Antifungals specialist F2G Ltd. has signed an agreement with Japanese pharma Shionogi & Co. Ltd. for development and commercialization of its treatment for invasive aspergillosis in both Asia and Europe. Under the terms of the deal, F2G is getting $100 million up front and regulatory and commercialization milestones of up to $380 million. The two partners will share clinical development costs.
Beijing Zhifei Lvzhu Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has picked up rights to a whooping cough vaccine candidate from Intravacc B.V. on undisclosed terms. Zhifei Lvzhu gained exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the vaccine in China, as well as nonexclusive rights in Africa, South America, and selected Asian countries. In turn, Intravacc is eligible to receive milestone and up-front payments plus royalties on net sales of the vaccine, should it reach market.
Shares in Bavarian Nordic A/S fell sharply after its development partner Johnson & Johnson terminated collaboration and license agreements in hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV). Shares in the Danish company (OMX:BAVA) fell nearly 13% to DKK 115.75 (US$16.39) following the announcement. The partnerships, with J&J’s Janssen pharma unit, began with a $187 million tie-up in 2014, to develop an Ebola vaccine that is now approved in the EU. That led to an $171 million HPV vaccine research agreement in December 2015 and an $879 million deal covering HIV-1 and HBV research in 2017.
As many biopharmas rethink plans to go public on less-than-welcoming U.S. markets, Hillevax Inc. forged ahead, pricing an upsized IPO April 28, offering 11.8 million shares at $17 apiece, the midpoint of its previously proposed range, for gross proceeds of about $200 million. That’s the highest amount raised in a U.S. IPO so far in 2022, which saw only nine companies go public on Nasdaq during the first quarter.
Mycovia Pharmaceuticals Inc. is prepping to launch its first commercial product following U.S. FDA approval of oral antifungal oteseconazole for use in recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC). Branded Vivjoa, the drug is expected to be available to patients during the second quarter.
Antibiotics drugs discovery, Ursula Theuretzbacher told the audience at the 2022 European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), has more than one challenge to overcome.
More than a quarter of all clinical data reported this year are targeting cancer indications, as pandemic news dips and overall activity drops by 12.5%.
The potential €100 million (US$114 million) deal disclosed Feb. 10 between infectious disease specialist Aicuris Anti-infective Cures AG and Hybridize Therapeutics for a BK virus therapy stimulated interest in the space, where a number of players are seeking a treatment. None exists today.
NEC Corp. subsidiary NEC Oncoimmunity AS recently received $4.8 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to fund the development of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 variants and other betacoronaviruses.
Results from the phase IIb challenge study with its intranasal immunomodulator for influenza A, REVTx-99a, in healthy volunteers sent Revelation Biosciences Inc. shares (NASDAQ:REVB) into a tailspin, and the stock closed at $1.32, down 82 cents, or 38.3%.