Deals

GSK inks $3.25B insomnia pact with Actelion

John Carroll — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:48:46 -0400

GlaxoSmithKline has partnered with Actelion in a whopping 3.3 billion Swiss franc pact ($3.25 billion) covering a new insomnia therapy now in late-stage studies. Actelion nabs 150 million francs upfront with 415 million more dependent on the Phase III data. Shares of Actelion swiftly shot up after the Swiss developer announced the news concerning almorexant. Another 2.7 billion francs in additional milestone payments is up for grabs depending on the drug's performance against insomnia and two other "major indications." GSK will also pay for 40 percent of the remaining development costs for the drug, which Actelion will continue to shepherd.

That's a big win for Actelion, which has been developing the orexin receptor antagonist. GSK acquires the worldwide rights to almorexant outside Japan. GSK has also been developing an orexin antagonist, though PharmaTimes notes that the program appears "stalled."

- see GSK's release
- here's the AFP story
- read the PharmaTimes report

BMS inks $227M collaboration deal with KAI

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

South San Francisco-based KAI Pharmaceuticals is getting a $25 million boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb---its upfront payment for a collaboration on KAI-9803, an experimental therapy to reduce the severity of a heart attack and improve clinical outcomes. BMS will also buy $10 million in KAI equity and up to $192 million in milestone payments and will pay for all future development efforts, including an upcoming Phase IIb. KAI also retains co-promotion rights in the U.S.

"This is a major milestone for KAI-9803, our most advanced of three clinical programs, and a strategically important collaboration for KAI," says CEO Steven James. "Bristol-Myers Squibb is a great partner for us with its impressive history of developing and commercializing breakthrough medicines in cardiovascular disease. We believe this deal is testimony to the value and potential of KAI-9803 and our broad proprietary technology around protein kinase C modulation." KAI was a 2006 Fierce 15 company.

- check out the press release
- read the Dow Jones report

Astellas pays $760M for Alzheimer's program

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Another day, another big biotech deal. This time it's Japan's Astellas Pharma, which is paying $760 million for access to CoMentis's Alzheimer's drug. The development and commercialization agreement covers CoMentis' entire beta-secretase inhibitor program, which includes the company's CoMentis' lead Alzhiemer's compound CTS-21166. CoMentis lands an upfront payment of $80 million and an equity investment of $20 million. It could also receive up to $660 million in development milestones along with performance-based commercialization milestones.

"I strongly believe that CoMentis is very sophisticated in small-molecule drug discovery and development in CNS, the area of attention. Astellas is committed to developing the CNS therapeutic area as one of our prioritized therapeutic areas, and this partnership is expected to be a driving force to accelerate the establishment of our CNS infrastructure," said Hirofumi Onosaka, Astellas's Senior Corporate Executive.

The deal is one of several recent examples of collaboration between American and Japanese biotech companies. Takeda, of course, recently bid for $8.8 billion for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Amgen bought Kyowa Hakko's antibody drug KW-0761, and in November Astellas also bought Santa Monica, CA-based Agensys.

- here's the Astellas release

SPOTLIGHT: Synta gains $80M from GSK

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:59:53 -0500

The FTC has cleared GlaxoSmithKline's deal with Synta, paving the way for Synta to receive an $80 million dollar up-front payment. Back in October GSK and Synta inked a $1.1 billion deal for STA-4783, which has demonstrated efficacy in improving median survival rates for melanoma patients in a mid-stage study. Synta was a 2004 Fierce 15 company. Report

Axcan accepts $1.3 billion buyout offer

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

Canada's Axcan Pharma is being bought out for $1.3 billion by the private equity group TPG Capital. Shareholders will get a 28 percent premium over Wednesday's close while Axcan gains a new owner as it pushes ahead with new gastrointestinal therapies. Just a few weeks ago Axcan inked a deal with Cellerix SL for the rights to Cx401, a mid-stage drug in development for the treatment of perianal fistulas. Axcan finished fiscal 2007 with $349 million in revenue.

"As an independent, private company with strong backing from TPG, we will be able to continue our focus on the development of innovative, high-quality medical products and become an even stronger partner to health professionals in the gastrointestinal arena," said Frank Verwiel, president and CEO of Axcan.

- see this release or more
- check out the AP report on the buyout

Related Article:
Axcan drug flunks Phase III trial. Report

Indian developer inks R&D pact with Merck

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

China may have seized the spotlight in the Pacific Rim recently with a string of new research developments, but India's still a player. India's Nicholas Piramal has inked an R&D pact with Merck, agreeing to advance experimental therapies for two oncology targets selected by Merck in exchange for milestone payments of up to $175 million for each new drug. Nicholas Piramal will be responsible for taking new drugs from discovery to mid-stage trials, and Merck will cherry pick the therapies it likes the best for late-stage trials.

"This agreement furthers our strategy of building global alliances that expand and advance Merck's pipeline, especially in countries such as India with rapidly expanding drug discovery competencies," said Merv Turner, senior vice president at Merck.

- see this release on the deal
- here's the report from MarketWatch for more

ALSO: Eli Lilly, meanwhile, says it will invest $100 million in China's R&D through Lilly Asian Ventures. It's primary focus will be fledgling life science companies. Report

Related Articles:
China now leads India in ongoing clinical trials. Report
China surges past India in drug discovery work. Report
India ramps up biotech funding. Report

Galapagos inks massive RA deal with J&J

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Belgium-based Galapagos shares shot up 12 percent on news that the company has inked a massive deal with Jassen Pharmaceutica, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The deal, which is worth up to €1 billion, covers small-molecule oral drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Under the agreement, Galapagos will get €15 million up front and an additional €2 million milestone payment for GT146, one of Galapagos' advanced RA programs. Janssen may select up to 12 programs from Galapagos' RA targets. For each program licensed by Janssen, Galapagos could receive option exercise fees and milestone payments up to €73 million, plus royalties on net sales of each approved new RA drug.

- see this release on the deal for more

Related Articles:
Galapagos extends discovery pact with Amgen. Report
Galapagos to buy UK's Inpharmatica. Report
J&J restructures pharma unit, laying off workers. Report
Scientists unveil new pathway for rheumatoid arthritis. Report

SPOTLIGHT: Crucell, MedImmune strike deal

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:59:53 -0400

Dutch biotech Crucell has inked a joint venture deal with MedImmune to develop its bacterial antibodies to treat hospital-acquired infections. MedImmune has agreed to provide upfront, annual and milestone fees that could exceed $40 million. Release

FDA, Gene Logic ink genomics deal

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Gene Logic has inked an agreement with the FDA to share quality control methods and metrics that may help the agency understand disparate genomic data sent as part of regulatory submissions. The collaboration is part of the FDA's Critical Path Initiative, the FDA's effort to help the industry choose the right drug candidates early on and move them quickly and successfully through the approval process. The results of the Gene Logic/FDA collaboration will be released publicly as a first step toward formulating industry-wide standards for genomic data assessment--there are currently no standards in place.

Things have been busy at Gene Logic lately, as the company has signed deals with several large drug developers to take a second look at their de-prioritized drug candidate. This pact will be a nice boost for the company's less-than-successful genomics division.

- see Gene Logic's release

Related Articles:
Gene Logic looks for new potential in Solvay drugs. Report
Gene Logic takes fresh look at Merck KGaA drugs. Report
Gene Logic, Abbott strike development deal. Report
Gene Logic re-examines Organon candidates. Report
Gene Logic to give Lilly drugs fresh look. Report

PTC Therapeutics gains $20M on new tech pact

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

These are good times for PTC Therapeutics, one of this year's Fierce 15. Just after being profiled in Forbes, PTC's Stuart Peltz announced that Celgene is investing $20 million in the company in exchange for an option for an exclusive R&D deal related to two cancer targets. The deal provides Celgene with the use of PTC's GEMS technology to develop two small molecule drugs.

Peltz learned long ago how to leverage PTC's technology into lucrative partnership deals with other companies. This pact is another sign that PTC can continue to fund much of its own work by hiring out its technology, which is one reason why the company decided to drop a recent move to go public. Pfizer, CV Therapeutics and Schering-Plough have also inked technology pacts with PTC.

- see PTC's release on the deal

Related Articles:
PTC Therapeutics gets the Forbes treatment. Report
Genetic therapy could cure 1,800 diseases. Report
Schering-Plough, PTC to collaborate. Report
PTC inks deal with CV. Report

Top 5 deals of the first half of 2007

Maureen Martino — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:52:11 -0400

Deal-making continued at a blistering pace in the first half of 2007, as drug giants snapped up promising therapies from smaller developers in order to beef up their pipelines. See the companies below for a look at the biggest deals so far this year.

1. AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb
2. Novartis and Antisoma
3. Shire and Renovo
4. Sanofi-Aventis and Oxford BioMedica
5. Amgen and Cytokinetics

SPOTLIGHT: Ventana inks buyout deal

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:59:53 -0400

Ventana Medical Systems, which has been fighting a takeover offer from Roche, has inked a deal to acquire Spring BioScience--which makes rabbit monoclonal antibodies and other reagents--for $28.9 million. Spring investors also stand to gain up to $11.7 million in milestones. Report

Xoma garners $30M in licensing pact

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Xoma has produced fresh evidence of just how hot its technology is. Pfizer has licensed its tech for screening and manufacturing antibody products for $30 million upfront and a schedule of royalties and milestones. Berkeley, CA-based Xoma has already inked a string of licensing pacts with the likes of Merck, Centocor and Alexion and gets royalty checks from Lucentis, which was developed with its bacterial cell expression tech.

"This agreement provides clear validation of XOMA's antibody research," said Xoma CEO Steven Engle. Investors were clearly ready to see it his way, sending shares of Xoma up by 24 percent in early trading.

- see the release

Related Articles:
Engle named Xoma CEO, lands stock deal. Report
Biotech: An industry of the living dead? Report

BMS gets $50M upfront in Pfizer deal

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 06:59:55 -0400

Is this Pfizer's dose of financial Red Bull? Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb have inked in the details of their deal to develop treatments for metabolic disorders. First announced in April, the agreement makes Pfizer responsible for all R&D; the two companies will conduct joint Phase III trials and work together to sell the products.

Pfizer's stimulus: Bristol-Myers will give the company $50 million up front to jump start R&D efforts. And Bristol-Myers will pay 40 percent of development and commercialization costs. Now we know at least one Pfizer R&D unit whose jobs are safe, right?

- check out the release

Related Articles:
Pfizer partners with BMS in $1B deal. Report
New source on metabolic disorders. Report
Pfizer pares down Ann Arbor campus. Report

Merck abandons potential Vioxx successor

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Neuromed and Merck are abandoning an experimental, mid-stage pain drug after gathering some disappointing data on the compound. NMED-160 (AKA MK-6721) "does not demonstrate the ideal pharmaceutical characteristics considered necessary to advance the compound further in development,'' said Neuromed in a release. The drug is an N-type calcium channel blocker, which is designed to interfere with pain signals.

The two companies inked a $475 million pain development pact in the spring of 2006 as Merck was reeling from the loss of Vioxx and officials for the companies say they'll continue to explore other pain therapies together.

- see the release on the drug

ALSO: It wasn't all bad news for Merck today: A Wall Street investment bank upgraded the company's stock from "neutral" to "outperform." FiercePharma

Related Articles:
Merck inks $475M deal with Neuromed. Report
Neuromed raises $25M. Report
Neuromed lands pain therapy in $30M deal. Report

Anadys dumps hep B compound in restructuring

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:59:55 -0400

Anadys Pharmaceuticals in San Diego is also restructuring to account for a development failure. Out the door go 29 of 88 employees as it halts work on ANA975 for hepatitis B. Toxicology testing on ANA975, which was partnered with Novartis, delivered some discouraging news. CEO Lawrence Fritz says the remaining workers will concentrate their efforts on ANA598 for hepatitis C and ANA773 for cancer.

"With our cash balance of $69 million, we believe we have the resources to carry these two compounds forward to achieve meaningful clinical milestones," added Fritz.

- see this release from Anadys
- check out the San Diego Union-Tribune report

Related Articles:
Novartis, Anadys abandon hep C drug. Report
Anadys lands big licensing deal for hep C drug. Report
Anadys reports big response in hep B trial. Report
Analysts raise doubts after Anadys halts study. Report

Tobira garners $31M to advance HIV drugs

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Up-start biotech Tobira Therapeutics, which is developing HIV/AIDS drugs, has raised $31 million in its first round of venture capital. Domain Associates and Frazier Healthcare Ventures led the round for Tobira, which also announced that James Sapirstein has been named CEO. Tobira is getting started on its development work with therapies licensed in from Japan's Takeda. Tobira announced that it has licensed in TAK-652 and TAK-220, CCR5 antagonists that can be administered orally and bind CCR5 receptors to interfere with the entry of the HIV-1 virus into macrophages and activated T-cells by inhibiting fusion between viral and cellular membranes.

- read the report from SoCalTech

ALSO: Princeton, NJ based Celator Pharmaceuticals has closed a $10 million follow-on round of financing from Domain Associates, Quaker BioVentures, TL Ventures, Ventures West Management, GrowthWorks Capital, the Business Development Bank of Canada and Hearthstone Investment. Release

DEALS: GSK, Targacept ink $1.5B pain deal

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:59:52 -0400

GSK, Targacept ink $1.5B pain deal

DEALS
WHO	WITH	WHAT	SCOOP
GSK	Targacept	$1.5B deal	GSK and Targacept have inked a discovery, development and commercialization deal for therapeutics that target specified neuronal nicotinic receptors.
Meda	MedPointe	$800M buyout	Meda said that MedPointe's products, which focus on the areas of allergy, respiratory and pain, are a perfect fit for Meda's portfolio.
Genstar Capital	PRA International	$744 buyout	Genstar Capital has struck a deal to buy PRA International for $744 million, a premium of about 13 percent on PRA's stock price. PRA gets 50 days to solicit a better offer.
Merck	NovaCardia	$350M buyout	NovaCardia has a drug--KW-3902--in late-stage studies for congestive heart failure.
Pfizer Global R&D	Hydra Biosciences	$195M deal	Hydra stands to gain up to $195 million in up front and milestone payments the first product developed from the Transient Receptor Potential channel family.
SurModics	Brookwood Pharmaceuticals	$62M sale	The Southern Research Institute has sold Brookwood Pharmaceuticals to SurModics for $40M up front and up to $22M in milestones. Both SurModics and Brookwood specialize in drug delivery technologies.
Cell Therapeutics	Systems Medicine	$35M buyout	Systems Medicine is developing a genetically engineered drug called Brostallicin, which Cell Therapeutics believes is a "perfect fit" for its pipeline.
Antares Pharma	Jazz Pharmaceuticals	$16.5M development and licensing deal	The deal is for the development of therapeutics for an unnamed CNS disorder based on Antares' Advanced Transdermal Delivery system.

SurModics paying up to $62M for Brookwood

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

The Southern Research Institute has sold Brookwood Pharmaceuticals to SurModics for $40 million up front and up to $22 million in milestones. Both SurModics and Brookwood specialize in drug delivery technologies. Brookwood was created two years ago and its 70 employees are expected to stay put in Birmingham, AL. "While we will miss having Brookwood as part of our extended organization, we are convinced that these two combined companies will be much more successful than they would apart," said Southern Research CEO Jack Secrist.

- check out the release
- here's the report from the Birmingham News

Related Articles:
Merck pays $308M deal for SurModics delivery platform. Report
Drug delivery vehicles' shape could determine efficacy. Report
Nanoparticle developed for new drug delivery system. Report

ImmunoGen surges on milestone trial achievement

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Shares of ImmunoGen took off yesterday after the biotech announced that Genentech's launch of a mid-stage cancer trial for trastuzumab-DM1 would trigger a $5 million milestone payment. The drug, which is being developed to treat a certain kind of breast cancer, is a combination of ImmunoGen's cell-killing agent and an antibody from Genentech. Analysts called the start of the Phase II trial as a significant validation of ImmunoGen's technology. Genentech has a pact to use ImmunoGen's technology in its drug discovery work.

- see ImmunoGen's announcement
- check out the AP report for more info

Related Article:
Genentech touts pipeline prospects as doubts fester. Report
ImmunoGen sweetens deal with Genentech. Report
ImmunoGen gains funds under revised pact. Report