Check out this week’s medical marketing news, dealmaking and industry chatter.
Deals:
Partners Group bought a majority stake in FairJourney Biologics for €900 million.
Eisai announced the end of its $650 million antibody drug conjugate (ADC) strategic collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb.
Eli Lilly inked a $140 million upfront deal with Radionetics Oncology.
Merit Medical will acquire EndoGastric Solutions for $105 million.
UniQure sold its only U.S. manufacturing site to viral vector CDMO Genezen for $25 million.
Verrica Pharmaceuticals announced a litigation settlement with Dormer Laboratories.
Ipsen expanded its collaboration and license agreement with Exelixis to develop Cabometyx (cabozantinib) in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and advanced extra-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services announced it will provide discovery services to Edity Therapeutics in cell therapy.
FDA:
The agency approved Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug Kisunla (donanemab-azbt).
The FDA has declined to answer questions about why it didn’t convene a panel of outside advisers for its controversial approval of Sarepta Therapeutics’ Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy, what precedent exists for top official Peter Marks overruling his staff and why his decision wasn’t appealed.
The agency approved biosimilar Pyzchiva (ustekinumab-ttwe) to be commercialized by Sandoz in the U.S.
The FDA rejected Rocket Pharma‘s gene therapy for severe leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I due to manufacturing concerns.
The agency granted marketing authorization to Cepheid for its point-of-care hepatitis C RNA test.
KaliVir Immunotherapeutics announced that the FDA cleared the Investigational New Drug application for its study of VET3-TGI in patients with incurable, advanced solid tumors.
SpringWorks Therapeutics submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA for mirdametinib to treat patients with NF1-PN.
Layoffs:
Takeda plans to lay off another 220 staffers in Massachusetts.
GeNeuro, a small Swiss biotech, saw its long COVID trial fail and commenced with layoffs.
Aerovate Therapeutics announced plans to lay off nearly all its employees.
Ovid Therapeutics is set to lay off 17 workers.
Funding rounds:
N-Power Medicine emerged with a $72 million Series B funding round.
Tonix Pharmaceuticals was awarded up to $34 million in a Department of Defense contract for accelerated development of a broad-spectrum antiviral program
DiaMedica Therapeutics closed an $11.8 million private placement.
Artiva Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage NK cell therapy biotech, refiled its initial public offering.
Industry news:
Johnson & Johnson detailed the Phase 3 success of its autoimmune disease drug.
J&J also said an interim analysis of the Phase 3 study of its experimental therapy, Carvykti, found it can extend lives in certain patients with a type of blood cancer.
The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into Teva over the company’s refusal to take down about two dozen patents for asthma and COPD inhalers.
Moderna announced it received a $176 million project award from the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle for the continued development of mRNA-based bird flu vaccines.
Cartesian Therapeutics said its lead investigational medicine helped patients with an autoimmune condition.
The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers hired Milk & Honey PR as its communications AOR in the U.S.
Dianthus Therapeutics unveiled in vitro results of its drug candidate in a pair of autoimmune disease models.
A Phase 1 trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health is enrolling patients to test the safety of an experimental nasal vaccine against emerging variants of COVID-19.
