South Korea’s SK Bioscience Co. Ltd. has entered a cross-shareholding acquisition deal with Germany’s Klocke Pharma-Service GmbH to acquire its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), IDT Biologika Corp.
The U.S. FDA approved three biosimilar products from Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., Tanvex Biopharma Inc. and Formycon AG as follow-on biologics to Stelara (ustekinumab), Neupogen (filgrastim) and Eylea (aflibercept), respectively, on June 28.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (MSD), known as Merck & Co. Inc. in the U.S. and Canada, terminated its potential $1.86 billion deal with San Diego-based Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc. for novel chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer cell therapies. GC Cell disclosed news of the terminated deal on the Korea Exchange near market close of June 25, saying it was notified by Artiva after the decision was reached by MSD’s internal decision makers.
Yuhan Corp., of Seoul, South Korea, has inked a ₩150 billion (US$108.6 million) deal with Korean biotech Ubix Therapeutics Inc. to gain exclusive global rights to UBX-103, Ubix’s oral small-molecule androgen receptor degrader for prostate cancer. Yuhan also announced July 1 that it gained the U.S. FDA’s nod to start a phase I study of a Gaucher disease drug candidate called YH-35995.
Just seven months after in-licensing ocedurenone (KBP-5074) from KBP Biosciences Pte. Ltd. in a $1.3 billion deal, Novo Nordisk A/S halted its late-stage study after ocedurenone failed to significantly control hypertension in chronic kidney disease patients.
South Korea’s SK Bioscience Co. Ltd. has entered a cross-shareholding acquisition deal with Germany’s Klocke Pharma-Service GmbH to acquire its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), IDT Biologika Corp.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (MSD), known as Merck & Co. Inc. in the U.S. and Canada, terminated its potential $1.86 billion deal with San Diego-based Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc. for novel chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer cell therapies. GC Cell disclosed news of the terminated deal on the Korea Exchange near market close of June 25, saying it was notified by Artiva after the decision was reached by MSD’s internal decision makers.
France’s Théa Open Innovation, a subsidiary of Laboratoires Théa SAS, terminated its licensing agreement with South Korea’s Olix Pharmaceuticals Inc., and returned global rights of Olix’s ocular small interfering RNA (siRNA) biologic agents, OLX-301D and OLX-301A.
Aprilbio Co. Ltd. saw its stock surge 30% June 20 after announcing a potential $475 million (₩655.88 billion) deal with Evommune Inc. for autoimmune disease drug candidate APB-R3.
Suzhou, China-headquartered Ascentage Pharma Group Corp. Ltd. has filed plans for a confidential IPO to the U.S. SEC for a potential dual listing on both the U.S. and Hong Kong stock exchanges. News of the U.S. IPO came just a few days after Ascentage drew a $75 million equity investment from Osaka, Japan-headquartered Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. with the issuance of about 24.3 million shares at a purchase price of HK$24.09 (US$3.08) per share.
