DUBLIN – Biontech AG has propelled itself to the front rank of immuno-oncology companies by virtue of a T-cell receptor (TCR) discovery deal with Eli Lilly and Co., under which it is getting $30 million up front plus another $30 million equity investment in its subsidiary firm, Biontech Cell & Gene Therapies GmbH, as well as $300 million in per-product milestones attached to whatever therapies may emerge from the alliance. Read More
Pfizer Inc.'s give-back of rights to Remoxy, the long-acting, tamper-resistant form of oxycodone developed by Pain Therapeutics Inc., put the Austin, Texas-based company in a world of hurt last October, despite its insistence that the pharma partner's decision was based on an internal pipeline prioritization rather than a problem with the drug. Read More
Despite headwinds, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Orkambi won favor from members of the FDA's Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee (PADAC), who voted 12-1 to recommend approval despite plenty of questions about the prospective new therapy that combines the firm's already approved Kalydeco (ivacaftor) and lumacaftor for homozygous F508del cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Read More
HONG KONG – With a third round of funding in hand, Taiwanese contract manufacturer and biosimilars maker JHL Biotech Inc. is that much closer to its first filing in Europe and an IPO later this year. Read More
Axovant Sciences Ltd., a small Bermuda-based company formed in October to carry a phase-III-ready asset bought from Glaxosmithkline plc through approval in Alzheimer's disease (AD), has filed for an IPO of up to $172.5 million. Read More
The global public health community is rejoicing at news this week that the Ebola epidemic is over in Liberia, with no new cases reported in 42 days. And with only nine new cases reported overall last week, seven in Guinea and two in Sierra Leone, the current epidemic, after 18 months and more than 11,000 deaths, may be on the verge of finally being over. Read More
SHANGHAI – Each year investors looking to ride the next big wave of opportunity convene at China's Healthcare Investment Conference to test the waters. This year, the promise of technology to tackle some of China's most complicated health care woes, summed up by the term e-Health, generated the most buzz. Read More
Galapagos NV, of Mechelen, Belgium, responded to demand for its proposed offering by upsizing the deal to $250 million from an earlier planned $200 million. Read More
Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said partner Eisai Inc., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., reported net U.S. sales of obesity drug Belviq (lorcaserin HCl) totaling $12.8 million during the first quarter. Read More
Juno Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, said it acquired Stage Cell Therapeutics GmbH, a private biotech company based in Munich and Gottingen, Germany. Read More
Bavarian Nordic A/S, of Kvistgard, Denmark, reported preliminary results from a phase I study of the Ebola prime-boost vaccine regimen using the company's MVA-BN Filo vaccine plus the Advac vaccine from the Janssen Pharmaceutical unit of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson at the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting. Read More
