Shares of Imago Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGO) were flying high midday, trading at $35.60, up $18.20, or 104%, on word that Merck & Co. Inc. has agreed to a merger deal whereby the company will take over Imago for $36 per share, in an arrangement that bears an equity value of about $1.35 billion. The latter is working on new drugs for myeloproliferative neoplasms and other bone marrow diseases. Lead candidate bomedemstat (IMG-7289), an orally available lysine-specific demethylase 1 inhibitor, is undergoing multiple phase II trials for the treatment of essential thrombocythemia, myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera, along with other indications.

Fogpharma’s series D brings in $178M

Researcher, serial entrepreneur and investor Gregory Verdine has helped Fogpharma Inc. bring in a $178 million series D financing. The company plans to use the proceeds to develop its lead candidate, FOG-001, a direct beta-catenin inhibitor, which is expected to enter clinical development in mid-2023 in an oncology indication. Verdine, the company’s CEO, also is CEO of fungal biosphere specialist Lifemine Therapeutics Inc. The round included new investors Arch Venture Partners, Milky Way Investments and Fidelity Management & Research Co. Existing investors Venbio Partners, Deerfield Management, GV, Cormorant Asset Management, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., Invus, Farallon Capital Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Casdin Capital and Pagsgroup, also participated.

Tenacia acquires seizure therapy from Marinus in $266M deal

Tenacia Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has acquired exclusive greater China rights to certain formulations of Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s seizure therapy, ganaxolone (Ztalmy), in a deal worth up to $266 million. Under the terms, Tenacia now has the rights to develop and commercialize current oral and intravenous dose formulations of ganaxolone in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It also gained the right to the first negotiation for a new formulation of the drug in the future. In turn, the Chinese company will pay Marinus a $10 million up-front payment. Marinus also is eligible to receive up to $256 million in regulatory, clinical and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered low double-digit royalty payments based on net sales.

How equipped are radiopharma stakeholders to overcome radioactive challenges? 

Global interest in radiopharmaceuticals is growing, and some big deals in the space have sparked interest in the last few years. The idea behind these therapies is to attach a radioactive isotope to a targeting molecule that delivers radiation to the cancer cell with a high degree of specificity and selectivity. The global radiopharma industry was estimated to be worth $5 billion in 2017, and it could grow to $15 billion in the U.S. alone in the coming years. But, although many in the field are hoping to turn radiopharmaceuticals into mainstream cancer therapy, the therapy requires sophisticated infrastructure, with just-in-time delivery for the radioactive treatment and patients isolated while they are receiving it. Quality control and numerous layers of regulation will make for a daunting space to enter.

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Abbvie, Adaptimmune, Ammax, Apellis, Apim, Belite, Bioinvent, Biontech, Blue Water Vaccines, Candel, Carmell, Cassava, Dragonfly, Edigene, Eli Lilly, Emmaus, Escient, First Wave, Iaso, Immunomet, Intensity, Iovance, Iveric, Kempharm, Macrogenics, Mei, Microvascular, Nona, Nordic Nanovector, Northwest, Novavax, Opna, Optinose, Oramed, Pfizer, Provention, Replay, Sanofi, Sensei, Truebinding, Umoja, Xnk