Rx Rundown: Forbion, GSK, Sanofi and more – MM+M
Deals:
Lundbeck is buying Longboard Pharmaceuticals for $2.6 billion.
Cycle Pharmaceuticals reaffirmed its offer to buy Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a deal that values the drugmaker at $488 million.
Sanofi is paying about $325 million to take a 16% stake in Orano Med.
Novartis is paying $70 million upfront to license an experimental cancer treatment from the Chinese biotech Chengdu Baiyu.
Pfizer announced a partnership with Triana Biomedicines that includes a $49 million upfront payment.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation selected Nimble Works as the agency for their digital team.
Takeda will not move forward with Wave Life Sciences on a Huntington’s disease drug.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry partnered with creative agency Leith on an awareness campaign.
Kane Biotech announced an exclusive distribution agreement with XSONX.
FDA:
The FDA said it will reconsider the removal of Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drug tirzepatide from its official shortage list.
The agency expanded the approval of Novocure’s Optune electrical field medical device to include the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer
The FDA approved Pfizer’s hemophilia drug Hympavzi (marstacimab-hncq).
The agency paused Novavax’s investigational flu and COVID-flu vaccines
The FDA approved AbbVie’s Vyalev (foscarbidopa and foslevodopa) for adults living with advanced Parkinson’s disease.
The agency cleared Annovis to launch pivotal Phase 3 Alzheimer’s studies.
Genentech, a unit of Roche, won FDA approval for Itovebi, a drug to treat breast cancer with a mutation in the PIK3CA gene.
An FDA advisory committee recommended the approval of a drug from Stealth Biotherapeutics to treat patients with Barth Syndrome.
The agency accepted the new drug application for GSK’s gepotidacin.
Immuneering Corporation announced that the FDA granted orphan drug designation to IMM-1-104 in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Layoffs:
Sage Therapeutics is cutting a third of its staff and reshuffling some of its executives.
Germany-based specialty chemicals company and contract manufacturer Evonik announced it will let go about 260 people by the end of 2025.
Funding rounds:
Dutch biotech investor Forbion raised €2.1 billion for two new biotech funds.
Terray Therapeutics raised a $120 million Series B round.
Camp4 Therapeutics raised $75 million in an initial public offering.
Protein production company Nuclera raised a $75 million Series C round.
Sanofi is donating $18 million to three historically Black medical schools to support work increasing diversity in clinical trials
Tolerance Bio launched with an oversubscribed $17.2 million seed round.
Shift Bioscience raised $16 million.
Allyx Therapeutics was awarded a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support further clinical studies of lead candidate ALX-001.
BioXcel Therapeutics announced a collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a $2.8 million grant awarded by the Department of Defense to evaluate the efficacy and safety of BXCL501 as a potential treatment for acute stress disorder.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a $1.3 million grant to researchers at Case Western Reserve University investigating a new approach to treat acute myeloid leukemia in military veterans.
Stand Up To Cancer announced seven grants to investigators in three countries.
Industry news:
Sanofi is ending a Phase 2 clinical trial that’s testing a drug from Denali Therapeutics for multiple sclerosis.
McKinsey & Co. has neared a deal with U.S. prosecutors to pay at least $500 million to settle federal probes into its past work helping opioid makers boost sales.
Johnson & Johnson must pay $15 million to a Connecticut man who alleges that he developed mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, as a result of using the company’s talc powder for decades, a jury found.
Real Chemistry, a 2024 MM+M Agency 100 honoree, launched ROOM42, a full-service, in-house production company.
Teva settled allegations that it ran a kickback scheme to improve the sales of its multiple sclerosis therapy Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) and that it conspired with other generics developers to fix drug prices.
GSK is suing Moderna for allegedly using technology patented by GSK in its COVID-19 vaccine.
Definitive Healthcare launched a predictive analytics solution that empowers healthcare organizations to prepare and plan for future market conditions.
Telehealth company Wisp unveiled its weight care vertical.
Gastrointestinal biotech Neurogastrx released new data showing its drug could help reduce nausea and vomiting associated with GLP-1s.
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation launched its 1 in 8 Day campaign.
Adolescents who were taking GLP-1 drugs had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior, according to a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Perspective Therapeutics released mixed results from a Phase 1/2 trial for its radiopharmaceutical VMT01.
Abbott beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings and sales.
Kezar Life Sciences’ board unanimously rejected an unsolicited proposal from Concentra and adopted a limited duration stockholder rights plan.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories launched a comprehensive employee support program focused on menopause awareness, benefits, and training.
See last week’s edition of Rx Rundown.
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