EuroBiotech:​ ​More​ ​Articles​ ​of​ ​Note

> Evotec (FRA:EVT) entered into a 5-year kidney disease collaboration with Bayer (FRA:BAYN). The pact, which could net Evotec upward of €300 million ($335 million) in milestones, is focused on the development of multiple clinical candidates for conditions such as chronic kidney disease. Evotec and Bayer are both contributing targets and technologies to the collaboration and will the share the workload during preclinical. Release

> Faron Pharmaceuticals (LON:FARN) raised £8 million ($10 million) to bankroll its R&D activities. The Finnish biotech sought the money to run safety trials of its lead candidate, Traumakine, in the U.S. as a treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome, and to advance its immunotherapy checkpoint antibody into Phase I/II. Release

> Cantargia (STO:CANTA) outlined plans to raise SEK 80 million ($9 million) to start testing its IL1RAP-targeting antibody in combination with existing drugs in non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. "Cantargia’s decision to increase the level of ambition in the CAN04 project is among the most important and the most intensified in the company's history,” CEO Göran Forsberg said in a statement. Release

> Wilex (ETR:WL6) subsidiary Heidelberg Pharma joined the crowded pack of drug developers pursuing B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA). The potential of the target in multiple myeloma has attracted a laundry list of leading companies, including most of the notable names in the CAR space. Heidelberg has entered the sector through an option agreement with the Max Delbrück Center for BCMA antibodies. Release

> The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult reported investment in its field in the United Kingdom hit £400 million ($523 million) last year, up from £35 million in 2012. These investments brought headcount in the sector past 1,000, up from 540 in 2012, and drove a 90% increase in the number of companies focused on the field over the same period. The number of cell and gene therapy clinical trials is up 50% on 2013. Release

> Genenta Science and Ospedale San Raffaele landed a deal with Amgen ($AMGN). The deal teams the Italian research organizations with the Big Biotech to advance hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapies in cancer. “The highly encouraging results of clinical trials of HSC gene therapy performed at SR-Tiget for some genetic diseases have opened the way to explore new ways to genetically modify HSC and, rather than replacing malfunctioning genes, instruct these cells and their progeny to better fight cancer,” Ospedale San Raffaele’s Luigi Naldini said in a statement. Release