GSK plc is paying $950 million cash to acquire 100% of 35Pharma Inc.’s equity and pipeline, including phase II-ready candidate HS-235 for pulmonary hypertension. The acquisition agreement comes a day after GSK added two small interfering RNA assets from Nanjing, China-based Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. through a license deal reaching up to $1 billion.
Astellas Pharma Inc. and Vir Biotechnology Inc. have signed a global co-development pact to advance VIR-5500, Vir’s PRO-XTEN dual-masked CD3 T-cell engager targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen for treating prostate cancer. Under the deal terms, San Francisco-based Vir will receive $335 million in up-front and near-term payments, including $240 million in cash, $75 million in equity investment and a $20 million near-term milestone. Vir is also eligible to receive up to $1.37 billion in development, regulatory and sales-based milestones plus royalties on ex-U.S. sales.
Gilead Sciences is stepping deeper into synthetic lethality, licensing a clinic-ready MAT2A (methionine adenosyltransferase 2a) inhibitor from Suzhou, China-based Genhouse Bio Co. Ltd. in a deal worth up to $1.53 billion.
Harbour Biomed is spinning out newco Solstice Oncology and is outlicensing its CTLA-4 antibody, porustobart (HBM-4003), to the newco in a cash and equity deal worth more than $1.2 billion.
CSL Ltd. is out-licensing its interleukin-6 (IL-6) monoclonal antibody, clazakizumab, to Eli Lilly and Co. in a deal that brings CSL $100 million in up-front fees. A CSL spokesperson told BioWorld the deal includes undisclosed milestone payments and sales-based royalties. CSL will retain rights to develop and commercialize clazakizumab for prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with end-stage kidney disease, while Lilly will explore the MAb in all other indications.
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG is selling off its India-listed business unit, Novartis India Ltd. (NIL), to a private equity-led consortium for about ₹14.46 billion (US$159.3 million) as it seeks to grow with “pure-play innovation.”
Continuing to build on the successful launch of Rezdiffra (resmetirom), Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc. is adding six preclinical-stage siRNA therapies to its metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) pipeline in a deal with Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd. and its subsidiary, Ribocure Pharmaceuticals AB, that could be worth $4.4 billion if all milestones are achieved.
Angelini Pharma SpA and Quiver Bioscience Inc. have entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement to advance novel therapeutics for genetic epilepsies. Under the multiyear collaboration, Angelini Pharma will leverage Quiver’s technology platform to gain deeper understanding of a broad set of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.
Neurosoft Bioelectronics SA has signed an agreement with Science Corp. to gain access to its full stack of clinical-grade neural recording tools as it looks to advance its brain-computer interface (BCI) system.
Gilead Sciences Inc. is acquiring partner Arcellx Inc. at a value of up to $7.8 billion, consisting of $115 per share up front and a potential payment of $5 per share through a contingent value right.