While biopharma deals are very much in line with the early pandemic months of 2020, mergers and acquisitions are telling a different story – one in which values are down by 76%. As of June 22, BioWorld has recorded 956 deals, including licensings, collaborations and joint ventures, valued at $80.2 billion in 2021, as well as 59 completed M&As worth $29.1 billion. In comparison with the same timeframe in 2020, the volume of both deals and M&As is down slightly by about 10 deals each, but the lack of high-value M&As, or mega-mergers worth more than $10 billion, has placed 2021 far behind last year. Deal values, however, are up by 4%. Read More
Intellia Therapeutics Inc. CEO John Leonard said the deal with Blackstone Life Sciences and Cellex Cell Professionals GmbH will create a new CAR T-cell therapy enterprise that bears “a German background with a strong American accent.” Blackstone committed $250 million to launch an autologous and allogeneic universal CAR T-cell therapy firm that will put together Intellia’s allogeneic cell platform plus CRISPR cell engineering with expertise from CAR T specialist Gemoab GmbH, a subsidiary of Cellex. Read More
Gene therapy specialist Uniqure N.V. said Tuesday that, with confidence inspired by new 52-week data on its investigational hemophilia B therapy, etranacogene dezaparvovec, it plans to submit a BLA for the program with partner CSL Behring LLC in first quarter of 2022. Uniqure meanwhile has moved to acquire Corlieve Therapeutics SAS and its lead program to treat temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of focal epilepsy. The acquisition, worth up to €250 million (US$297.3 million) for Corlieve, includes €46.3 million cash up front. Read More
With the July 25 PDUFA priority review date looming for Incyte Corp.’s retifanlimab as a second-line treatment for advanced or metastatic anal cancer, the FDA has one voting question for its Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC): Should it hold off on its approval decision until more data are in from a phase III study? Read More
Viiv Healthcare Group has continued its quest for patient-friendly long-acting HIV drugs, signing a potential $740 million deal with Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. to develop injections that could be dosed more than six months apart. Read More
New hires and promotions in the biopharma industry, including: Alchemab, Alladapt, Allegro, Biocorrx, Caribou, Cytovia, Gossamer, Kymera, Novome, Nurix. Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Aim, Anavex, Cytodyn, Cytomx, Innovent, Medicinova, Moleculin, Oyster Point, Redhill, Spruce, Tarsus, Theravance. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Anna, Augment, Big Cypress, Bioaxone, Cantex, Cybin, Fujitsu, Gyroscope, Iksuda, Legochem, Moderna, SAB, TFF, Vtv. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Agios, Bayer, Beigene, Bioheng, BMS, Boehringer, Day One, Eli Lilly, Hope Biosciences, Hutchmed, Prestige, Vertex. Read More
