BEIJING – U.S. biotech Tracon Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, has in-licensed from Chinese drugmakers 3D Medicines (Beijing) Co. Ltd. and Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. the rights to develop envafolimab, a subcutaneous PD-L1 antibody, to treat soft tissue sarcoma in North America.
Roche Holding AG took an interest in immunometabolism specialist Rheos Medicines Inc. even before its March 2018 launch. Now, less than two years later, it has tapped Cambridge, Mass.-based company, founded by Third Rock Ventures, to identify and develop an undisclosed number of new therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory disease.
Turnstone Biologics Inc. has found a major backer for its preclinical vaccinia-based oncolytic virus platform for cancer immunotherapy. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is paying $120 million in up-front, near-term milestones and equity investment and could pay $900 million more in development, regulatory and commercial milestones to enter a strategic alliance with the New-York-based firm.
Syros Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Global Blood Therapeutics Inc. (GBT) agreed to a discovery, development and commercialization deal to treat sickle cell disease (SCD) and beta-thalassemia. GBT, of South San Francisco, Calif., will pay Syros $20 million up front and fund up to $40 million in preclinical research for at least three years, with the goal of identifying targets and discovering drugs to induce fetal hemoglobin.
Neurotrauma Sciences LLC and Emory University’s Institute for Drug Development entered a license agreement for patents and technology invented at the school, enlarging a deal the two cut about a year ago.
DUBLIN – Numab Therapeutics AG is banking an equity investment of CHF15 million (US$15.2 million) from its latest Asian partner, Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., as part of a broad alliance to develop up to five multispecific antibodies from three programs based on Numab’s Match platform.
HONG KONG - South Korean biopharmaceutical company Quratis Inc. and Indonesia’s state-run company, Bio Farma PT, have entered a term sheet agreement to develop and commercialize Quratis’ tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, QTP-101, for adults and adolescents. The total amount of the deal is around ₩1.2 trillion (US$1.1 billion), according to the Seoul-based company.
Arqule Inc. CEO Paolo Pucci said the firm was “limited in what we can comment [on] for the time being” in connection with Merck & Co. Inc.’s deal to pay about $2.7 billion in cash for the company. “There is no better model for bringing a drug faster into the hands of patients and caregivers than the example of Keytruda. I will leave it at that.” Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab), a human PD-1-blocking antibody was first approved in September 2014 for advanced melanoma. The label has been widely expanded since.
LONDON – Janssen Biotech Inc. is buying Xbiotech Inc.’s interleukin-1a (IL-1a) inhibitor bermekimab for $750 million up front and will pay a further $600 million in potential milestones as the product advances in development for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and the chronic immune-mediated skin disease, hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).
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