AbbVie and Genmab Sign Major New Oncology Deal
AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) announced on June 10 a broad oncology collaboration with Denmark-based Genmab A/S (NASDAQ: GMAB). The two firms are teaming up to jointly develop and commercialize three of Genmab’s early-stage investigational bispecific antibody product candidates. AbbVie and Genmab are also starting a discovery research collaboration for future differentiated antibody therapeutics for cancer, including epcoritamab, a bispecific antibody created using Genmab’s proprietary DuoBody technology. AbbVie will pay Genmab $750 million upfront, with total potential development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to $3.15 billion, as well as tiered royalties between... Read More »
Gilead Signs New Immunotherapy Partnership
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), just a few months after its $4.9 billion purchase of Forty Seven, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTSV), has signed a 10-year partnership agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize next generation cancer immunotherapy with Arcus Biosciences (NYSE: RCUS). Gilead will provide $175 million upfront, a $200 million equity investment, and more than $1.6 billion in potential R&D funding. The deal includes immediate rights to zimberelimab, an investigational anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, as well as the right to opt-in to all other current Arcus clinical candidates. Arcus is eligible to receive up to $1.225 billion in opt-in and milestone payments with respect to its... Read More »
COVID-19 Vaccine Rush Pushes Biotech Deals
For the past few weeks, we’ve discussed the widening effects of the current pandemic on healthcare M&A, particularly on the services sectors, but until this week, dealmaking hasn’t been directly focused on COVID-19. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries race to find a COVID-19 vaccine, companies are bolstering their efforts with new collaborations and acquisitions. They’re the first transactions of their kind, and we expect to see more in the coming months. This week, Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), a clinical-stage company focused on developing recombinant protein nanoparticle vaccines, spent $167 million cash to acquire Praha Vaccines from Cyrus... Read More »
PTC Therapeutics Scoops up Censa Pharma
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) jumped into competition with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) with its acquisition of Censa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Censa has developed CNSA-001 (sepiapterin), a clinical-stage investigational therapy for orphan metabolic diseases, including phenylketonuria (PKU) and other diseases associated with defects in the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) biochemical pathways diagnosed at birth. CNSA-001 has been tested as a possible treatment for orphan metabolic diseases associated with defects in the tetrahydrobiopterin biochemical pathways. CNSA-001 is an oral formulation of synthetic sepiapterin, a precursor to intracellular tetrahydrobiopterin, which is a... Read More »
Genentech Bets on Bicycle-Based Therapies
Genentech, a subsidiary of the Roche Group (OTCMKTS: RHHBY), is betting big on a collaboration effort with Bicycle Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: BCYC). The exclusive collaboration agreement between the two biotechnology companies hopes to develop and commercialize Bicycle-based immuno-oncology therapies against multiple targets. Genetech will pay $30 million upfront to Bicycle Therapeutics with a potential $1.7 billion in milestone payments. You might have guessed this based on the name, but Bicycles are Bicycle Therapeutics’ trademark platform. They are fully synthetic short peptides constrained with small-molecule scaffolds to form two loops that stabilize their structural geometry.... Read More »