ADEL Inc. closed a year-end licensing deal worth up to $1.04 billion with Sanofi SA for ADEL-Y01, a specific tau-targeting Alzheimer’s disease drug candidate in a U.S. phase I study.
Formation Bio Inc. acquired ex-China rights to Lynk Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.’s oral TYK2-inhibitor, LNK-01006, for up to $605 million. The phase I-ready central nervous system (CNS) candidate will be developed at Formation’s newly formed subsidiary, Bleecker Bio.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. filed an NDA with the U.S. FDA for centanafadine (formerly EB-1020), a new nonstimulant therapy for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, adolescents and adults. Centanafadine is a norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin reuptake inhibito formulated as a once-daily extended-release capsule.
Researchers from the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and their collaborators have identified adenosine as the driving force behind the rapid, fast-acting antidepressant effects of ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). “Our journey into this area of research began over a decade ago, around 2013, when the clinical world was buzzing with excitement about ketamine's remarkably rapid antidepressant effects,” Minmin Luo, co-senior author of the study, told BioWorld.
ABL Bio Inc. inked a license and research agreement with Eli Lilly and Co. worth up to $2.6 billion to develop multiple therapeutics using the Grabody-B platform. Under the terms announced Nov. 12, ABL will receive a $40 million up-front payment and up to $2.56 billion in development, regulatory and commercialization milestones, plus tiered royalties on net sales.
Lumosa Therapeutics Co. Ltd.’s intravenous odatroltide (LT-3001) met the primary endpoints in a phase IIb trial in China in patients with acute ischemic stroke, paving the way for a pivotal phase III study.
Transthera Sciences Inc. is out-licensing one of its preclinical NLRP3 inhibitors to Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. under a collaboration agreement worth $881.5 million. Under deal terms, Nanjing, China-based Transthera will receive an undisclosed up-front payment and is eligible to receive research and development and sales-based milestone payments up to $881.5 million.
Although Argenica Therapeutics Ltd.’s stroke drug, ARG-007, saw mixed results in top-line phase II data, new data in functional outcomes studies showed signs the drug helped patients think more clearly, regain independence, and enjoy a better quality of life after stroke.
Based on positive phase III study results, Metis Techbio is planning to file an NDA for its AI-derived orally disintegrating tablet drug candidate for pseudobulbar affect, MTS-004, in China next year.
SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. and Eurofarma Laboratórios SA launched a new joint venture called Mentis Care Inc. Oct. 21, dedicated to developing an AI-powered platform for epilepsy management.