AstraZeneca Acquires Amolyt Pharma From Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners announced on March 14 that its portfolio company, Amolyt Pharma, has entered into a definitive agreement with AstraZeneca for its acquisition. The transaction includes $800 million upfront at deal closing, plus the right for Amolyt Pharma’s shareholders to receive an additional contingent payment of $250 million payable upon achievement of a specified regulatory milestone. Amolyt Pharma is a global, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapeutic peptides for rare endocrine and related diseases. Its portfolio includes eneboparatide (AZP-3601), a long-acting PTH1 receptor agonist as a potential treatment for hypoparathyroidism, and... Read More »
Ginkgo Bioworks Makes 3 Acquisitions
Last week, Ginkgo Bioworks, a Boston-based Biotechnology company, announced that it completed three transactions. The first transaction is the acquistion of Patch Biosciences. Patch Biosciences has developed an artificial intelligence platform for sequence design that could create more effective, specific and durable genetic medicines. The company was backed by venture and investment firms Andreessen Horowitz, Casdin Capital and S32. The second acquisition is of Reverie Labs. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Reverie Labs is a cancer therapeutics biotechnology company that built and used artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to accelerate drug... Read More »
Safi Biotherapeutics Acquires EryPharm
Safi Biotherapeutics announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire all the assets of EryPharm, a Paris, France-based biotechnology company. According to data captured in the LevinPro HC database, this acquisition marks the sixth Biotechnology transaction of 2024. EryPharm, a spin-off of Prof. Luc Douay’s Sorbonne University team, is an innovative company for the industrial culture of red blood cells from stem cells. It achieved a breakthrough in the production of a new biological drug, the Cultured Red Blood Cells from Hematopoietic Stem Cells, which aims to supplement blood donation for blood transfusion. Safi Biotherapeutics is a pre-clinical stage blood cell... Read More »
Three Large Biotech Transactions Announced
On Monday, January 8, there was a flurry of activity in the Biotechnology sector. Three large, publicly-traded companies announced acquisitions in the space, representing the third, fourth and fifth Biotechnology transaction of 2024, respectively. Last year, there were 155 Biotechnology deals announced, according to data captured in the LevinPro HC database. Merck acquires Harpoon Therapeutics: Merck announced the acquisition of Harpoon Therapeutics through a subsidiary for an approximate total equity value of $680 million. Harpoon Therapeutics is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a novel class of T-cell engagers designed to harness the power of the body’s immune... Read More »
