HONG KONG – Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ microbiome-focused subsidiary Rebiotix Inc. and Mybiotics Pharma Ltd. have agreed to a multiyear strategic collaboration to develop live microbiota-based biotherapeutics to address bacterial vaginosis.
Grail Inc. is teaming up with Quest Diagnostics Inc. to support the upcoming launch of its multicancer blood test. The early cancer detection test, called Galleri, is slated to begin rolling out in the second quarter of 2021. Quest’s 2,200 patient service centers and network of 5,000 mobile phlebotomists will help to collect blood samples for Galleri once the test becomes available in the U.S.
Gene therapy developer Beam Therapeutics Inc. has acquired drug delivery specialist Guide Therapeutics Inc. in a deal valued at up to $440 million, adding yet another piece of the integrated platform CEO John Evans told BioWorld the company is striving to build. Guide's lipid nanoparticle (LNP) screening technology could help medicines developed by Beam and its partners reach new targets beyond the liver, an increasingly important endeavor for gene therapy developers like Beam, seeking to maximize the breadth of their growing portfolios. Terms of the deal included $120 million up front, plus up to $320 million in stock-based technology and product success milestone payments. Shares in Beam (NASDAQ:BEAM) fell 12.6% to $96.48 on Feb. 23.
News of Vaccinex Inc. signing two multitarget deals with undisclosed "prominent pharmaceutical companies" sent company shares (NASDAQ:VCNX) up 70% to $4.88 on Feb. 19, even as financial terms of the deal went undisclosed. The collaborations will focus on using the company's ActivMAb antibody discovery and novel viral display platform to develop candidates against complex antigens such as G protein-coupled receptors and ion channels, the company said.
HONG KONG – Beijing-based Beigene Ltd. struck its second deal outside China this year, signing an option and license agreement with Boston Immune Technologies & Therapeutics Inc. (BITT) for the latter’s tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) antagonist antibodies. Beigene will exclusively develop, manufacture and commercialize BITT’s TNFR2 antagonist antibodies in Asia, excepting Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
HONG KONG – Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. picked up the greater China rights to Scynexis Inc.’s lead candidate, ibrexafungerp. Under the terms, Hansoh will take charge of the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of the antifungal in the region in exchange for a $10 million up- front payment and as much as $112 million in development and commercial milestones, plus low double-digit royalties on net product sales.
HONG KONG – Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ microbiome-focused subsidiary Rebiotix Inc. and Mybiotics Pharma Ltd. have agreed to a multiyear strategic collaboration to develop live microbiota-based biotherapeutics to address bacterial vaginosis (BV). The companies did not disclose the financials of the deal.
Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. cut the biggest deal of the company’s life with its new collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co. that could be worth $960 million. The two will co-develop and commercialize Rigel’s R-552, a receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) inhibitor, for all indications including autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
TORONTO – Think of it. More than 14,000 facilities boasting 98% of the largest hospital chains across the U.S., two-thirds of skilled nursing facilities and hospice organizations and doctors’ offices. It’s that broad customer base Kent Imaging Inc. will have access to following its Jan. 26 agreement with medical software and analytics giant Net Health Inc., helping to expand the footprint of Kent Imaging’s Snapshot device for assessing non-healing wounds, notably those arising from diabetes.
Humacyte Inc., which develops universally implantable, bioengineered human tissue at commercial scale, has agreed to go public via a merger with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp. (AHAC), a blank-check company led by Rajiv Shukla. Upon closing of the deal, AHAC will be renamed Humacyte Inc. and will be led by Humacyte’s current CEO, Laura Niklason. The combined company’s stock is expected to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol HUMA.