Preempting a planned IPO by Peloton Therapeutics Inc., Merck & Co. Inc. has fielded a $2.2 billion buyout offer for the privately held drug developer, which has raised nearly $300 million to date. The proposal, including $1.05 billion in cash up front, would bring Merck at least two hypoxia inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2 alpha) antagonists, including Peloton's lead drug, PT-2977, a potential oral treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Read More
LONDON – Europe's largest small-molecule drug discovery services specialist, Evotec SE, is moving into biologics discovery and manufacturing via the acquisition of Just Biotherapeutics Inc., of Seattle. Evotec is paying $60 million in cash up front, with a further $30 million to follow, mainly in sales-related milestones, to acquire the 4-year-old company. Read More
With efficacy that hit the primary endpoint but fell below what Wall Street watched for, Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. hopes a sampling program and BCX-7353's oral route will help gain market share for the once-daily kallikrein inhibitor to prevent hereditary angioedema (HAE). Read More
HONG KONG – Celltrion Inc., a South Korean biopharma known for Remsima (infliximab), the first biosimilar monoclonal antibody to gain EMA approval, plans to invest more than $33 billion over the next decade to build itself into a top global player and develop Korea as a biomedical hub. Read More
Ocular Therapeutix Inc.'s phase III trial of OTX-TP (travoprost), a sustained-release punctal plug for glaucoma and ocular hypertension, failed to meet its primary endpoint, but it also reached what it called a "statistically significant" reduction of intraocular pressure vs. placebo at eight of nine prespecified time points. Read More
LONDON – RNA epigenetics specialist Storm Therapeutics Ltd. announced a further close of its series A, adding a further £14 million (US$17.8 million), to bring the round up to $38.1 million. Read More
With seven or eight states now imposing different transparency requirements on drug companies, harmonizing those requirements under federal law is a high priority for the pharmaceutical industry, Lisa Joldersma, senior vice president for insurance and state issues at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, told a U.S. House subcommittee Tuesday. Read More
HONG KONG – An Israeli startup has developed a novel solution for bone treatment that allows for both bone repair and drug delivery to address bone conditions. Bonesci Bio Ltd. is now looking to raise several million dollars in a series A round to further develop Peptoss, a peptide known as FFD5 that mimics certain proteins of bone extracellular matrix. Read More
Miragen Therapeutics Inc., of Boulder, Colo., reported new data demonstrating that systemic administration of its second-generation microRNA-29 mimic, a micro-RNA targeted therapeutic candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, efficiently reduced extracellular matrix deposition in a series of preclinical studies. The data were presented at the American Thoracic Society conference in Dallas. Read More
Athera Biotechnologies AB, of Stockholm, said it closed a new share issue, raising SEK55 million (US$5.69 million). The new capital will be used for a phase II study that enrolled the first patient in April. The study is planned to run at 11 hospitals and includes myocardial infarction patients with high risk to develop heart failure, who will receive either a single dose of the antibody ATH-3G10 or placebo. Read More
