> GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) submitted a European marketing application for the gene therapy it has developed with Italy's San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy. The therapy is intended to treat an immune deficiency tied to ADA-SCID, a disease that affects an estimated 14 newborns a year in Europe. GSK is filing for approval on the basis of data from just 18 children, all of whom are alive 13 years after the first of them was treated. FierceBiotech
> Kåre Schultz, the man widely thought to be CEO-elect of Novo Nordisk ($NVO) until his departure from the company last week, landed the top job at Lundbeck (CPH:LUN). Schultz will take over as CEO and president of Lundbeck later this month. The appointment of the 20-year Novo veteran who rose to the post of COO and was widely tipped to lead the company is a coup for Lundbeck. Shares in Lundbeck jumped 20% following news of the appointment and better than expected first quarter profits. Release
> Kymab raised $50 million (€44 million) from Neil Woodford's Patient Capital Trust (LON:WPCT) and Kelly Martin's Malin (ISE:MLC) in an expansion of its Series B round. The financing comes almost exactly one year after Kymab secured the first $40 million tranche of Series B cash from the Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Cambridge, U.K.-based Kymab will use the fresh funds to advance its pipeline of monoclonal antibodies. FierceBiotech
> UniQure ($QURE) overcame another hurdle in its long-running attempt to bring its gene therapy Glybera to market. Having been rocked last month by a preliminary report from a European rapporteur that stated Glybera lacked efficacy, the Dutch biotech bounced back this week when the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Advanced Therapies shared a more favorable final assessment of Glybera. The drug won approval two years ago but uniQure held back its launch so its label could reflect six-year follow-up data. Reuters
> Adaptimmune Therapeutics ($ADAP) pulled in more than $190 million (€167 million) in an IPO to finance development of its pipeline of T cell receptor-based therapies. The haul represents a success for the British biotech, which was initially aiming to raise $150 million. If investors take up the over-allotment, the final total could fall just short of $220 million. FierceBiotech
> Neil Woodford's fund increased its stake in Circassia Pharmaceuticals (LON:CIR) to 5.4%. The allergy vaccine developer--which pulled off a blockbuster IPO in London last year--has been in Woodford's portfolio since he set up his own investment group. And with the renowned fund manager getting deeper into the biotech, the group's stake in Circassia has crossed the 5% mark that necessitates a regulatory disclosure. Filing
> A pair of European biotechs renamed their businesses. Cardio3 Biosciences won shareholder approval to change its name to Celyad (EBR:CYAD), a name intended to reflect the company's expansion beyond cardiovascular diseases. Cellectis ($CLLS), another European CAR-T player, rebranded its plant science unit as Calyxt. The French biotech made the change to differentiate the crop business from the better-known drug development operation. Release | More