An $8bn public-to-private takeout by two private equity firms of the Swedish rare disease specialist collapses because total tenders to the offer fell below a 90% threshold.

Novavax has already gained its first emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, but doubts remain about its manufacturing and Omicron readiness.

To ensure the Beijing Winter Olympics is a smooth affair, the Chinese government has ordered partial or complete halts in industrial production in some provinces from late November until mid-March, disrupting an already fragile global pharma active ingredient supply chain. The emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant is just adding to the complexities.

CEO Vas Narasimhan committed to delivering compound annual growth of 4% from 2020-2026, driven by newer brands plus some pipeline assets.

Deal Snapshot: Seeking to bring a disease-modifying Parkinson’s drug to market, Novartis will team with UCB on developing and commercializing UCB0599, a Phase II oral alpha-synuclein inhibitor.

Private Company Edition: Scrip spoke with DDF US partner Jonathan Behr about the convergence of emerging science, venture capital investment and rising big pharma interest in neurodegeneration. Also, in recent VC financings HotSpot raised $100m, while Curie and Ablaze debuted with $75m each. 

The firm’s sole nephrological asset has demonstrated proof of concept, helping advance the novel gene-targeted therapy into pivotal development early next year.

Join the Asia Pacific content team for a wide-ranging overview and analysis of recent developments across China, India, South Korea and Japan in the policy, regulatory, commercial and vaccines spaces over the past few months. 

The company’s lead candidate, AP1189, has shown promise in a mid-stage rheumatoid arthritis study, sparking plans for an imminent strategic business collaboration. 

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events and approvals announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.

Deal Snapshot: Seeking to bring a disease-modifying Parkinson’s drug to market, Novartis will team with UCB on developing and commercializing UCB0599, a Phase II oral alpha-synuclein inhibitor.

The firm’s sole nephrological asset has demonstrated proof of concept, helping advance the novel gene-targeted therapy into pivotal development early next year.