AC Immune SA has landed a potential $2.2 billion deal for its anti-amyloid beta Alzheimer’s disease vaccine, ACI-24.060, with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., under which it will get $100 million up front and is eligible to receive an option exercise fee, plus potential development, commercial and sales-based milestones of up to $2.1 billion.
Novartis Pharma AG continues to build up its radiopharmaceutical powerhouse and has expanded a peptide discovery collaboration with Peptidream Inc. in a deal worth up to $2.71 billion. Under the multi-program agreement, Kawasaki, Japan-based Peptidream will use its peptide discovery platform system technology to identify and optimize novel macrocyclic peptides against targets selected by Novartis for potential conjugation to radioligand therapies or other applications for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
Nxera Pharma Co. Ltd. announced that its partner, Neurocrine Biosciences Inc., is advancing NBI-1117568 to phase II trials for treatment of schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders.
The U.S. FDA accepted for review Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s and Astrazeneca plc’s BLA for datopotamab deruxtecan to treat adults with unresectable or metastatic hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who have received prior systemic therapy for unresectable or metastatic disease.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved Astellas Pharma Inc.’s Vyloy (zolbetuximab) to treat a type of advanced gastric cancer on March 26, making it the first anti-claudin 18.2 monoclonal antibody to gain regulatory clearance worldwide.
Shionogi & Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, gained standard approval from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for Xocova (ensitrelvir fumaric acid) on March 5, making it the first COVID-19 antiviral to win full approval in the country.
Sosei Group Corp. is getting €25 million (US$27.3 million) up front in a global collaboration and option-to-license deal with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH aimed at developing GPR52 agonists, a new target for schizophrenia designed to potentially address positive, negative and cognitive symptoms at the same time.
In a move to widen global access to its Qdenga dengue vaccine, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is partnering with India’s Biological E. Ltd. to manufacture Qdenga (TAK-003).
The EMA validated two marketing approval applications of Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. and Astrazeneca plc’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) datopotamab deruxtecan (dato-dxd) on Mar. 4, for two types of lung and breast cancer.
San Francisco-based Xyphos Biosciences Inc. is pooling technology platforms with Boston’s Kelonia Therapeutics Inc. in a novel immuno-oncology (I-O) drug discovery deal that could fetch more than $800 million. Xyphos and Kelonia will collaborate to develop a maximum of two in vivo CAR T-cell therapy programs, utilizing both Kelonia’s in vivo gene placement system called iGPS and Xyphos’ Accel technology platform.