Giovanni Caforio, chairman and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMS), cut to the chase in unpacking the New York-based pharma's proposed acquisition of the granddaddy of biotech, Celgene Corp., calling the match "a historic day" for both companies with "many compelling benefits." Read More
Working overtime to answer all the questions about what the FDA is and is not doing during the partial shutdown, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb turned to Twitter to explain how the agency is using its carryover user fee funding to support the development of medical products. Read More
Codiak Biosciences Inc. scored its first partnership, putting ink to a contract with Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc to develop exosome-based therapeutics for cancer, "an area of biology that has really exploded in the last few years, probably starting with the realization that exosomes represent a fundamental communication system that cells use all the time, particularly in places like the tumor microenvironment," Codiak CEO Douglas Williams said. "There's a great understanding now that there's a lot of cross talk taking place between the tumor cells, the immune cells and the microenvironment, using exosomes as the vehicle." Read More
Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to pay Locus Biosciences Inc. $20 million up front and up to $798 million in potential milestones plus royalties for exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize CRISPR/Cas3-enhanced bacteriophage products. The preclinical programs target two key bacterial pathogens for the treatment of respiratory tract and other infections. If proven safe and effective, they could "provide a turning point in the global battle against antibiotic-resistant infections," Locus said. Read More
HONG KONG - Chinese clinical-stage biotech Antengene Corp. raised $120 million in series B financing to move forward its lead programs, ATG-008 and ATG-010 (selinexor), for treating blood cancer and liver cancer, respectively. Read More
Kashiv Pharma LLC, of Bridgewater, N.J., said it acquired the assets of biosimilars maker Adello Biologics LLC, of Piscataway, N.J., and Chicago, with the combined company to be known as Kashiv Biosciences LLC. Terms were not disclosed. Read More
Thousand Oaks Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Thousand Oaks, Calif., said it closed a $45 million series A financing to advance its phase II CDMO and construction of large-scale cell culture media cGMP manufacturing facilities based in Shanghai. Read More
