HONG KONG – Olix Pharmaceuticals Inc. has entered an extensive research collaboration to test its RNAi therapeutic, OLX-104C, with Fimanac, PCI Biotech Holding ASA’s delivery technology for nucleic acid-based therapies, with the aim of reducing off-target effects while treating androgenic alopecia, or hair loss.
LONDON – Neogenomics Inc. reported it plans to acquire Inivata Ltd., taking up a $390 million fixed price option to purchase the liquid biopsy specialist eight months early. The option was agreed to in May 2020, when Neogenomics made a $25 million minority equity investment in Inivata and was granted the right to acquire the rest of the company by the end of 2021.
As investors await an MAA submission to the EMA for U.S.-approved Mycapssa (octreotide) in acromegaly, Chiasma Inc. disclosed its plan to merge with Amryt plc in an all-stock deal, thereby gaining a global commercial presence. Terms call for the exchange of each Chiasma share for 0.396 American depositary share of Amryt. The latter closed May 4 at $12.95, so the deal values Chiasma at $5.13 per share, an 81% premium over the previous day’s ending price, noted Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff. The stock (NASDAQ:CHMA) rose $1.14, or 40%, to finish at $3.98.
HONG KONG – Canbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. signed a collaboration and licensing agreement that could be worth $591 million, gaining global rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize gene therapy candidates from Logicbio Therapeutics Inc. for the treatment of Fabry and Pompe diseases. The candidates are based on Logicbio’s adeno-associated virus (AAV) sL65, the first produced from its Saavy capsid development platform.
HONG KONG – Shionogi & Co. Ltd. has inked a multitarget drug discovery collaboration for Inveniai LLC’s artificial intelligence and machine learning platform Alphameld.
Soulbrain Holdings Co. Ltd. ramped up its unusual diversification program with the acquisition of Pixcell Medical Technologies Ltd. as part of the semiconductor company's shift into health care and in vitro diagnostics. The acquisition of Pixcell follows Soulbrain’s acquisition of Ark Diagnostics Inc. in 2018 as the company looks to the bio-health care industry as its "engine for new growth."
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (Labcorp) further consolidated its position as a leading provider of rheumatoid arthritis testing with a definitive agreement to acquire the Vectra assay from Myriad Genetics Inc. along with other assets of the Salt Lake City-based company’s autoimmune business unit in a deal valued at $150 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2021.
A prolific builder of biopharma and health technology companies, Roivant Sciences Ltd. is poised to join Nasdaq through a newly proposed merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Patient Square Capital LLC. The deal, which values Roivant at $5 billion, includes $611 million of new money, composed of $411 million held in trust by the SPAC, Montes Archimedes Acquisition Corp., plus $200 million from a committed PIPE financing. The transaction, expected to peg Roivant's initial market cap at $7.3 billion, follows a September 2019 deal in which Roivant sold interests in five biopharmas to Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. Ltd. (SDP) for $3 billion cash.
In a first for the biotech industry, the European Commission (EC) has imposed a €7.5 million (US$9.05 million) fine on Sigma-Aldrich, under the EU’s 2004 Merger Regulation, for providing incorrect or misleading information during a merger investigation.
TORONTO – Opsens Inc. has inked an agreement with Madrid, Spain’s Cathmedical Cardiovascular SA to integrate its coronary physiology algorithms with the Spanish firm’s next generation hemodynamic system, notably Opsens’ diastolic pressure ratio (DPR) for measuring diastolic heart pressure.
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