Luciano Rossetti, head of global R&D for Merck KGaA's biopharma branch EMD Serono, told BioWorld that "a very elegant molecule, fascinating from a protein-engineering point of view in addition to the biology" lies at the heart of the potential €3.7 billion (US$4.2 billion) deal with Glaxosmithkline plc (GSK). Read More
Roche Holding AG's Genentech Inc. has agreed to pay Xencor Inc. $120 million up front for rights to develop and commercialize IL-15 cytokine therapies, starting with the preclinical asset XmAb-24306. Read More
Three-quarters of the way through a 2016 deal with Surface Oncology Inc., Novartis AG has only taken one drug from the collaboration under its wing. Read More
The global pharmaceutical market will surpass $1.5 trillion by 2023, according to a new report from Iqvia Institute for Human Data Science. That works out to a compounded annual growth rate of 3 percent to 6 percent over the next five years, which is, unfortunately, a slowdown from the 6.3 percent growth the industry has experienced over the past five years. Read More
A pill or a device that is swallowable and can dispense a drug over weeks or longer has long been of interest to researchers, given how common poor patient compliance is with medication regimens. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a hydrogel device that is soft but tough, can remain in the stomach for about a month, and can easily be excreted. Read More
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual reports to Congress on China's and Russia's implementation of their World Trade Organization commitments. The 2018 reports sound the same alarms as previous reports and are critical of the unfair playing field both countries have created for foreign drugs and medical devices and the countries' lax intellectual property protections. Read More
Motif Bio plc, of London, said it gained £36,514 (US$47,270) via the exercise of share warrants. The company said 113,396 warrants were exercised at a price of 32.2 pence each. Read More
Entasis Therapeutics Holdings Inc., of Waltham, Mass., disclosed an agreement with in vitro diagnostics firm Biomerieux SA, of Lyon, France, in which Entasis will incorporate Biofire Filmarray instruments and Biofire Filmarray pneumonia panels into its global phase III trial for antibacterial ETX-2514SUL for enrollment optimization. Terms were not disclosed. Read More
Array Biopharma Inc., of Boulder, Colo., said its melanoma therapy, Braftovi (encorafenib) + Mektovi (binimetinib), sold $22.7 million in its fiscal-year second quarter, which represents quarter-over-quarter growth of 62 percent. Read More
