Astellas Pharma Inc.’s early 2018 buyout of Universal Cells Inc. (UC) may have laid the groundwork for longer-range steps in allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy, but Xyphos Biosciences Inc. CEO James Knighton told BioWorld Asia that the buyout of his firm provides the Tokyo-based giant for now with “an incredibly elegant solution that has tremendous potential.”
Astellas Pharma Inc.’s early 2018 buyout of Universal Cells Inc. (UC) may have laid the groundwork for longer-range steps in allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy, but Xyphos Biosciences Inc. CEO James Knighton told BioWorld that the buyout of his firm provides the Tokyo-based giant for now with “an incredibly elegant solution that has tremendous potential.”
Tech giant Google LLC is taking aim at the Apple Watch with its plan to acquire wearables pioneer Fitbit Inc., of San Francisco, for $2.1 billion, or $7.35 per share, in an all-cash transaction expected to close sometime next year.
Stryker Corp. is making another big buy, this time picking up Wright Medical Group NV, of Amsterdam, for a total enterprise value of about $5.4 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2020, and its value exceeds Stryker's previous large deal – that of Leesburg, Va.-based K2m Group Holdings Inc. in 2018 for $1.4 billion.
Lantheus Holdings, of North Billerica, Mass., has entered a deal to acquire New York-based Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., which develops medicines and other technologies to target and treat cancer. "This transaction leverages our core capabilities, including proven commercial and operational expertise while diversifying our revenue stream by broadening our presence in emerging uses of radioisotopes in precision diagnostics as well as the exciting field of radiopharmaceuticals in oncology treatment," Lantheus President and CEO Mary Anne Heino said on a call related to the deal.
BOSTON – What are companies doing to be successful in the current environment of med-tech M&A valuation? That question was posed to panelists from three top device makers during the Medtech Conference Tuesday morning. Specifically, the panel, which featured representatives from New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic plc and Boston Scientific Corp., looked at overall valuations across the sector, as well as what it takes to produce a successful M&A strategy.
Anokion SA, a Swiss biotech focused on autoimmune disease, is bringing in-house a startup it spun out for a development alliance with Astellas Pharma Inc. The acquisition of Kanyos Bio Inc., announced alongside news it closed a $40 million series B financing, puts front and center KAN-101, a preclinical celiac disease drug poised for an IND filing by year-end. Together with Anokion's lead candidate, ANK-780, an antigen-specific treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), the company anticipates having two programs in clinical development within the next 12 months.
Baxter International Inc. has struck a definitive agreement to acquire Cheetah Medical Inc., a provider of noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring technologies. The Deerfield, Ill.-based company agreed to pay $190 million up front in cash, with the potential for an additional $40 million based on clinical and commercial milestones.
Japan's Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. Ltd. plans to pay $3 billion to acquire Roivant Sciences Ltd.'s ownership interests in five biopharma companies, plus options to acquire up to six more from the prolific company-builder. The deal, slated to close in October, would give Sumitomo Dainippon controlling interests in Myovant Sciences Inc., Urovant Sciences Inc., Enzyvant Therapeutics Inc. and Altavant Sciences Inc., as well as an equity stake of more than 10% in Roivant itself.