With preliminary phase IIa data in hand for its postoperative pain treatment PRF-110, Israeli specialty pharmaceutical firm Painreform Ltd. is now seeking takers for the product, which has a 505(b)(2) approval pathway in the U.S.
Eli Lilly and Co. entered the hearing loss field, by investing in a Series A round at Audion Therapeutics BV and supplying a series of compounds, including its γ-secretase inhibitors, to test their potential in hair cell regeneration.
Bergenbio AS raised NOK75 million (US$12 million) in new funding to complete early clinical development of its first-in-class Axl kinase inhibitor BGB324 and to accelerate preclinical development of several other complementary programs.
Bidding to become the second European company to secure regulatory approval for gene therapy, Molmed SpA plans to seek a conditional marketing authorization in Europe for its genetically engineered cell therapy TK treatment for high-risk acute leukemia patients in the current quarter.
Medigene AG is paying €4 million (US$5.5 million) in stock and could pay up to €5.875 million more in milestones to acquire newly formed start-up cancer immunotherapy firm Trianta Immunotherapies GmbH, which already has two clinical trials under way.
Taking advantage of a strong share price performance over the past 12 months, Genmab A/S added DKK998 million (US$183 million) to its coffers in an accelerated book-build involving selected institutional investors.
IP Group plc is raising £75 million (US$124.5 million) in new funding and, in an unrelated move, acquiring Fusion IP plc outright in a stock-based deal that values the latter firm at £87.8 million.
Buoyed by recent progress in its alliance with Sanofi SA, investors in the Danish diabetes drug developer Zealand Pharma A/S reacted calmly to news that another partner, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, was terminating its interest in ZP2929, a dual-acting agonist of the glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors.
Two unconnected drug discovery initiatives unveiled on Wednesday provide further evidence of Germany’s ongoing strengths in the chemical and biological disciplines underpinning modern drug discovery, notwithstanding an ongoing lack of confidence in the area on the part of the country’s investors.
