Despite chatter on the Street Wednesday afternoon, the principals weren't talking after Reuters and other news outlets reported that Amgen Inc. sweetened its offer for Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. to $130 per share, up from $120 per share in the unsolicited bid in late June.
Recap's first peek into the biopharma dealmaking landscape since its acquisition in June by Thomson Reuters revealed the sector was on the move during the first half of 2013, with 368 licenses and joint ventures (JVs) compared to 265 during the first six months of 2012 – a 39 percent surge. (Thomson Reuters is the parent company of BioWorld Today.)
Shares of Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. took little notice Monday of the company's decision to pull the plug on mid-stage candidate ISIS-CRPRx in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Despite a flood of capital into biotech initial public offerings and breathtaking market runs, venture capital (VC) is still shunning many early stage life science companies. According to a May MoneyTree report by PwC and the National Venture Capital Association, VC investment in biotechnology and medical device firms dropped in value and volume during the first quarter of 2013 as investors turned to less capital-intensive industries.
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. added to its impressive Series B commitment with a $19 million extension led by new investor Foresite Capital Management, with additional participation by New Leaf Venture Partners and an unnamed top-tier institutional investor and by current investor Delphi Ventures.
Ceptaris Therapeutics Inc. found a home for its single asset, Valchlor (mechlorethamine gel), with Actelion U.S. Holdings Co., a subsidiary of Swiss drugmaker Actelion Ltd. But there's a catch: The $250 million deal is contingent upon FDA approval of the product.
Edimer Pharmaceuticals Inc. showed that ultra-rare indications continue to resonate with investors, pulling in $18 million in a Series B to fund trials of EDI200, an ectodysplasin-A (EDA-A1) replacement protein that represents the first in a class of molecules rationally designed to correct a specific developmental disorder.
Protein and antibody drug developer Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. became the newest member of the class of 2013 biotech initial public offerings (IPOs) by filing an S-1 seeking to raise up to $60 million.
Start-up Meditope Biosciences Inc. tucked $3.6 million under its belt in a Series A funded by angel investors to advance its monoclonal antibody (MAb) linker technology. The Los Angeles-based biotech is advancing cancer therapeutics discovered at City of Hope, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif.
