LONDON – Antibody-drug conjugate specialist Heidelberg Pharma AG has secured a route into Asia and a fresh injection of much-needed capital, in a licensing and equity deal with Huadong Medicine Co. Ltd. worth up to €930 million (US$1.1 billion).
Huadong Medicine Co. Ltd.’s wholly owned subsidiary Hangzhou Zhongmei Huadong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has acquired Asia-Pacific rights to two drugs from Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in a deal worth up to $662 million. “This collaboration aims to bring Kiniksa’s therapeutics to patients in the Asia Pacific Region suffering from severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Sanj Patel, chairman and CEO of Kiniksa. “The collaboration also provides nondilutive capital, cost-sharing, and resources for clinical trials to accelerate our drug development and commercialization efforts.”
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. signed a deal that could be worth more than $1 billion to take over Channel Biosciences LLC, a subsidiary of Knopp Biosciences LLC, and its Kv7 channel targeting platform. A key part of the deal is BHV-7000, formerly known as KB-3061, described as a potent activator of Kv7.2 and Kv7.3, key subunits involved in neuronal signaling and in regulating the hyperexcitable state in epilepsy. The compound is expected to enter clinical investigation this year, with focal epilepsy as the lead indication.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has signed off on an amendment to the divestiture plan for Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), of Marlborough, Mass., related to the acquisition of British Technology Group plc (BTG).
Odeon Therapeutics Inc. has acquired rights to two cancer candidates from Obi Pharma Inc. in a deal worth up to $200 million. The transaction gives Shanghai-based Odeon rights to develop, register, and commercialize the antibody-drug conjugate OBI-999 and a therapeutic cancer vaccine OBI-833 in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Biontech SE and Medigene AG have signed a three-year research collaboration to develop T-cell receptor (TCR) based immunotherapies against cancer. Medigene will receive €26 million ($29.5 million) up front and could receive hundreds of millions of euros per drug in milestone payments from the deal, which will also covers research funding for the period of the collaboration.
Med-tech deals are showing a 136% increase in value, partially due to rising interest in digital health technologies, and despite decreasing activity focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. While deal values are up, the opposite is true for M&A values. They have fallen by 15% in comparison with the same time frame last year.
Remix Therapeutics Inc., a company developing small molecules to manipulate RNA processing, stands to earn upward of $1 billion through a new strategic collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. A Cambridge, Mass.-based startup, Remix last year patented new RNA splicing modulators. It will receive an initial payment of $45 million for research funding plus potential preclinical, clinical, commercial and sales milestone payments, and royalties. Janssen gains exclusive rights to three targets with applications in immunology and oncology.
In a move that stunned and dismayed analysts and investors, Masimo Corp. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Sound United LLC Tuesday evening for $1.025 billion. Masimo’s stock (NASDAQ:MASI) plunged on the news of its intended purchase of the high-performance consumer audio products company, plummeting 39% from $228.84 at Tuesday’s close to $139.60 at Wednesday’s opening bell. Volatility led the Nasdaq to suspend trading in the stock for four minutes before 10 am. The stock recovered slightly during the day to close Wednesday at $147.00.
Collplant Biotechnologies Ltd. has signed a collaboration agreement with 3D bioprinting company Cellink AB for future commercial production of regenerative breast implants. Rehovot, Israel-based Collplant has developed prototypes of 3D bioprinted implants and is evaluating them in preclinical studies. The regenerative implants are designed to degrade over time and be replaced by new, naturally grown breast tissue. The technology aims to overcome the challenges of existing breast procedures that use silicone implants or autologous fat tissue transfer.
RSS
