PARIS – Solvay SA is partnering with Printerprezz Inc. to develop 3D printing technology using Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) for implants and other medical devices.
And just like that, it’s over. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. on Jan. 1 confirmed what many suspected, that FDA approval for lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) did not happen by the Dec. 31 deadline, thereby automatically terminating the contingent value rights (CVR) agreement issued as part of its acquisition of Celgene Inc.
HONG KONG – With the sale of a group of noncore assets to a little-known Chinese company, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. took another step in a multibillion-dollar string of divestitures that is part of a plan to cut debt and focus on five key business areas. Takeda announced on Dec. 21 the sale of a portfolio of noncore prescription drugs marketed in China to Hasten Biopharmaceutic Co. Ltd. (China).
The amount of money flowing into the biopharma industry via grants and collaborations with nonprofit and government entities is a 272% increase over last year, with efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic accounting for 84% of the total for 2020.
Thanks to Myovant Sciences GmbH’s potential $4.2 billion deal with Pfizer Inc. for recently approved Orgovyx (relugolix) in prostate cancer (PC), more physicians are going to be learning about [the compound] faster,” said chief commercial officer Adele Gulfo. “This is going to create huge demand.”
HONG KONG – With the sale of a group of noncore assets to a little-known Chinese company, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. took another step in a multibillion-dollar string of divestitures that is part of a plan to cut debt and focus on five key business areas. Takeda announced on Dec. 21 the sale of a portfolio of noncore prescription drugs marketed in China to Hasten Biopharmaceutic Co. Ltd. (China).
With record financings and now record deals in 2020, as well as a respectable value accumulated through completed mergers and acquisitions, the biopharma industry has managed to circumvent a crippling economic slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HONG KONG – Peptidream Inc. inked a research collaboration with Amolyt Pharma SAS to test and optimize Peptidream’s growth hormone receptor antagonist (GHRA) peptides, with the aim of selecting a candidate to develop as a potential treatment for acromegaly.
HONG KONG – Hummingbird Bioscience Pte. Ltd. is collaborating with artificial intelligence (AI) company Tempus Labs Inc. to advance HMBD-001, a differentiated anti-HER3 neutralizing antibody developed using Hummingbird's Rational Antibody Discovery platform, into clinical trials in HER3-driven cancers.
Bayer Corp. and Veracyte Inc. are collaborating in the thyroid cancer space, with an eye toward identifying underlying genomic drivers, including NTRK gene fusions, within patients’ tumors. South San Francisco-based Veracyte offers the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier (GSC) and Xpression Atlas (XA), which aims to help physicians in terms of thyroid cancer diagnosis and individualized care.