DUBLIN – Without particularly looking for a deal, immunometabolism specialist Sitryx Ltd. landed quite a large one – a licensing agreement in autoimmune disease with Eli Lilly and Co. involving up to four preclinical programs, for which it is receiving $50 million up front, $10 million as equity investment and up to $820 million in development milestones.
Barely a day after its PDUFA date, despite the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA has approved Bristol Myers Squibb Co.'s immunomodulator, ozanimod, an oral treatment for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and active secondary progressive disease branded as Zeposia. The win, a much-anticipated milestone precipitated by the company’s multibillion-dollar acquisition of ozanimod developer Celgene Corp. in November 2019, gives patients a new treatment option amid a growing field of therapies for MS.
Dragonfly Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., has expanded a strategic collaboration with Merck & Co. Inc. on the development of natural killer (NK) cell engager immunotherapies for oncology to add infectious disease and immune disorders. For $47.5 million up front, it's granting Merck the option to license exclusive rights to candidates developed using its TriNKET cell technology platform.
DBV Technologies SA officials took pains to reassure investors that data wanted by the FDA with regard to the BLA for Viaskin Peanut allergy therapy are already in hand and need only be turned over to the agency, but that didn’t stop shares (NASDAQ:DBVT) from sliding 55.7%, or $2.93, to close March 17 at $2.33.