Regulatory T-cell specialist Quell Therapeutics Ltd. has sealed a potential $2 billion agreement under which Astrazeneca plc is taking rights to two autologous Treg cell therapies for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and type 1 diabetes. Quell will receive $85 million up front, the majority of which is in cash, with a modest (undisclosed) equity investment. Reaching the $2 billion headline figure will involve a series of development and commercial milestones and royalties on sales.

Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd. formed a partnership with Gmax Biopharm International Ltd. to develop obesity candidate GMA-106. As part of the $57 million deal, Sino Biopharm acquired greater China rights to develop and commercialize the drug, in exchange for up-front and milestone payments to Gmax.

Novo Nordisk A/S has entered into exclusive negotiations for a controlling stake in Biocorp SA, suppliers of Mallya, a Bluetooth-enabled smart add-on device for insulin pen injectors. The takeover will be phased over several stages. Novo Nordisk has initially negotiated with Bio Jag SAS, Biocorp’s principal shareholder, to purchase its entire stake in Biocorp, representing 45.3% of the share capital and 62.19% of the voting rights. Certain minority shareholders, including Nyenburgh Holding BV, Greenstock EIG and Vatel Capital SAS, who together account for 19% of Biocorp’s shares, have agreed to transfer their shares to Novo Nordisk once acquisition of the Bio Jag stake is complete.

A one-hour procedure pioneered by Endogenex Inc. could make insulin use obsolete in people with type 2 diabetes. The recellularization via electroporation therapy (ReCET) procedure uses a specialized catheter to deliver electric pulses to the duodenum. Recently presented results of the EMINENT trial showed that 86% of patients who underwent the procedure and then began treatment with semaglutide were able to discontinue insulin use at six months and remain off insulin for at least a year following the procedure.

Mixing a trendy drug for a global health problem like obesity with a demand that far exceeds the supply cooks up a recipe too good for counterfeiters to ignore.

Hefei Tianhui Incubator of Technologies Co. Ltd. (HTIT)’s NDA for recombinant human insulin capsule ORMD-0801 for type 2 diabetes is under review by the NMPA and, if approved, is expected to be the first oral insulin available in China, where regulators have been on the lookout for new treatment options for the increasingly common disease.

Swiss biopharma startup Aphaia Pharma AG is taking the concept of “location, location, location” to its extreme. The company started dosing patients in a phase II trial of its lead candidate, Aph-012, in late April, 2023. The trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter proof-of-concept study to evaluate Aph-012’s ability to improve glucose tolerance in individuals with prediabetes, as measured by a pathological oral glucose tolerance test. In another phase II trial, Aph-012 is being tested as a weight loss drug for individuals with a BMI between 30 and 40. Aph-012’s active ingredient? Glucose. But delivered exactly to the right place.

Hefei Tianhui Incubator of Technologies Co. Ltd. (HTIT)’s NDA for recombinant human insulin capsule ORMD-0801 for type 2 diabetes is under review by the NMPA and, if approved, is expected to be the first oral insulin available in China, where regulators have been on the lookout for new treatment options for the increasingly common disease.