Arcus Biosciences Inc. “brings the milk without [Gilead Sciences Inc.] having to buy the whole cow” is the way one analyst characterized the pair’s 10-year cancer immunotherapy deal, which could be worth as much as $2 billion, and some may have detected downside for Arcus, as shares (NYSE:RCUS) closed May 27 at $27.05, down $6.49, or 19%. Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead is paying Arcus, of Hayward, Calif., $175 million up front, shelling out a $200 million equity investment, and pledging potentially $1.6 billion or more in the form of R&D support, opt-in cash and milestone payments. Read More
In a deal potentially worth $3 billion, privately held Repare Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Montreal, entered a research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) to identify synthetic lethal precision oncology targets for drug candidates. Read More
Intravenous artesunate, the international standard of care to treat severe malaria, has finally won full FDA approval for the condition, which affects about 300 of the approximately 2,000 people diagnosed with malaria in the U.S. each year. Read More
PERTH, Australia – Melbourne-based Prescient Therapeutics Pty Ltd. is poised to develop next-generation CAR T therapies after signing an exclusive global licensing deal with the University of Pennsylvania for a universal immune receptor technology platform. Read More
LONDON – A vast new body of genomics research has identified thousands of rare genetic variants that are predicted to cause loss of function in protein coding genes, providing novel in vivo models of human gene inactivation. Read More
As the FDA continues to shift its limited resources to the development and review of COVID-19 therapies and vaccines, other drugs in the pipeline may be delayed. In a question-and-answer guidance released late Tuesday, the agency acknowledged that, going forward, it may not be able to sustain its current performance level in meeting all its goal dates for new drugs and biologics. Read More
Within a month of disclosing a CA$175.6 million (US$124.7 million) award from the Canadian government to use its antibody discovery platform for the analysis of patients who have recovered from COVID-19, Abcellera Biologics Inc. closed a $105 million series B financing aimed at expanding its capacity and investing in new technologies that complement its antibody discovery engine. Read More
New hires and promotions in the biopharma industry, including: Amunix, Arcus, Assembly, Brainstorm Cell, Corbus, Evox, Kinnate, Matrisys, TCR2, Urovant. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Algernon, Amivas, Anivive, Astellas, Azitra, Beyond Air, BMS, Diffusion, Fresenius Kabi, GSK, Immunitybio, Intelgenx, Microbion, Protara, Radius, Regenerx, Regeneron, Relmada, Sanofi, Sorrento. Read More
