HONG KONG – Following positive phase II data on Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s once-weekly GLP-1/glucagon receptor dual agonist, efinopegdutide, in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the Seoul-based company has exclusively licensed the drug to Kenilworth, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. for the indication.
Following Siemens Healthineers AG’s announcement that it was picking up Varian Medical Systems Inc. for $16.4 billion, another multibillion-dollar deal has emerged. This time, Teladoc Health Inc. and Livongo Health Inc. have inked a definitive merger agreement with a value of $18.5 billion.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter, subject to shareholder approvals and other customary closing conditions.
HONG KONG – California-based Iacta Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Hong Kong-based Zhaoke Ophthalmology Pharmaceutical Ltd. have inked a definitive license agreement for two of Iacta’s products.
Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc., a NASH specialist based in San Francisco and Shanghai, has out-licensed the Greater China rights of its BCR-ABL inhibitor, TRN-000632, for treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to Chinese pharma giant Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. to move the preclinical oncology asset to the clinic faster.
Eko Devices Inc. said Tuesday that it is collaborating with British pharma giant Astrazeneca plc to speed the development of digital health tools to improve early detection of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. The partnership could lead to more personalized care for heart failure patients, improving long-term outcomes.
Bold up-fronts and even bigger milestones defined ambitious neurology deals Abbvie Inc. struck with Voyager Therapeutics Inc. in 2018 and 2019. With vectorized antibodies, they planned to target multiple indications tied to excess aggregations of tau and tragic synucleinopathies. Considerable progress was made, said Omar Khwaja, Voyager's chief medical officer. But despite millions of dollars invested in the programs, Abbvie has now decided to quit the venture, leaving Voyager to either go it alone or find a new partner in its work on the challenging indications.
LONDON – Redx Pharma plc is in the process of handing its RXC-006 program over to Astrazeneca plc, after signing a potential $377 million development and commercialization deal for the porcupine inhibitor in the treatment of fibrotic disease.
Nanjing, China-based Simcere Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. became the second Chinese player to seek assets from G1 Therapeutics Inc., of Research Park Triangle, N.C., this year. On Tuesday, it licensed trilaciclib, an intravenous CDK4/6 inhibitor, from G1 Therapeutics in a $170 million deal for Greater China rights.
In what one analyst labeled as a “summer surprise,” Varian Medical Systems Inc. and Siemens Healthineers AG said they plan to combine in an all-cash transaction valued at $16.4 billion. Varian’s board has backed the agreement, which will see Siemens Healthineers pick up all outstanding shares for $177.50 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 42% to the 30-day volume weighted average closing price of Varian's common stock as of July 31. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2021.
In deals worth billions, Sanofi SA and Glaxosmithkline plc (GSK) have made new agreements this week to supply the U.S. and U.K. governments with a COVID-19 vaccine. The two companies also are in advanced discussions with the European Union to supply up to 300 million doses of a vaccine.