Aum Biosciences Pte. Ltd., a company developing targeted cancer therapies, has closed a $27 million series A funding round. The Singapore-based company plans to use the proceeds to advance clinical development of its portfolio with immediate initiation of two phase II programs for MNK and tropomyosin receptor kinase inhibitors.
Beigene Ltd., which in 2019 parlayed exclusive rights to distribute and promote Abraxane (paclitaxel) in China into more than $111 million in revenue, is contesting Celgene parent Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s cancellation of the deal in arbitration proceedings at the International Chamber of Commerce.
Abbisko Cayman Ltd. has raised $226 million through an IPO in Hong Kong, where it launched with an initial price of HK$12.46 (US$1.60) per share. The company, doing business as Abbisko Therapeutics, plans to use about a third of the proceeds for research and development of its lead candidate, ABSK-091, as a potential treatment for multiple solid tumors.
In a deal that could be worth more than $450 million, Olix Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. have agreed to discover, develop, and commercialize siRNA therapeutics for various liver-based targets implicated in cardiovascular, metabolic, and other indications.
In its first big pharma deal since it was founded around a cell programming technology in 2009, Immusoft Corp. signed Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to a research collaboration and license option targeting rare inherited metabolic disorders. The agreement brings an undisclosed up-front fee and research funding to Immusoft, which is also eligible to earn more than $900 million if all options are exercised and all milestones hit.
DUBLIN – Silence Therapeutics plc has entered the Chinese market through a partnering deal with Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. that involves developing short interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs against three undisclosed targets. The London-based firm is getting $16 million up front and could earn as much as $1.3 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones across the alliance. It will also receive tiered sales royalties, ranging from low double digits to mid-teens in percentage terms.
Baidu Inc.’s preclinical studies showed the mRNA vaccine sequences for COVID-19 designed using its Lineardesign algorithm outperformed the benchmark sequences designed by traditional algorithms in terms of stability, protein expression and immunogenicity. The firm teamed up with Stemirna Therapeutics Co. Ltd., which specializes in the R&D of mRNA vaccines and drugs, to test seven mRNA COVID-19 vaccine sequences designed using Lineardesign.
If the FDA follows the advice of its Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s antiviral drug, maribavir, will become the first drug approved in the U.S. to treat resistant or refractory cytomegalovirus infection and disease in both solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. The committee voted 17-0 that the overall benefit-risk assessment favors the use of maribavir for transplant patients with refractory CMV infections both with and without genotypic resistance to the four antivirals currently used off-label to treat the infections – ganciclovir, valganciclovir, foscarnet and cidofovir.
With a growing number of deals worth $1 billion or more, 2021 values are slowly inching past 2020’s record year, as mergers and acquisitions also move higher, indicating a potentially stronger second half of the year.
It looks like Shanghai Miracogen Inc.’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) partnership with Synaffix BV is paying off as MRG-004A, an ADC designed to treat solid tumors, has entered a U.S. phase I/II trial to treat solid tumors.
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