Following November’s equity investment that brought it a 14% ownership in Protomer Technologies Inc., Eli Lilly and Co. has acquired the privately held company engineering protein therapeutics that sense molecular activators. If development and commercial milestones are met, the deal could be worth more than $1 billion. Lilly brings Protomer’s glucose-sensing insulin program into the fold, based on the company’s molecular engineering of protein sensors platform. Lilly has now bought the remainder of the Protomer stock it acquired beyond its initial investment. Pasadena, Calif.-based Protomer, founded in 2015, is developing glucose-responsive insulins that can detect blood sugar levels and automatically activate themselves during the day.

Politicians and pressure groups push back against Philip Morris’ Vectura acquisition

It’s more than 20 years since the tobacco firm Philip Morris International Inc. commissioned a controversial research paper, “Public Finance Balance of Smoking in the Czech Republic,” which infamously argued that smokers cut state health care expenditure by dying early. The paper was considered an outrage and led to a high-profile apology from the company in the Wall Street Journal, after being widely derided by politicians and commentators internationally. The company’s July 9 proposal to buy the respiratory diseases firm Vectura Group plc for $1.2 billion is already looking just as provocative, according to U.K. politicians and anti-smoking groups, who are calling for the government to intervene to stop it going ahead.

Cost profile in HF phase III favors Scpharmaceuticals’ wearable Furoscix

Scpharmaceuticals Inc. reported top-line results from its prospective phase III Freedom-HF study evaluating overall and heart failure (HF)-related costs of treating congestion in patients with chronic HF. Patients were treated with the Burlington, Mass.-based company’s investigational Furoscix post-discharge from the emergency department compared to a historical comparator group given the diuretic furosemide intravenously in the inpatient hospital setting. Furoscix, a solution of furosemide formulated to a neutral pH, is designed to allow for outpatient, subcutaneous self-infusion by way of a wearable, pre-programmed, on-body drug delivery system. Based on an interim analysis done to confirm the final sample size, the trial was stopped early due to a statistically significant reduction in 30-day HF-related outlay in patients given Furoscix.

Poolbeg Pharma takes ‘AIM’ at ‘flu with $35M IPO in London

DUBLIN – Poolbeg Pharma plc raised £25 million (US$35 million) in an IPO on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to pursue development of antiviral drugs. The company priced the offering at 10 pence per share, which implies a valuation of £50 million. Shares are due to commence trading on Monday, July 19. The company is attempting to forge a new path in the treatment of serious influenza infection by targeting host pathways that contribute to life-threatening inflammation in vulnerable patients. Its lead asset is POLB-001, a phase II-ready p38 mitogen-activated protein (Map) kinase inhibitor, which acts as an immunomodulator.

U.S. lawmakers pressure Germany on WTO waiver

Hoping to change Germany’s stance on a proposed World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of intellectual property (IP) rights, several U.S. lawmakers have asked to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she’s in Washington for a July 15 summit with President Joe Biden. “We are troubled by the European Union’s continuing opposition to this initiative, which we understand is a position led by Germany within the EU,” nine Democratic members of the House said in a letter to German Ambassador Emily Haber. Given the current surges of COVID-19 in several countries and new variants that are more threatening, it is urgent that Germany end its blockade against adopting the emergency waiver of IP rights related to medical products needed to prevent, detect and treat COVID-19 infections, according to the letter.

Data needed for Chinese COVID-19 vaccines against Delta variant

The lack of data surrounding the efficacy of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta variant has had many questioning them, especially after a recent study showed that one of those vaccines, Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s Coronavac, was less effective than Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE’s Comirnaty in Chile.

Harbour Biomed prepping for phase III on back of phase II myasthenia gravis data

Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. said its anti-FcRn monoclonal antibody, batoclimab, generated top-line phase II data in generalized myasthenia gravis (MG), and the company expects to move into a phase III study by the end of this year, with final data reported in April 2022. In the phase II trial, 57% and 76% of patients who suffered from moderate to severe generalized MG received batoclimab and showed persistent clinical improvements for six weeks as measured by two clinical efficacy scales, respectively.

Also in the news

Acelrx, Alexion, Alkeus, Allena, Antengene, Aptamer, Arch, Astrazeneca, Auris, Awakn, Axonis, Basilea, Briacell, Cellares, Celldex, Cohbar, Cyxone, Entos, Escient, Gigagen, Imara, Imcheck, Immunitybio, Inmune, Jatt, Kineta, Kintor, Kriya, Madrigal, Medicenna, Ocean, Osel, Poseida, Qualigen, Ribon, Ryvu, Saniona, Scpharmaceuticals, Sesen, Sirnaomics, Transcode, Umecrine, Virometix, Zendal