DUBLIN – Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH is banking $50 million up front and could earn up to $550 million more in per-product milestones from an adoptive cell therapy deal in solid tumor indications with Glaxosmithkline plc, which initially involves two autologous cell therapies engineered to express T-cell receptors (TCRs) that bind novel cancer targets. Immatics would receive royalties on sales of any approved therapies.
Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. said it's licensing a family of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to Seattle Genetics Inc. for inclusion in new early stage cancer-killing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates, all directed to a single target. The deal holds $5 million up front for Five Prime, plus up to $525 million in milestone payments for the first two candidates. South San Francisco-based Five Prime's shares (NASDAQ:FPRX) rose about 18% on the deal, which interim CEO William Ringo said allows the firm "to realize value from our preclinical pipeline while prioritizing our clinical investments based on upcoming data readouts."
A little more than two years after first licensing U.S. commercial rights to the Nucynta (tapentadol) pain drug franchise from Depomed Inc., specialty pharma Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. is acquiring those rights from Depomed successor Assertio Therapeutics Inc. for $375 million in cash, less royalties paid to Assertio in 2020. The deal, which includes both extended-release (ER) and immediate-release formulations of the drug, is expected to close by Feb. 14. It will be financed with $325 million in committed debt financing.
Timber Pharmaceuticals LLC, a startup created by New Jersey-based investment and operating firm Tardimed Sciences LLC, said it's poised to make a fresh leap into the public market this year with plans to take over Biopharmx Corp.'s NYSE listing in a new reverse merger deal.
The pending Abbvie Inc. merger with Allergan plc, expected to close in the first quarter, brought good tidings to another “A” company on Monday, allowing Astrazeneca plc to regain global rights to its late-stage Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) drug, brazikumab, an anti-IL-23 therapy that was out-licensed to Allergan in a $1.27 billion deal in 2016.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Diabetes seems likely to be the first area to really show concrete products and results for the ambitious Verily Life Sciences, which is the med-tech business of Mountain View, Calif.-based Google parent Alphabet Inc. However, its two major diabetes partners both have been rethinking the relationship.
HONG KONG - Singapore-based biotech Aum Biosciences Pte. Ltd., and Toronto, Canada-based biotech Cyclica Inc. have agreed to work together to apply Cyclica’s drug discovery platform in Aum’s R&D programs for the discovery of potential new cancer therapies. Aum will deploy its drug R&D skills including a biomarker-driven approach while Cyclica will contribute its AI-augmented platforms, Ligand Design and Ligand Express.
SAN FRANCISCO – Following years of mutual admiration, Germany's Biontech SE is moving to acquire Cambridge, Mass.-based Neon Therapeutics Inc., a neoantigen-based T-cell therapy specialist, in an all-stock transaction valued at about $67 million.
BEIJING – In a deal that adds another clinical-stage program to its pipeline, U.S.-China biotech Oncologie Inc. has picked up global rights to phase II-ready anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific antibody navicixizumab from London-based Mereo Biopharma Group plc.
HONG KONG – In less than a year, China-based Shanghai Miracogen Inc. has extended its partnership with Oss, the Netherlands based Synaffix BV for a second antibody-drug conjugate (ADCs) candidate. The new deal is similar to one signed last year in that it gives Miracogen nonexclusive rights to Synaffix’s Glycoconnect and Hydraspace ADC technologies for use in a second clinical candidate.
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