
The new merger guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have proven controversial on several fronts, but now the House of Representatives is weighing in.
Bruker Corp. shows no sign of slowing its buying binge, picking up Nanostring Technologies Inc. for $392.6 million in cash plus the assumption of certain liabilities in its seventh deal so far this year.
Nanostring entered bankruptcy in February and received a “stalking horse” bid of $220 million from private equity fund Patient Square Capital in March. Bruker won the competitive auction for Nanostring’s assets, besting the Patient Square bid by 78%. The deal is expected to close in early May.
BNC Korea Inc. is picking up exclusive commercial rights to Kariya Pharmaceuticals ApS’ dual GLP-1/GIP agonists for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease in five countries – a move that comes shortly after BNC Korea dropped $1.5 million into the Danish pharma for a 4.5% stake.
The new merger guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have proven controversial on several fronts, but now the House of Representatives is weighing in. Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) said the guidelines fail to account for the importance of these transactions for small businesses seeking to grow and requested that the two agencies provide data that would demonstrate whether such concerns were considered in drafting those rules.
As Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) first-quarter revenue missed Wall Street estimates for medical devices on April 16, CEO Joaquin Duato noted that the company will continue to look for major M&A plays to boost long-term growth in the wake of its recently reported $13.1 billion buy of Shockwave Medical Inc.
Following decisions in 2023 to back away from its lead neurological therapies and conserve cash, Eliem Therapeutics Inc. found a vote of investor confidence and a new direction through its acquisition of privately held Tenet Medicines Inc. and its anti-CD19 antibody for autoimmune disease.
As Novartis AG’s approved prostate cancer therapy, Pluvicto (177Lu-PSMA-617), continues on a growth trajectory, the firm signed a licensing deal with Arvinas Inc. potentially valued at north of $1 billion for global development and commercialization of ARV-766, the latter’s second-generation proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) androgen receptor degrader targeting the same disease.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is acquiring Alpine Immune Sciences Inc. for $4.9 billion in cash to gain Alpine’s lead product, phase III-ready povetacicept, which demonstrates best-in-class potential in patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Povetacicept (ALPN-303), or “pove,” holds potential “as a pipeline in a product in a number of other serious renal diseases and cytopenias,” Vertex CEO Reshma Kewalramani said during an April 10 conference call, noting that the deal was “just the right fit with just the right assets at just the right phase of development where Vertex can add value.”
Essential Pharma Ltd. is paying up to £70 million (US$88.7 million) to acquire Renaissance Pharma Ltd., taking ownership of Hu14.18, a treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma. The antibody has completed a 64-patient phase II trial conducted by St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, in which it showed an improvement in overall survival of around 50% compared to currently available therapies.
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