Just months after completion of its spinout from Merck & Co. Inc., Organon & Co. has revealed plans to fold in a second acquisition: the Finnish firm Forendo Pharma Ltd., which is advancing an early stage candidate for endometriosis. The deal includes $75 million up front and as much as $870 million in potential milestone payments for Forendo owner Karolinska Development AB, which said the buyout is one of the largest biotech transactions in the Nordic region. Earlier deals rounding out the company's recent story include a Merck-facilitated acquisition of Alydia Health Inc. and a July deal with Obseva SA. Read More
The U.S. NIH said it will go to court if necessary to defend its role in developing Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine. NIH spokeswoman Renate Myles told BioWorld that the agency “is not giving up on our claim that NIH is a co-inventor on the mRNA technology used in the Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine but defers to legal authorities on how this might be resolved.” Read More
Vaxxinity Inc. priced its IPO below the targeted range, selling 6 million shares (NASDAQ:VAXX) at $13 each for proceeds of $78 million, but came out of the gate impressively, closing at $16.55, up $3.55, or 27%, after reaching $22.77 during the day. Read More
LONDON – Intensive monitoring of health care workers at two hospitals in London showed that despite having a blood biomarker of infection, 58 of them did not test positive for COVID-19 at any point, suggesting they may have been clearing subclinical infections before seroconversion. Read More
When the U.S. Congress resumes next week, its top priority will be the passage of a massive budget bill that once again includes long-promised – or threatened, depending on a person’s perspective – provisions intended to bring down prescription drug prices. Read More
Given the negative response to a proposed amendment allowing the price of NHS-dispensed drugs to be listed on labeling, the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has decided not to go forward with the policy, it announced Nov. 11. Read More
Ono Pharma Korea Co. Ltd. has received approval in South Korea for Velexbru (tirabrutinib hydrochloride), its oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, as treatment of recurrent or refractory B-cell primary central nervous system lymphoma. Read More
The University of Oxford has begun recruiting for a phase I Ebola vaccine trial, with the first vaccinations based around the same technology as the university’s COVID-19 vaccine. Read More
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Clarity, Curevac, Durect, Emalex, Finch, Freeline, Genfit, Hookipa, Immutep, Nuvalent, Pneumagen, Taiga, Terns, Yumanity. Read More
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Abbvie, Achilles, Allarity, Ani, Aptevo, BMS, Ceapro, Compugen, Kadmon, Nanobiotix, Novan, Novartis, Novitium, Oligomerix, Palleon, Recbio, Regenxbio, Sanofi, Secarna, Somai, Tersera, Valneva, Virpax, Xencor. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Ascletis, Enlivex, Evofem, Iveena, Kalvista, Kyowa, Mei, Moderna, Modus, Pfizer, Promore, Sofie. Read More
