Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd. plans to establish a new holding company and to spin off its biosimilar division, Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., by October. The corporate restructuring will draw clear lines between Samsung Biologics’ CDMO operations and Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar business.
Annji Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s rosolutamide (AJ-201, JM-17) achieved positive results in a phase I/II trial in adults with spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, also known as Kennedy’s disease.
Infectious disease stocks stumbled in the early months of 2025, with the BioWorld Infectious Disease Index (BIDI) plunging 17.83% by the end of April, well behind the broader markets. By comparison, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index slipped just 1.16%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 4.41%. In 2024, the BIDI ended the year down 6.28%, after hitting a low of -25.12% in late April.
The recent 8-1 adcom vote against the U.S. applicability of Genentech Inc.’s Starglo trial is being seen as a warning signal expanding beyond the confirmatory trial for Columvi (glofitamab) as a treatment for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Sanofi SA made good on its plan to bear down on M&A by agreeing to buy Vigil Neuroscience Inc. for $8 per share (NASDAQ:VIGL). Included in the transaction is a non-tradeable contingent value right entitling the holder to potentially collect $2 per share more in cash, payable following the first commercial sale of the phase II-ready VG-3927, a small-molecule triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) antagonist for Alzheimer’s disease, if achieved within a specific period. Watertown, Mass.-based Vigil’s stock closed May 22 at $7.88, up $5.57, or 241%.
More telling than the U.S. FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee’s 4-5 vote May 21 on the overall benefit-risk of Urogen Pharma Inc.’s UGN-102 (mitomycin) is that the panel’s urology specialists and the patient representative all voted yes, saying the drug would be an important alternative to what is often a continuing cycle of surgery for patients with recurrent low-grade intermediate-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Orionis Biosciences Inc. is sticking with Genentech Inc. in a second deal to discover small-molecule monovalent glue therapies for treating cancer. Privately held Orionis is getting $105 million up front and could earn more than $2 billion in R&D, development, commercial and net sales milestones, plus royalties. The multiyear collaboration calls for Orionis to handle discovery and optimization of molecular glues, with Genentech in charge of later-stage preclinical and clinical development, regulatory filing and commercialization of any small molecules the partnership produces.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Alligator, Bayer, Quoin, Repair.
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Astrazeneca, Blueprint, Crispr, Esobiotec, Kancera, Recardio, Sirius, Vantai.
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