Making good on ambitions to increase its say in the development of drug candidates from its AI-driven discovery platform, as well as the breadth of roles the system serves, Exscientia plc said Jan. 7 it will work with longtime partner Sanofi SA to develop up to 15 new small-molecule candidates for oncology and immunology indications. Sanofi will pay Exscientia $100 million up front and up to $5.2 billion in total milestones, plus tiered royalties, it said. Read More
Astrazeneca plc’s recently acquired Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. has signed a deal worth up to $760 million with Neurimmune AG, the Swiss biotech that discovered Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab), buying rights to amyloidosis drug NI-006. While Biogen Inc.’s Aduhelm targets amyloid plaques thought to cause Alzheimer’s in the brain, the phase Ib drug in Alexion’s deal is intended to tackle the build-up of the rogue protein that causes heart disease caused by transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). Read More
While the $118.3 billion raised by biopharma companies in 2021 through public and private transactions is 12% lower than the amount raised the prior year, it still represents an impressive financings record, led primarily by IPOs and venture capital rounds. Read More
Three biopharma IPOs rounded out the first week of the new year, with Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cincor Pharma Inc. and Vigil Neuroscience Inc. all pricing new Nasdaq issues Dec. 7. Taken together, the offerings raised about $482 million, though all received cool receptions, with only the most mature among them, Amylyx, (NASDAQ:AMLX) holding its ground at midday. Read More
Harmony Biosciences Holdings Inc.’s plan disclosed at the start of last December to launch a phase III study with Wakix (pitolisant) for idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) during the first half of this year brought renewed attention to the sleep space, where a handful of players are jostling for position. Read More
Biopharmas raising money in public or private financings, including: AN2, Coherus, Cytokinetics, Verisim Life, Viscogliosi Brothers Acquisition . Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Akeso,
Astex, Atyr, Beigene, Freeline, Jubilant, Otsuka, Pharming, Regenxbio, Vaxcyte, Zai.
