Rubius Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it closed its IPO of 12.05 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $23 per share. The total includes the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 1.57 million additional shares. The gross proceeds from the offering were $277.3 million. The shares are now trading on Nasdaq under the ticker RUBY. Read More
Biosimilar competition continues to build in the U.S., with the FDA approving a second Neupogen (filgrastim, Amgen Inc.) biosimilar. New York-based Pfizer Inc. announced the approval Friday of its Nivestym (filgrastim-aafi) for all the eligible indications of the reference product. Read More
Applied Genetic Technologies Corp., of Gainesville, Fla., said it stands to received a $10 million milestone payment from Biogen Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., triggered by the enrollment of the first patient in the second cohort of the phase I/II study testing its AAV-based gene therapy in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa. Read More
HONG KONG – In the wake of a canceled anti-monopoly probe, Chinese drugmaker Hainan Haiyao Co. Ltd. plans to acquire Haikou Qili Pharmacy Co. Ltd. for ¥2.142 billion (US$322 million). Read More
HONG KONG – Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd., China's second largest rabies vaccine producer, was ordered to stop production and recall batches of its rabies vaccines after the China National Drug Administration (CNDA) reportedly uncovered falsified data and inspection records. Read More
A Federal Circuit decision that tribal sovereign immunity cannot be asserted in inter partes reviews (IPRs) could be the slippery slope that eventually makes biopharma and med-tech patents held by state universities fair game for IPR challenges. Read More
Data from Irving, Texas-based Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s phase II Cardinal study with bardoxolone in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) due to Alport syndrome whetted investor appetite for the phase III portion of the study, which includes a placebo arm and looks likely to win. Read More
Privately held Anima Biotech Inc., a New Jersey-based small-molecule discovery platform company, has reached a multiyear deal with Eli Lilly and Co. to develop translation inhibitors for undisclosed target proteins of Lilly's choosing. Anima, formerly based in Tel Aviv, Israel, gains $30 million up front and $14 million in research funding under the terms of the agreement. It could receive up to $1.05 billion by achieving future development and commercial milestones and low to mid single-digit tiered royalties on sales of any Lilly products resulting from the collaboration. Read More
DUBLIN – Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. is picking up Txcell SA, a French developer of chimeric antigen receptor T-regulatory cell (CAR-Treg) therapy in a cash deal valued at €72 million (US$84.4 million), which includes about €6 million of debt on Txcell's balance sheet. The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, values Valbonne-based Txcell at €2.58 per share. Read More
