Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) – the rare blood disorder characterized by premature destruction of red blood cells – found itself in the spotlight, as did shares of Omeros Corp. (NASDAQ:OMER), which closed Oct. 15 at $10.42, up $6.32, or 154%, on word of an asset purchase and license agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S for zaltenibart (formerly OMS-906).
Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s near-term dilution should “pave the way for entrenchment” in the hereditary angioedema (HAE) space, thanks to the buyout of Astria Therapeutics Inc., RBC analyst Brian Abrahams said.
Biopharma dealmaking was up 32% month over month in September, reaching $27.15 billion in total value, up from $20.52 billion in August. It was the fourth-highest month for deals of the year, which through the month average $23.6 billion a month. Year-to-date deal value (January through September) reached $212.44 billion, surpassing the nine-month totals of all previous years.
Eight years after Novartis AG gained U.S. FDA approval of the first CAR T therapy, Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, developers are advancing prospects that could significantly impact another disease space outside of cancer – autoimmunity. The efforts are getting a swirl of attention, with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) announcing Oct. 10 that it would offer $1.5 billion in cash to buy three-year-old privately held Orbital Therapeutics Inc., including its lead, next-generation CAR T-cell therapy OTX-201, which is designed to reprogram cells in vivo for autoimmune diseases.
In one of the biggest deals of the waning year, Novo Nordisk A/S is buying Akero Therapeutics Inc. to bolster its metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)-treatment portfolio. In the $5.2 billion deal, Akero brings its fibroblast growth factor 21 analogue, efruxifermin, which is in a phase III study for treating those with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis and those with cirrhosis.
In a deal that could top $2 billion, China-based Innocare Pharma Ltd. licensed the exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to the BTK inhibitor orelabrutinib to Zenas Biopharma Inc. for multiple sclerosis and other indications aside from oncology.
In a deal that could bring more than $2.1 billion in payments to Arbor Biotechnologies Inc., 90-year-old Chiesi Group gained exclusive and global rights to develop and commercialize ABO-101 for primary hyperoxaluria type 1, an ultra-rare disease caused by a mutation in the AGXT gene, as well as an option to go after a limited number of additional targets.
Nanyang Biologics Pte. Ltd. has entered a $1.5 billion business combination agreement with RF Acquisition Corp II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company. Singapore-based Nanyang Biologics (NYB) is building a hybrid platform to revolutionize drug discovery by combining machine learning with natural compound libraries, and NYB claims it is developing one of the world’s largest AI-curated collections of bioactive compounds.
Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is licensing Hinge Bio Inc.’s multispecific antibody-based therapy HB-2198 in Japan for multiple autoimmune indications, starting with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Novo Nordisk A/S terminated its global licensing deal with Japan’s Heartseed Inc. for its allogeneic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes.
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