United Kingdom

Crisis: A UK bailout for the biotech industry?

John Carroll — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:05:07 -0400

The UK's Chris Evans is continuing to try and drum up support for a billion-pound investment fund to support the country's ailing biotech and medical device industry, with half of that money coming from the government. Evans is emphatic that the country's biotech industry is in danger of falling far behind other countries' drug development industries. And that calls for a swift injection of funds--just like the banks are getting.

"You cannot dream up billion-pound successes," says Evans. "They need cash and Gordon Brown needs to support the sector, as is happening with banking, by getting the check book out."

- check out the report from Business in Wales

ALSO: The long drought of IPOs in the U.S., meanwhile, shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. And Aldagen bowed to the inevitable, pulling its registration for an $80.5 million offering. Report

Protherics buyout creates UK's biggest biotech

John Carroll — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:22:19 -0400

BTG is buying out Protherics for $388 million in a merger deal that will create the UK's biggest biotech company. In the all-stock buyout, Protherics' shareholders will receive 0.291 new BTG shares for each of their Protherics shares. That gives them a 45 percent premium over the stock's September 17 close. The deal follows a string of biotech buyouts in the UK by Big Pharma companies out to beef up their pipelines. The industry has been steadily consolidating in the face of some severe market skepticism of the industry's high-risk profile.

PharmaTimes notes that a number of analysts had expected AstraZeneca, one of Protherics' partners, to buy the company. Protherics had noted earlier that it had received a number of buyout inquiries.

"The merger of Protherics and BTG will create one of the UK's leading biopharmaceutical companies," said Dr John Brown, the chairman of BTG. "We will have a valuable portfolio of licensed and marketed products, a pipeline of mid to late stage programs in clinical development, and the cash resources and development expertise to progress the combined pipeline."

- here's the release (.pdf)
- read the article from PharmaTimes

Sir Chris prescribes £500M for UK biotech industry

John Carroll — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:44:59 -0400

Noted UK biotech investor Sir Christopher Evans has analyzed what ails the country's development business and has come up with a cure. Comparing Great Britain's recent success in the Olympics with past failure, he says that a major investment made all the difference. And he's suggesting that the government join with private investors to inject £500 million pounds into biotech companies in the UK.

"People always ask why haven't we got an Amgen or a Genentech when we have brilliant science," says the investor. "There's a lot of reasons for this. There isn't enough world-class management, or enough ability to commercialize drugs. You have a lot of good scientists and academics who can't run a company. Also, if you're any good, you tend to get bought quickly. With these funds, industry experts would be able to direct cash to the right places. This would also encourage underperforming small companies to consolidate. The government has to underpin the consolidation fund because it was responsible for lots of start-ups and it's many of these start-ups that now have to consolidate."

- read the article from The Times

Biotech godfather mulls investors' 'collapse of confidence'

John Carroll — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:54:57 -0400

The "godfather" of the UK's biotech industry has a dose of bitter news for his colleagues in drug development. Investors have suffered a "collapse of confidence" in the country's biotech companies brought on by high risk and fast cash burn, said Peter Fellner, a key figure behind Celltech and Acambis. And to win them back the drug developers have to do a better job managing their cash and advancing new therapies that have a solid chance of winning approval in the U.S. But don't look for any quick turnarounds in sentiment.

"I don't subscribe to the view that the sector is dead but I envisage a number of years of lag, maybe even five years or more," he told the Financial Times. "There has been a collapse of confidence."

- read the article from the Financial Times

Massive research consortium created in London

John Carroll — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:10:40 -0400

Four British hospitals and University College London have forged a £2 billion partnership that will create what's being billed as the largest biomedical research group in Europe. The research consortium is being developed at the urging of the British government, which has been encouraging the formation of science centers focused on the development of new therapies.

According to the Guardian, this new partnership is intended to put London at the forefront of the global drug development world. Together, the group employs more than 3,500 scientists, researchers and consultants.

"By pooling resources and expertise we will be able to produce more world-class research in key areas, including cancer and heart disease, and deliver the benefits more rapidly to patients," said the partners.

- check out the release
- read the article from The Guardian

Ardana calls in administrators to find a buyer

John Carroll — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:52:46 -0400

Anyone looking for fresh signs of the faltering state of the U.K.'s biotech industry need look no further than Ardana. Unable to engineer a speedy refinancing, sale or merger, the Scottish developer--a specialist in reproductive health--brought in the administrators to run the company and suspended trading of its shares. Analysts say the credit crunch has helped make investors timid when it comes to high-risk biotech companies, making it exceedingly difficult to raise funds or find buyers.

"The board of Ardana has taken advice and with great regret no longer believes that the company is in a position to continue its operations," stated Ardana. "It is expected that the appointment of administrators will formally occur later today, following which the Administrator will take such measures as they believe appropriate including continuing to seek a buyer for the Company and its assets."

- see Ardana's release
- read the story from Hemscott

Big Pharma pulls out of U.K. trials

Maureen Martino — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:27:44 -0400

There's more bad news today for the U.K.'s drug development industry. Pfizer, Roche and Merck Serono have all decided to cut back on clinical research there, according to the Financial Times. The problem, companies say, is that too few U.K. patients are receiving cutting-edge drugs like Avasin and Erbitux, making it difficult for experimental therapies to be tested against patients already on those drugs. Just yesterday the U.K.'s National Institute for Clinical Health and Excellence advised against the use of Avastin and Erbitux. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry recently found that, 20 trials at just four companies didn't happen because of difficulty recruiting patients. "In the long-term there is a serious risk that if we get to the point where none of the new drugs are being used in the U.K., the trials won't be done here," said Harpal Kumar, head of Cancer Research UK.

- read the Financial Times article

Pharma turns cold shoulder to UK

John Carroll — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:00:07 -0400

Roche and Merck Serono recently sized up their chances to pass muster with the UK's cost-effectiveness regulators and decided to give NICE a pass. Analysts say that the clinical- and cost-effectiveness evaluators at NICE have been turning an increasingly skeptical eye on some of the expensive biologics coming their way. And that helped persuade both big pharma companies to forget about making full submissions to NICE on Avastin and Erbitux. Article

UK out to make itself more attractive to drug developers

John Carroll — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:29:00 -0400

U.K. officials are shaking up their biomedical research industry in order to make the country a more attractive place for drug developers. A string of academic health science centers will combine academic medical research departments and teaching hospitals, copying a structure in the U.S. that has benefited researchers. And officials will highlight the trials that are being planned for new drugs, making it easier for developers to recruit patients for their studies. Pfizer had to pull out of four planned trials in the U.K. after it was unable to find a sufficient number of patients who fit the profile.

- read the report from the Financial Times

PLUS: U.K. officials have nailed down a big part of the funding needed for a new "laboratory of the future" that will cost close to $400 million to build. Report

British biotech execs sour on industry’s 'dire' shape

John Carroll — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:07:18 -0400

Investors have sourced on publicly traded biotech companies in a big way. IPOs appear to be a less and less appealing way to cash out venture players. And don't look for any kind of a change near-term.

That bleak message has just been repeated for readers of the Financial Times, who were treated to a series of negative assessments from some of the U.K.'s top biotech execs. Too many trial disappointments in too short a period of time has been fingered for much of the blame.

One sample of the industry's view: "While there are some very strong companies developing--including Oxford BioMedica, Acambis and Protherics--the sector is really in dire shape," says Glyn Edwards, chief executive of Antisoma.

- read the article in the Financial Times

European investors sour on biotech market

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

There's a loud drumbeat of warnings coming from Europe over the sour state of biotech investing. Zhining Xu, an analyst at Seymour Pierce, tells the Financial Times that 2007 was a "disaster for biotechnology in the U.K." Andrew Baker, chairman of the International Biotech Trust, calls the first half of 2008 "appalling." And in FierceBioResearcher, we feature the voice of Sir Chris Evans, one of Britain's pioneering biotech entrepreneurs, talking about the "perfect storm" that has smashed into the field, threatening the amount of research work that's being done on the continent.

The viral skepticism isn't restricted to Europe. Investors are noting an increasingly tough regulatory approach to approvals at the FDA, a string of late-stage drug failures and nervousness over the lengthy amount of time it will take to get new genetic therapies on the market.

Interestingly, biotech stocks have been beaten down so far that some of the pessimists are saying that there are grounds for optimism. In the investing world, what goes down must go up. Right?

- read the article in the Financial Times

ALSO: One bullish Danish expert says that Denmark's biotech companies have matured to the point where they are ripe for acquisition by Big Pharma. Report

Finding no magic for 'Merlin,' Sir Evans shifts focus

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Sir Christopher Evans' is scrapping Merlin Biosciences and transferring the early-stage venture funds to the newly-formed Excalibur, which will shift focus to late-stage therapies. That's bitter news to start-ups in the UK, which have long been able to tap into the seed funds offered by Merlin. Evans plans to raise a new fund with £100 million to invest in a range of companies spanning everything from specialty pharma to surgical equipment makers.

Many early-stage biotechs are "fraught with difficulty" and may have to consolidate, Evans told the Financial Times. Merlin's three funds are worth more than £450 million.

- read the article in the Financial Times

Related Articles:
Tips for funding a biotech start-up. Report
VC firm looks to early-stage research projects. Report

Biopharma execs sign on to tout UK's R&D work

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

A high-profile crew of biopharma execs are signing on to help promote the life sciences industry in the UK. Chris Brinsmead, president of AstraZeneca U.K., will chair a 12-man strategy group for UK Trade & Investment to scout overseas markets for the U.K.'s life sciences industry while recruiting overseas investors. The life sciences industry is one of five sectors getting some muscular promotional support. And with the largest pipeline for new products in Europe, the country feels it has plenty to boast about.

"The UK is Europe's top location for research and development and a global hub for scientific research, but retaining this position in the face of growing competition from abroad is a significant challenge," Lord Digby Jones, the UK's trade minister, told The Times.

- read the report from The Times

Related Articles:
Market volatility spurs M&A talks at UK biotechs. Report
U.K. to require more disclosure of drug trial data. Report
U.K. researchers driven out by tough regulations. Report
GSK looks abroad for more scientists as U.K. shortage grows. Report