Go Therapeutics Inc., a small firm that has spent the last several years quietly building out a cancer-focused platform targeting O-glycans, attracted the attention of Astellas Pharma Inc., inking a collaboration with Astellas subsidiary Xyphos Biosciences Inc. to develop immuno-oncology therapeutics. The deal, which provides Go with $20.5 million up front and the potential for up to $763 million in milestone and contingency payments, will combine Go’s work in glycoproteomics with Xyphos’ Accel platform. It’s the second big pharma deal for Go, which signed a partnership with Roche AG in 2018, and it comes as the company looks to advance its internal programs toward the clinic.

Wall Street ambivalent about I-Mab’s CD73 bid in NSCLC; phase II results due at ASCO

Mixed reviews followed I-Mab Biopharma Co. Ltd.’s disclosure of the latest phase II data from a 221-person trial with anti-CD73 antibody uliledlimab, given as a monotherapy and when paired with an anti-PD1 drug in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Findings will be offered next weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. I-Mab said the trial turned up an overall response rate of 26% in a group of NSCLC patients not eligible for standard of care treatment, and CD73 expression appeared to correlate with clinical response as a potential biomarker.

Pivotal US senator holds out hope for drug pricing negotiations

Direct Medicare negotiation of U.S. drug prices could yet become a reality if Democrats in Congress will agree to a stripped-down version of the $2 trillion Build Back Better legislation. “By allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month, and allowing the importation of drugs from Canada, we can lower prescription drug prices in America,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) tweeted yesterday. “We must take action & keep the promises we've made to our seniors.” Manchin, who was pivotal in killing the bill in the Senate due to its price tag, is reportedly working with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to draft a less costly version of the bill that may be able to get through Congress via the reconciliation process.

Healiva to resurrect wound care cell therapies after Smith & Nephew asset acquisition

Healiva SA, a Swiss wound care specialist, emerged from stealth mode having acquired two cell therapy assets from Smith & Nephew plc. Financial terms were not disclosed, but they included an up-front payment as well as “deferred benefits,” Healiva CEO and founder Priyanka Dutta-Passecker told BioWorld. The deal means that the Lugano-based company – which was formed in 2020 – could be booking revenues as early as 2023.

Abliva plans SEK 200 million raise to back mitochondrial disease play

Abliva AB has gone above its market capitalization to raise the money it needs to start a phase II/III trial of KL-1333 for the treatment of primary mitochondrial disease. The raise follows receipt at the company of a U.S. FDA go-ahead for a registrational phase II/III of KL-1333 in November 2021. That in turn rested on phase I/Ib data published in May 2021, showing good long-term safety and tolerability of the orally administered product.

Federal circuit decrees acting PTO director can rule on inter partes reviews

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled again on the appointments clause questions evolving from a patent dispute between Arthrex Inc. and Smith & Nephew Inc., this time in connection with a former acting director of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The federal circuit determined that an acting PTO director’s lack of formal appointment did not detract from the authority to review appeals of inter partes reviews (IPRs) of patents, seemingly closing the door on a controversy that has plagued the patent system for more than two years.

Henlius lands two deals in Latin America

Two major deals inked by Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc. in May confirm the company’s plans to invest heavily in the Latin American market. Eurofarma Laboratórios S.A., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L. and Farma de Colombia SAS are Henlius' key partners in the region. A deal between Henlius and Eurofarma will grant the Chinese company $50.5 million, with an up-front payment of $4.5 million from Eurofarma. In return, Eurofarma gains the exclusive rights to distribute rituximab (Hanlikang) in 12 Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala and Panama.

Also in the news

Achieve, Alpine, Aruna, Asher, Cocrystal, Coda, Concert, Glaxosmithkline, Kempharm, Merck, Microbion, Neuexcell, Orphazyme, Scineuro, Theolytics, Virios, Vtv