> Centauri Therapeutics secured the first slice of a £3 million ($4.2 million) round and named serial biotech entrepreneur Clive Dix as its chairman. The funding will support the development of drugs against antimicrobial-resistant pathogens using assets Centauri has picked up from Altermune Technologies. Dix, who co-founded and led Convergence Pharmaceuticals to a $675 million takeover by Biogen ($BIIB), will oversee the work as chairman. Centauri is working out of the Sandwich R&D campus formerly occupied by Pfizer ($PFE). Release
> Adimab entered into an antibody discovery pact with iTeos Therapeutics. The deal will see Adimab use its antibody discovery and optimization platform to perform research into targets picked out by iTeos, a Belgian biotech focused on boosting the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs by manipulating the tumor microenvironment. Adimab has previously landed deals with leading drugmakers including Merck ($MRK), Roche ($RHHBY) and GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK). Release
> Mucosis snagged €3.7 million ($4.0 million) from the Wellcome Trust to finance a Phase I trial of its intranasal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, SynGEM. A team at Imperial College London will run the Phase I dose-finding trial, which is a precursor to a planned Phase IIa study. The pair of trials will go some way to establishing whether Mucosis' plan to tackle RSV using a bacterium-like-particle platform will take off. Wellcome Trust is bankrolling the trials, while existing investors have stepped in with a further €2 million to support manufacturing and regulatory submissions. Release
> Mologen (FRA:MGN) teamed up with MD Anderson to test its immunomodulator lefitolimod in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's ($BMY) checkpoint inhibitor Yervoy. Lefitolimod, also known as MGN1703, is a TLR9 agonist, a mechanism of action researchers at MD Anderson think may boost the effectiveness of Bristol-Myers' immunotherapy. "[Yervoy] and MGN1703 each target distinct, yet essential components of the immune system necessary to reject tumors. Boosting both of these arms in concert has shown improved therapeutic responses in preclinical models relative to either monotherapy alone," MD Anderson's Dr. Michael Curran said in a statement. Release
> Biotie ($BITI) accepted a $363 million (€333 million) buyout bid from Acorda Therapeutics ($ACOR). The offer works out at $25.60 a share, more than Finnish biotech Biotie ever traded for during its brief stint on Nasdaq, but well below the heights in hit years ago on its home exchange. In cashing out now, Biotie has secured access to financial clout and drug development know-how to support the advance of its Parkinson's disease candidate through Phase III. FierceBiotech
> Crossject (EPA:ALCJ) struck a deal to set up a research lab and production plan near Dijon, France. The site is intended to equip Crossject, the developer of a needle-free delivery technology, to realize its plans to ferry a succession of products to market, starting with its formulation of the rheumatoid arthritis drug methotrexate. Crossject is aiming to pick up an approval for the drug this year, after which the attention of its R&D team will shift to a handful of preclinical and clinical-stage programs. The 1,800-square-meter site will support this work. Release (French)