Toronto-based Titan Medical Inc. has inked a development and license agreement with Medtronic plc, of Dublin, to advance the development of single-port robotic-assisted surgical tools. A separate agreement gives Medtronic licensing rights to certain Titan intellectual property. The arrangement aligns with Medtronic’s goal of building its robotic-assisted surgery business and gives Titan’s financials a needed shot in the arm.
Accent Therapeutics Inc. will receive $55 million up front and as much as $1.1 billion in milestones as part of a substantial new three-molecule deal with Astrazeneca plc, which committed to exploring what Astrazeneca’s oncology chief, José Baselga, called the "compelling" field of targeting RNA-modifying proteins (RMPs) for the treatment of cancer.
HONG KONG – China’s Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. has struck a deal with Merck KGaA for a clinical trial program in China to investigate the efficacy and safety of Junshi’s anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (MAb), Tuoyi (toripalimab) in combination with Merck’s Erbitux (cetuximab) as a treatment for recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN).
Prescient Therapeutics Pty Ltd. is poised to develop next-generation CAR T therapies after signing a deal with the University of Pennsylvania for a universal immune receptor technology platform.
SUZHOU, China – Genome editing startup Edigene Inc. and CAR T developer Immunochina Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., both from Beijing, have unveiled joint efforts to develop an allogeneic CAR T therapy for cancer. Terms remain undisclosed.
BEIJING – Five-year-old Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., of Beijing, has found itself a strong global partner to help advance its two SHP2 inhibitors, JAB-3068 and JAB-3312, both financially and later in the regulatory process. The Chinese startup will work with pharma giant Abbvie Inc., of North Chicago, to develop and commercialize the programs.
Aduro Biotech Inc. and privately held Chinook Therapeutics Inc., will merge to focus mainly on kidney diseases. Two complementary drugs are involved in the deal.
Hayward, Calif.-based Reflexion Medical Inc. reported a clinical collaboration with Merck & Co. Inc., of Kenilworth, N.J., to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) in multiple late-stage cancers. The goal is to establish whether treating multiple tumors with BgRT, a novel external beam radiotherapy treatment (EBRT) modality in development, is safe and amplifies Keytruda’s therapeutic effect.
LONDON – Neogenomics Laboratories Inc. is to make a $25 million equity investment in Inivata Ltd. and has taken an option to acquire all of the company as part of a U.S. commercialization agreement with the U.K. liquid biopsy specialist. Under the deal, Neogenomics will take over sales, marketing and billing for Inivata’s Invisionfirst circulating tumor DNA lung cancer test, which is intended to replace tissue biopsies.
In a deal potentially worth $3 billion, privately held Repare Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Montreal, entered a research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) to identify synthetic lethal precision oncology targets for drug candidates.
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