Shares in Bavarian Nordic A/S are down sharply after its development partner Johnson & Johnson terminated collaboration and license agreements in hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV). Shares in in the Danish company (OMX:BAVA) fell nearly 13% to DKK 115.75 (US$16.39) following the announcement. Its partnerships, with J&J’s Janssen pharma unit, began with a $187 million tie-up in 2014, to develop an Ebola vaccine that is now approved in the EU. That led to an $171 million HPV vaccine research agreement in December 2015 and an $879 million deal covering HIV-1 and HBV research in 2017.

Aspen’s $147.5M series A points its Parkinson’s therapy toward the clinic

Aspen Neuroscience Inc. has closed a series B financing of $147.5 million to help get its autologous neuron replacement into a phase I/IIa study. The San Diego-based company’s lead candidate, ANPD-001, an induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cell therapy, is intended for treating Parkinson’s disease. The cell replacement treatment uses a patient’s own cells to eliminate the need for immunosuppressive therapy. GV, Lyfe Capital and Revelation Partners co-led the round with participation from Orbimed, Arch Venture Partners, Frazier Life Sciences, Section32 and Alexandria Venture Investments. New investors included Newton Investment Management, EDBI, Lifeforce Capital, Medical Excellence Capital Partners, Mirae Asset Capital and NS Investment. Aspen was seeded in 2018 with $6.5 million and then followed up in early 2020 with a $70 million series A.

At $18B so far, 2022 biopharma financings lag 2021 pace

With 47% fewer biopharma financings than last year, investors who were once enthused over the industry’s potential in combating the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus appear to be taking a step back.

Oxurion shares fall 40% on phase II miss in DME

Shares in Oxurion NV dropped 40.3% percent May 9 on news that one of its two clinical-stage assets, THR-687, failed to demonstrate efficacy in a phase II trial in diabetic macular edema (DME). The candidate, a small-molecule pan integrin receptor antagonist, failed to demonstrate efficacy in Part A of the trial, called Integral, in which treatment-naïve patients received one of two doses of THR-687. That was intended as a prelude to Part B of the study, in which a selected dose of the drug would be compared with the standard of care, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor Eylea (aflibercept).

Askgene’s series A adds $20M for cytokine-focused pipeline

Askgene Pharma Inc., a company originally founded in 2012 with an eye on the biosimilars market and later expanding into next-generation cytokine therapeutics, completed a $20 million series A financing led by Qiming Venture Partners and TF Capital. Proceeds will be used to advance work on pipeline candidates, which include a Claudin 18.2-targeted antibody for gastric cancer and a bispecific antibody candidate for wet age-related macular degeneration. Funds also will be used to support continued development of the company’s Smartkine cytokine drug platform, designed to improve selectivity and the therapeutic window for cytokine drugs.

US HHS goes after Merck’s 340B policy

Merck & Co. Inc. is the latest biopharma company to be slapped with an enforcement letter over its restrictions on providing 340B discounts to all contract pharmacies. In the May 6 letter, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordered the Kenilworth, N.J., company to drop the restrictions immediately and to credit or refund all covered entities for overcharges that have resulted from its policy. Based on Merck’s willingness to comply with its 340B obligations, HHS will determine whether civil monetary penalties, of up to $5,000 per overcharge, are warranted, according to the letter.

Also in the news

AC Immune, Acer, Adocia, Alzamend Neuro, Aqilion, Astellas, Athira, Avicanna, Axsome, Bio-Thera, Brii, Celgene, Compass Pathways, Cumberland, Discovery Park Ventures, Eledon, Elpiscience, Glenmark, Hovione, Imago, Inxmed, Jazz, Jixing, Lianbio, Logicbio, Mereo, Moonlake, Myovant, Nykode, Orion, Oxurion, Pfizer, Redhill, Resverlogix, Selection, Teva, Therapeutic Solutions, Twist, Verity