Cardio3 Biosciences (EBR:CARD) secured $357,000 (€323,000) from the state of Minnesota to support its expansion there. The Belgian biopharma has agreed to hire 33 staff members within two years in conjunction with it taking over an entire floor of Rochester's Minnesota BioBusiness Center. Mayo Clinic--a key partner in Cardio3's revamped R&D strategy--occupies several floors of the building. PostBulletin
Chiasma raked in $70 million in a Series E round to set itself up for life after Roche ($RHHBY). The Israeli-American biotech will use the cash to push its treatment for the hormone disorder acromegaly toward approval. FierceBiotech
Synpromics entered into a collaboration with uniQure ($QURE). The deal will see Synpromics--an Edinburgh, U.K.-based synthetic biology company--apply its technology to the development of tools to deliver gene therapies to the liver. A grant from Scottish Enterprise is supporting the work. Release
Bavarian Nordic (OMX:BAVA) struck a big deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY). The Danish company will receive $60 million (€54 million) upfront and up to $915 million in milestones in return for the option to buy its Phase III therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine Prostvac. "We believe the BMS agreement provides some third-party validation on the wealth of Phase I-II data, Phase III plan and technology platform," Jefferies analyst Peter Welford wrote in a note to investors. FierceBiotech
Alizé Pharma advanced its unacylated ghrelin analog AZP-531 into a Phase II trial. The study will assess the ability of the drug to control excessive eating in 40 patients with the rare genetic disorder Prader-Willi syndrome. Release
Bloomberg reported that French nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) player Genfit (EPA:GNFT) may put itself up for sale. Sanofi ($SNY), Novartis ($NVS) and Shire ($SHPG) are all possible buyers for the company, which has one of the most promising candidates in the much-hyped NASH indication. FierceBiotech
Domain Therapeutics created Kaldi Pharma to develop its A2a/A1 and A2a antagonist programs. Kaldi has already granted Clevexel Pharma the worldwide license for its A2a/A1 preclinical candidate for Parkinson's disease. The company is now searching for an oncology partner. Release
SuppreMol accepted a €200 million ($225 million) cash buyout bid from Baxter ($BAX). Munich, Germany-based SuppreMol is developing a pipeline of autoimmune candidates, including a Phase IIa treatment for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. FierceBiotech
BioLineRx ($BLRX) filed the paperwork for a Phase IIb trial of BL-8040 as a consolidation treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. The Israeli biotech expects to receive clearance for the trial--which is the first of three planned hematological cancer studies--in the next few months. Release
Ablynx (EBR:ABLX) began bracing itself for the loss of the collaboration it struck with Merck Serono in 2013. The decision to revisit the deal comes during yet another R&D rejig at Merck Serono. "We've seen, for example, the activity of Merck Serono in the very large deal with Pfizer in immuno-oncology, which--from what we've read--clearly is taking a considerable resource. And we interpret that might well lead to reprioritization from their side," Ablynx CEO Edwin Moses said on an investor conference call to discuss the company's full-year results. FierceBiotech | Transcript