Genzyme Corp. landed a better-than-expected deal for its genetic testing business, selling Genzyme Genetics to Laboratory Corp. of America for $925 million in cash and increasing the odds that Sanofi-Aventis SA could raise its acquisition bid. (BioWorld Today)
Though shares of Celldex Therapeutics Inc. plunged 26.2 percent on the news, President and CEO Anthony Marucci sees Pfizer Inc.'s decision to return rights to brain cancer vaccine CDX-110 (rindopepimut) as a positive event for his company. (BioWorld Today)
Just days after Sanofi-Aventis SA's official bid for Genzyme Corp., big pharma's pursuit of orphan drugs continued with Pfizer Inc.'s plan to buy out privately held FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. for rights to a drug for rare neurodegenerative disease transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN). (BioWorld Today)