Moving to build out its central nervous system (CNS) portfolio with an eye to what Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. CEO Steve Davis called an "urgent need for new approaches to treat pain without causing addiction," the company is acquiring privately-held Cersci Therapeutics Inc. for $52.5 million, primarily in stock. Read More
Now that Ovid Therapeutics Inc.’s and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s phase II study of soticlestat in children with Dravet syndrome (DS) or Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) has produced positive top-line data, Ovid is planning the drug’s phase III clinical trial while pricing a $50 million common stock offering. Read More
Continuing a trend that began in June, the largest biopharma deals of 2020 have all occurred this summer, led by the $6.3 billion global partnership on cancer immune therapies between Tango Therapeutics Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. earlier this month. Read More
Academic tech transfer offices are largely still working from home, but the groups have been as busy as ever according to a report from Primary Research Group Inc. that surveyed 37 colleges and universities. Read More
DUBLIN – Ipsen SA is on track for an NDA filing for palovarotene in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), an ultra-rare disease characterized by the gradual replacement of skeletal muscle and connective tissue with bone, following an interim analysis of phase III data which indicates that the drug may have a substantial effect on the disease process. Read More
The idea of patent pools such as the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) created by the World Health Organization a few months ago has drawn a lot of support from low- and middle-income countries and a handful of wealthier ones, but not so much from industry. Read More
LONDON – Engitix Ltd has secured Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s endorsement of its extracellular matrix (ECM) technology in a potential $500 million deal in liver fibrosis. Read More
LONDON – Five years after offloading it to Amgen Inc. for $300 million, Dutch VC Forbion has reacquired Dezima Pharma BV and its sole product obicetrapib, a cholesterol-lowering drug for patients intolerant to statins. Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Astrazeneca, Bavarian Nordic, Bristol Myers Squibb, Byondis, Immunovant, Ipsen, Krystal, Mereo, Ovid, Takeda, Union. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Amneal, Capricor, EMD Serono, Gyroscope, Imara, Knight, Metacrine, Regenxbio, Sarepta, Therapeuticsmd.
