Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to pay $132 per share to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. in a deal valued at about $14.6 billion, taking ownership of Caplyta (lumateperone), a once-daily oral therapy approved to treat adults with schizophrenia, as well as depressive episodes associated with bipolar I or II disorder, as a monotherapy and adjunctive therapy with lithium or valproate. Also in the pipeline is ITI-1284, a phase II-stage candidate undergoing tests in generalized anxiety disorder and Alzheimer’s disease-related psychosis and agitation. Shares of Bedminster, N.J.-based Intra-Cellular (NASDAQ:ITCI) were trading at $127.58, up $32.67, or 34%.
Lilly’s ‘timely’ $2.5B Scorpion deal; GSK pays $1B up front for Idrx
Joining the dealmaking spree to kick off the 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Eli Lilly and Co. announced it was picking up an early clinical-stage PI3Kα inhibitor program from Scorpion Therapeutics Inc. in a deal that could be worth up to $2.5 billion, while GSK plc is adding to its cancer pipeline with the acquisition of Idrx Inc. for $1 billion up front.
Abbvie and Simcere enter a $1B T-cell engager deal
Abbvie Inc. and Simcere Zaiming Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. are part of the volley of large deals accompanying the opening of the 43rd annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. The two have agreed to develop SIM-0500, a humanized GPRC5D-BCMA-CD3 trispecific antibody, which is in phase I studies in the U.S. and China to treat refractory multiple myeloma. Simcere is getting an undisclosed up-front payment from Abbvie but could bring in as much as $1.05 billion in option fees and milestones. Abbvie jumped into the space last October in a potential $1.4 billion deal involving Evolveimmune Therapeutics Inc.’s T-cell engager platform. The conference has more than 8,000 attendees with about 500 companies presenting through this Thursday, Jan. 16.
Phio flies on complete responses in phase I skin cancer trial
Shares of Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. soared 368% by midday Jan. 13 on news that two patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma had a complete response following treatment with the company’s Intasyl siRNA gene silencing candidate PH-762. Of the two other patients treated in the second cohort of the phase Ib trial, one had a partial response with 90% tumor clearance, while the other had stable disease. The intratumoral injections were well-tolerated. Shares (NASDAQ:PHIO) were trading at $7.91, up $6.22.
Insilico wins second Menarini deal with oncology candidate
Insilico Medicine Inc. nabbed a potential $550 million-plus deal with Menarini Group’s Stemline Therapeutics Inc. for an unnamed preclinical small-molecule drug targeting solid tumors, adding to a $500 million deal inked by the duo in January 2024. Under terms of the agreement announced Jan. 10, New York-based Stemline agreed to pay $20 million up front to gain global rights to develop and commercialize Insilico’s preclinical generative AI-discovered small-molecule drug candidate targeting solid tumors.
Newco Timberlyne in-licenses Keymed’s CD-38 MAb for $337M
Mountainfield Venture Partners and Chengdu, China-based Keymed Biosciences Co. Ltd have partnered to form San Diego-based Timberlyne Therapeutics, which will progress Keymed’s CD-38 monoclonal antibody (MAb) globally excluding China. Under terms, Timberlyne gains exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize CM-313 globally, excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. In exchange, Keymed will receive an up-front payment of $30 million and an equity interest in Timberlyne. Keymed is also eligible to receive up to $337.5 million in development and sales-based milestones plus sales-based royalties. Concurrent with the license agreement Timberlyne, which is focused on developing therapies for autoimmune disorders, closed a $180 million series A round to advance CM-313.
Galapagos splits, keeps cell therapies; spinout takes small molecules
Galapagos NV is abandoning its small molecule roots to focus on cell therapy and at the same time splitting in two, with the spinout company, dedicated to acquiring a portfolio of assets, taking the lion’s share of the capital. After restructuring and cutting 300 staff, the original Galapagos will have around €500 million (US$510 million) to develop its pipeline of seven cell therapy programs, while the as yet unnamed spinout company will have €2.45 billion to buy up programs and companies.
The BioWorld Insider podcast: a year of interviews and insights
The BioWorld Insider podcast is a monthly dive into the business and science of drug development. Conversations with CEOs and BioWorld analysts in the past 12 months have included a wide range of chats with experts who are shaping the future. Subjects included quarterly reviews for M&As and financings, the slow but steady growth of funding and partnering for therapies to treat women, the impact of artificial intelligence and quantum computing on drug development, rare disease drug development, the costs of delays in clinical trials, and an overview of the one of the year’s biggest conferences, the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology gathering in Chicago.
2024 BioWorld Year in Review
BioWorld’s staff recaps the therapeutic trends and breakthroughs of 2024, the economic highs and lows facing the industry throughout the past year and the regulatory actions that are likely to have implications as biopharma forges ahead in 2025.
2024 BioWorld MedTech Year in Review
BioWorld MedTech’s staff recaps the med-tech and diagnostic trends and breakthroughs of 2024, the economic highs and lows facing the industry throughout the past year and the regulatory actions that are likely to have implications as med tech forges ahead in 2025.
2024 BioWorld Science Year in Review
Taking a look back at the achievements in research this year, including brain maps, pandemic breakthroughs and advances in pregnancy health.