Ducentis Biotherapeutics Ltd. has been acquired by Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. for up to $400 million, representing a landmark moment for seed investor Lifearc Ventures, which aims to kick-start promising biotechs in the U.K. while giving any investment returns to its parent medical charity.
Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Ducentis Biotherapeutics Inc., a preclinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapies for inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
For privately held Good Therapeutics Inc., founded in 2016 with a platform technology for developing context-dependent therapeutics, the plan had always been to seek a buyer for the first asset to emerge. One came along a little earlier than expected, as Roche Holding AG entered a merger agreement for Good, picking up preclinical-stage PD-1-regulated IL-2 program, in exchange for an up-front cash payment of $250 million.
With a diminishing number of deals in the last month, the gap between deal values this year compared with each of the last two years has shrunk. In August, 2022 deal values were ahead of 2021 by 7% and of 2020 by 2%. Now, in early September, they are ahead of last year by 0.6% and behind 2020 by 3.5%. Volumes, which were down by 23% last month, are now down by 26%.
An administrative law judge has decreed that the acquisition of Grail Inc., by Illumina Inc., would not represent a suppression of competition in the market for multicancer early detection (MCED) tests, clearing a way for an acquisition that was initially valued at more than $7 billion.
Shares in Forma Therapeutics Holdings Inc. gained 51% as Novo Nordisk A/S made a $20-per-share offer that values the firm’s equity at $1.1 billion. The stock (NASDA:FMTX) had closed at $13.40 prior to the disclosure of the bid on Sept. 1. It closed the day at $20.24, up $6.84, suggesting at least some optimistic investors believe the final price could go higher.
Ocean Biomedical Inc., a company with preclinical programs in oncology, fibrosis, infectious disease treatments and vaccines, is poised to go public via a merger with Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Second Sight Medical Products Inc. completed a reverse merger with Nano Precision Medical Inc. which leaves the controversial visual prosthetics company holding 23% of the new company, now called Vivani Medical Inc. The deal brings together two unlikely partners, with Nano Precision targeting development of miniaturized, subdermal drug implants for chronic diseases such as diabetes, while Second Sight has focused on bringing its Orion visual prosthetic device to market. The company now trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol VANI.
In pursuit of "an opportunity to accelerate the establishment of clinical development and commercial capabilities in the U.K.," Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. said it will buy Diurnal Group plc for about £48.3 million (US$56.5 million). Cardiff, U.K.-based Diurnal is a specialty pharma developing hormone therapies for rare and chronic endocrine conditions. The all-cash transaction represented a 144% premium of the Aug. 26 closing price of Diurnal shares (LSE:DNL). Shares closed 134.7% higher Aug. 30 at £26.40.
Hansoh Healthtech Co. Ltd., part of Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor from Beijing Huayi Health Drug Discovery Institute, also known as the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI). The deal includes ¥12 million (US$1.8 million) up front and up to ¥1.68 billion in potential milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales.
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