As fellow gene editing firm Crispr Therapeutics AG hosted an innovation day in which it confirmed plans for regulatory filings by year-end for an ex vivo gene editing therapy in sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, Precision Biosciences Inc. announced plans to develop an in vivo gene editing approach through a collaboration with Novartis AG that brings Precision an initial $75 million with up to $1.4 billion in potential milestones.
Prognomiq Inc. secured access to 800,000 anonymized biological samples for analysis and detection of dynamic cancer biomarkers as part of a new partnership struck with Kahn-Sagol-Maccabi (KSM), the research and innovation center of Maccabi Healthcare Services, Israel’s largest health maintenance organization. The partnership will enable the creation of a biomarker platform the organizations hope will facilitate early diagnosis and improved outcomes for cancer patients using Prognomiq’s multiomics platform.
Medical device and analytics company Trajan Group Holdings Ltd. completed an AU$29.7 million (US$20.7 million) placement to fund the acquisition of Louisville, Kentucky-based Chromatography Research Supplies Inc.
An agreement has been reached in the U.K. to pay a fixed annual fee for two antibiotics, regardless of how often the drugs are prescribed, in a bid to prevent their overuse and slow the development of antimicrobial resistance.
While Pfizer Inc. remains active with mergers and acquisitions, Sanofi SA and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. are major players in the top six biopharma deals of 2022. So far this year, the industry has announced 769 deals, including licensings, joint ventures and collaborations, valued at $88.9 billion.
Valneva SE has struggled to get its COVID-19 vaccine on the market, but efforts to get the first Lyme disease vaccine approved in years now appear firmly on track after partner Pfizer Inc. invested €90.5 million (US$94.9 million) in the project. New York-based Pfizer has been working with Saint-Herblain, France based Valneva on the Lyme disease vaccine since April 2020, when the big pharma bought into the development program for the vaccine candidate codenamed VLA-15 for $130 million.
Los Angeles-based cancer diagnostics company Nonagen Bioscience Corp. obtained CE marking for its Oncuria immunoassay for bladder cancer. The multiplex urine test is designed to detect the concentration of 10 proteins that are associated with bladder cancer in urine samples. Clinical studies found the test has a 93% sensitivity and 93% specificity for detecting bladder cancer. The test is also designed to predict whether people are more likely to respond to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy, a first-line treatment for bladder cancer.
In May, Sidekick Health AB revealed an expanded partnership with New York-based Pfizer Inc. for autoimmune-related conditions. Now, it has joined forces with Eli Lilly and Co. to help patients battling breast cancer with its gamified platform. The companies plan to introduce the integrated digital therapeutic starting in July with the roll out beginning in Germany.
Boston Scientific Corp. signed an agreement to purchase a majority stake (64%) of M.I. Tech Co. Ltd. for $230 million. The publicly traded Pyeongtaek South Korea-based company manufactures device solutions used in endoscopic and urologic procedures. Boston Scientific has distributed M.I. Tech’s Hanarostent non-vascular stent in Japan since 2015. The deal marks Boston Scientific’s first acquisition of the year, following a busy spending spree in 2021.
Bioinvent International AB is banking an up-front payment of $25 million as part of an option and license agreement with Exelixis Inc., which aims to discover antibodies acting on new immuno-oncology targets. Further financial details were not disclosed, but the alliance entails the discovery of three novel targets and their associated antibodies, identified through Bioinvent’s F.I.R.S.T. screening platform and its n-Coder antibody library.
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