Biopharma and med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, and other news in brief: Abbvie, Aicuris, Anaptys, Asahi Kasei, Cathworks, First Tracks, GSK, H. Lundbeck, Insphero, Lex, Medtronic, Novartis, Nxera, Quidelortho, Vanda.
Arriving a week ahead of April 28 PDUFA date, the U.S. FDA approval of Merck & Co. Inc.’s Idvynso (doravirine/islatravir) brings a new treatment option to adults with HIV-1 infection who are virologically suppressed. The approval is for those with no history of virologic treatment failure and no known substitutions associated with resistance to doravirine.
Another biopharma acquisition is at the heart of one of the U.S. SEC’s latest insider trading settlements. This time, the trading centered on Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc’s $935 million purchase of Chimerix Inc. last year.
Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd reported early clinical signals across its next-generation immuno-oncology pipeline, including response rates of up to 71% in metastatic colorectal cancer and 45.5% in hepatocellular carcinoma, at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in San Diego.
Biogen Inc. has consolidated full global rights to felzartamab through an $850 million deal with TJ Biopharma Co. Ltd. April 20, closing the chapter on a complex 10-year license saga.
Ever since Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. sued Eli Lilly and Co. several years ago, claiming Lilly’s migraine drug, Emgality (galcanezumab), infringed its headache treatment patents, the two companies have been on a litigation rollercoaster.
Xeltis BV has secured CE mark approval for Axess, its restorative vascular access conduit for hemodialysis. The company also released 12-month data from its EU pivotal trial on the technology, which showed strong durability outcomes, including 79% secondary patency and a very low patency‑related reintervention rate of 1.3 per patient-year, as well as a substantial reduction in infection burden.
Tortugas Neuroscience Inc. came out of its shell to announce the raising of $106 million between its seed and series A financing rounds. “We like the symbolism of the sea turtle – long-lived, persistent, very determined,” Tortugas CEO Jeff Jonas said of the company’s name.