Deals & M&A

Biocon management signals the potential of its partnered entry with Serum Institute and Adagio Therapeutics into the communicable diseases segment. Continuing large supply opportunities for COVID-19 vaccines and prospects for boosters, alongside the promising profile of the neutralizing antibody being developed by its US-based partner, also bode well.

Avoro Capital, Holocene Advisors and Darwin Global say that Acceleron should sell later for a higher price based on forthcoming data or Merck should raise its bid above $180 per share.

Janssen Biotech adds to its bispecific antibody pipeline for cancer via pair of collaborations. Ipsen and Accent pair up to investigate new target for acute myeloid leukemia.

After the anti-PD-1/L1 antibody and cell therapy rush, antibody-drug conjugates are quickly gaining attention in China as new technologies and deal-making activity heats up, but one first mover warns of potential over-crowding.

From the latest COVID-19 advances to the emergence of a game changer for heart failure, Scrip’s editor in chief Eleanor Malone reviews the big stories of the past three months. Safety issues around JAK inhibitors and AAV vector-based gene therapy were also to the fore, while biopharma financing continued apace.

Among other Asia deals, Takeda adds to pair of recent gene therapy tie-ups with a CNS-focused cell therapy partnership with Immusoft; earlier it licensed ex-US rights to JCR’s Hunter syndrome drug.

Deal Snapshot: In addition to investigating the ADAR1 target with the UK biotech, Exelixis also has optioned a second candidate for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma under its 2019 deal with Aurigene.

Chinese venture Brii seeks US emergency authorization for its antibody combo, as Chugai aims for wider use of its antibody cocktail in Japan and two other Chinese firms link up on an oral antiviral. 

The UK major is delighted with the German biotech's decision to throw in the regulatory towel with CVnCoV and concentrate on the firms' collaboration to development a second-generation COVID-19 vaccine. However, GSK is insisting that the partners look at both modified as well as unmodified mRNA approaches, a significant change of strategy for CureVac.

The French biotech has managed to bag a blue-chip partner to advance its ambitions to be the leading company in the ocular genomic medicine space, getting access to Intellia's CRISPR/Cas9 technology.

Takeda will use Poseida’s non-viral delivery and gene-editing capabilities for six liver- and hematopoietic stem cell-targeted gene therapies. The agreement follows recent gene therapy tie-ups with Selecta and Genevant.

Flexion’s Zilretta is forecast to have big market potential with the growth of osteoarthritis, and Pacira’s CEO suggested there were commercial synergies with its Iovera device.