Shares of Emisphere Technologies Inc. were walloped Monday after oral calcitonin candidate SMC021 failed to reduce the occurrence of new vertebral fractures in a three-year osteoporosis study, but the news could be a boon to a late-stage competitor.
Anyone who has followed the biopharma sector over the past decade knows that big pharma's lust for monoclonal antibody technology isn't going away any time soon. But a recent report and webinar by Deloitte Recap LLC, which broke down more than 1,000 deals over the last 10 years, showed some unexpected trends for companies working in the antibody space.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co. are calling it quits after a nearly decade-long collaboration on diabetes drug exenatide, a move that leaves Amylin positioned as a potentially hot takeover candidate, especially if the once-weekly version of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, Bydureon, finally clears FDA hurdles early next year.
Shares of Inhibitex Inc. skyrocketed a whopping 130 percent Friday after top-line data from an early hepatitis C virus (HCV) study indicated INHX-189's potential as a monotherapy, putting the Atlanta-based company hot on the trail of the interferon-free HCV regimen vanguard.
Year-old start-up Verastem Inc. raised eyebrows Thursday when it said it filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise $50 million, a bold move for the Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech given that it's at least a year away from entering the clinic with its first cancer stem cell-targeting compound.A decade ago, no one in the sector would have batted an eye at a preclinical-stage IPO.
Like many other development-only biotech start-ups, Io Therapeutics Inc. has built a pipeline from drugs shelved or reprioritized by big pharma – in its case, Allergan Inc. The advantages are clear. Io gets three compounds that all are well defined. "All have U.S. INDs [investigational new drug applications], all have GLP-toxicology data and we have GMP drug supply in hand," said Martin E. Sanders, chairman and CEO of the Santa Ana, Calif.-based firm.
A lack of funds have put the kibosh on Arigene Co. Ltd.'s planned acquisition of troubled Trimeris Inc., leaving the Durham, N.C.-based firm to seek out other strategic moves as it faces decreasing sales of HIV drug Fuzeon (enfuvirtide). (BioWorld Today)
Maxygen Inc. landed a big pharma partner for its early stage hemophilia candidate, MAXY-VII, signing a licensing deal with Bayer HealthCare in exchange for $90 million in cash up front and potentially $30 million more in milestones down the road. (BioWorld Today)
