Qualcomm Ventures Forms Joint Investment Business with Novartis
January 12, 2015 - Xconomy
Qualcomm, the San Diego wireless technologies giant, plans to form a joint investment business through its corporate ventures arm with the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. The joint investment entity would make as much as $100 million available for innovative health startups. In a statement, the partners say they would invest in early stage companies that "offer technologies, products or services that 'go beyond the pill' to benefit physicians and patients."
Genentech Redux? Roche Buys Majority Stake in Foundation Medicine
January 12, 2015 - Xconomy
In a deal that shakes up the full-steam-ahead world of cancer diagnostics, the world's top oncology drug company, Roche, said today it's spending more than $1 billion for a majority stake in Foundation Medicine and creating a powerful drug-diagnostic collaboration. It's a significant gamble on the as-yet-unrealized potential of tests that aim for broad genetic profiles of cancer patients' tumors, one that Roche hopes can not only accelerate the impact of its broad range of cancer-fighting drug programs, but also extend the reach of its global diagnostics business.
While pharma feasts on M&A, Teva has yet to pick up a fork
January 12, 2015 - Fierce Pharma
Since taking the helm at Teva early last year, CEO Erez Vigodman has expressed interest in bolstering several areas, including emerging markets, biosimilars and complex generics. But so far, he hasn't inked any deals to help his company do it, and judging where his competitors now stand after a feverish year of pharma M&A, it's high time to change that, analysts say. The Israeli drugmaker has already watched Actavis, a generics rival, transform itself into a top 10 global pharma heavyweight through 2014 buyouts of Forest Labs and Allergan. And companies such as Merck, Shire and Valeant have all jumped into the deal melee, which has boosted their share prices, Bloomberg notes.
Roche bets $1.2B on Foundation Medicine with deal for majority stake
January 12, 2015 - Fierce Pharma
Roche is throwing the full weight of its global rep and more than $1 billion behind Foundation Medicine's ambitious sequencing technology, designed to tailor cancer treatments to particular patients and guide development of new cancer drugs. Roche wrapped up a deal for a majority stake in the molecular diagnostics company for $780 million, or $50 a share--more than twice Friday's close of $23.93.
Is once-skeptical J&J coming around on pharma's breakup craze?
January 12, 2015 - Fierce Pharma
Johnson & Johnson has been pretty quiet over the past couple of years as it's watched its Big Pharma peers slim down like there's no tomorrow. But now, it seems the pharma giant may be coming around to the idea--or so CEO Alex Gorsky said Monday at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. "We think it's important to be very thoughtful about where we're going to participate and where we're not going to participate," he told presentation watchers in San Francisco. "If we're not a No. 1 or No. 2 in a particular area, if we don't see a path to achieving leadership, ... then that's maybe better served in someone else's hands."
Biopharma M&A deals surged to over $200B in 2014
January 13, 2014 - Pharma Times
Big pharma was largely absent from merger and acquisition activity in 2013 but returned to vigorous deal-making last year with spending of nearly $90 billion; however, this group was outspent by specialty pharma, which deployed more than $130 billion in M&A transactions in 2014, says new research. Many big pharma firms used M&A last year to create more focused businesses and close persistent revenue growth gaps, which are expected to total $100 billion by 2017, while the aggressive activity of specialty pharma allowed some firms to gain the scale necessary to compete in a challenging global pricing environment, according to EY's Firepower Index and Growth Gap Report 2015.
Roche inks a $750M antibiotics deal as it re-embraces the field
January 13, 2015 - Fierce Biotech
Following through on its sweeping return to antibiotics R&D, Roche has agreed to pay up to $750 million to get its hands on an early-stage drug that helps existing treatments battle drug-resistant infections. The deal, with Meiji Seika Pharma and Fedora, gives Roche the ex-Japanese rights to OP0595, a Phase I beta-lactamase inhibitor. The drug works in tandem with traditional antibiotics to break down treatment resistance and fight severe infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae, Roche said. In exchange, Meiji and Fedora are getting an undisclosed up-front sum plus the promise of milestone payments tied to development and regulatory success, totaling as much as $750 million.
The JP Morgan mood: Damn the biotech valuations and full speed ahead in 2015
January 14, 2015 - Fierce Biotech
Waiting for an elevator at the Westin St. Francis, Celgene CEO Bob Hugin and I were chatting about the frenzied pace of deals that were announced in the lead-up to the annual JP Morgan confab. "The whole industry is on fire," he said with a happy smile. Back just a few years ago, one of the big topics at JP Morgan centered on when the IPO window would finally open. Now one of the main lines of inquiry is when will it close. But for now, at least, the feast-or-famine world of biotech is laying out the smorgasbord. "You're always in a bubble" in biotech, Abingworth's Kurt von Emster told several hundred execs at FierceBiotech's executive breakfast this week, which was moderated by Senior Editor Stacy Lawrence. And you're either up or down. "There's nothing in between."
Soon-Shiong's new biotech pairs up with Amgen on a cancer immunotherapy
January 14, 2015 - Fierce Biotech
Billionaire physician and biotech entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong has launched a company devoted to immuno-oncology, licensing a treatment from Amgen to get rolling in the field. NantCell, a subsidiary of Soon-Shiong's NantWorks, is getting off the ground with hopes of developing therapies that train the immune system to attack cancers. The company is paying an undisclosed sum to get its hands on Amgen's AMG 479 (ganitumab), an antibody that targets Type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor to kill tumors. The treatment failed in a Phase III trial against advanced pancreatic cancer back in 2012, but NantCell believes it can use genomics to find the ideal patients for the therapy and make it a success.
Shire's deal for NPS hasn't curbed its M&A appetite
January 14, 2015 - Fierce Pharma
Shire's M&A wheelhouse is still churning after its $5.2 billion buyout of NPS Pharmaceuticals. CEO Flemming Ornskov told Bloomberg that the Dublin-based company's recent acquisition won't prevent it from making more deals in the future--especially where rare disease drugs are concerned. The way Ornskov sees it, the company needs dealmaking to become a leading biotech. Shire is eyeing $10 billion in sales by 2020. Ornskov said Shire can meet that goal without deals, but also sees M&A as one of the company's strengths. Now, with a $1.6 billion breakup fee from its failed marriage with AbbVie and about $13 billion to boot, Shire remains in good shape for another next takeover.
Mundipharma and Esteve sign major pain pact
January 14, 2015 - Pharma Times
Mundipharma and associate Purdue Pharmaceuticals have linked up with Spain's Esteve to develop "important next-generation products" for the management of pain. The agreement is centred around E-52862, Esteve's first-in-class new chemical entity targeting the sigma-1 receptor pathway, which is currently in Phase II covering multiple neuropathic pain indications. The partners claim that payments to Esteve could exceed $1 billion if all development, regulatory and sales milestones are met across the multi-programme collaboration.
Tracking healthcare M&A in 2015
January 15, 2015 - Healthcare Finance
When looking to 2015, Tom Baldosaro, CFO at South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center in Vineland, New Jersey, sees it this way: "Big is going to be better. Small is not going to survive." Time will tell if he's right, but analysts mostly agree that this year will be full of healthcare acquisitions as health systems, information technology companies, software firms, medical practices and service providers seek to find out whether bigger is indeed better in the post-Affordable Care Act world.
JPMorgan Healthcare Conference pumps up investors, providers
January 15, 2015 - Healthcare Finance
Seems the "Super Bowl" of healthcare conferences has fired up fans of the industry. Returning Thursday after four days at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, investors and providers were more bullish about the state of the business than last year. "If you leave the trade, you get the impression healthcare is about to go off the track. There's plenty of money there. Healthcare is still viewed as a sector, as well as technology, you can make some bets in. I saw no evidence that people are backing away," said Paul Keckley, managing director of Navigant Center for Healthcare Research and Policy Analysis. "The deals are there to be had."
Buying Spree Continues as Roche Picks Up Trophos in $540 Million Deal
January 16, 2015 - Bio Space
Basel, Switzerland-based Roche announced today that is acquiring Marseille, France-based Trophos for $540 million. There will be an upfront cash payment of 120 million euros and additional contingent payments up to 350 million euros based on milestones. Founded in 1999, Trophos is a privately-held clinical stage pharmaceutical company. Its platform is based on cholesterol-oxime based chemistries and develops mitochondrial targeted compounds. The research is linked to cell death or survival. The company's olesoxime (TRO19622) is under development for the treatment of SMA, a rare genetic neuromuscular disease most common in children. "SMA is a grievous disease with a huge impact on the daily life of patients and their families, who are currently left only with supportive care," said Christine Placet, chief executive of Trophos in a statement. "We are proud to see the development of this medicine evolving, with the ultimate goal of a potential first medicine for SMA. This is a tremendous recognition of the work done by Trophos's teams and supporters over the past 16 years."
Evolving GlaxoSmithKline Mulls Over More Unit IPOs
January 16, 2015 - Bio Space
The chief executive of biopharma giant GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that is considering breaking up some of is its smaller component units by issuing partial public share offerings as it tries to give shareholders more bang for their buck, Reuters reported. Chief Executive Andrew Witty also told Reuters that after a rough year during which Glaxo was fined $500 for bribing Chinese authorities, the company is not looking for any deals with a huge price tag, though smaller acquisitions would not be out of the question. "Future M&A in the consumer space could get quite interesting again," he said. As for IPOs, Witty said that in particular, Glaxo's consumer health business would ideal spinout operation. That unit is in the middle of finishing up a $20 billion asset swap with Novartis (NVS) that must still receive approve a stamp of approval from regulators-but could bring in a raft of new assets.
UCB signs $480 million Parkinson's pact with Neuropore
January 16, 2015 - Pharma Times
UCB is linking up with the USA's Neuropore to develop drugs aiming at slowing the progression of Parkinson's disease and related disorders. The agreement centres around NPT200-11, which targets pathogenic alpha-synuclein which is currently in preclinical development and is expected to enter Phase I in 2015. Cashwise, Neuropore is getting $20 million upfront and is entitled to development, regulatory and sales-based milestones of up to $460 million, plus royalties. Ismail Kola, president of UCB New Medicines, said that patients need better treatment options, "especially as there is currently no approved treatment that addresses a fundamental pathological mechanism in Parkinson's disease". With NPT200-11, "we have the opportunity to develop a disease modifying treatment option for patients with Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies".
Glaxo CEO: Consumer health IPO may be in our future
January 16, 2015 - Fierce Pharma
When GlaxoSmithKline's multibillion-dollar asset swap with Novartis closes this year, don't expect the British pharma giant to stop there, its CEO says--especially when it comes to consumer health. Once the GSK's consumer unit becomes part of the industry-leading OTC joint venture the two companies are set to create, it'll be more viable as a standalone operation, helmsman Andrew Witty told Reuters. And if it buys up additional assets? Even more viable. "Post-Novartis, particularly if we did more transactions in the consumer space, the idea of the consumer company being a standalone consumer powerhouse is much more tenable," Witty told the news service.
Boehringer, Sanofi partner to produce monoclonal antibodies
January 16, 2015 - Pharmaceutical Business Review
Germany-based Boehringer Ingelheim has entered into a strategic agreement with French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi to manufacture therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. The deal is expected to strengthen Sanofi's manufacturing capacity to support upcoming product launches. Currently, 72% of Sanofi's research and development (R&D) projects are in biologics, nearly half of which are monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The deal will see Boehringer's cell culture operations provide contract manufacturing capacities to support the production of Sanofi's biologics pipeline.
Presbia Eyes $50 Million IPO
January 16, 2015 - Device Space
Presbia today set the range for its forthcoming initial public offering, saying it plans to offer 4.2 million shares at $11 to $13 apiece. At the midpoint, the IPO would fetch $50.4 million for Presbia, which makes the Flexiview Micro-Lens corneal implant to treat presbyopia. Presbia, which plans to list on the NASDAQ exchange under the LENS symbol, is expected to launch the IPO Jan. 26. The Dublin-based company registered for the IPO last March, setting the value at $90 million.