Valeant Boosts Bid For Salix By $1B, Endo Withdraws  

March 16, 2015 - Xconomy

Valeant Pharmaceuticals is raising its offer to acquire Salix Pharmaceuticals and it aims to close the deal in about two weeks. The new offer from Valeant raises its initial $158 per share bid to $173 per share, valuing the transaction for Raleigh, NC-based Salix at more than $11.3 billion. The increase, which adds $1 billion to Valeant's initial offer for Salix, is still shy of a competing offer from Endo Pharmaceuticals, which last week contacted Salix with a bid of $175 per share. But Dublin, Ireland-based Endo proposed a cash and stock deal while Valeant, based just outside of Montreal, Canada, is offering Salix shareholders cash.  

PE Firm-Owned Par Pharma Files for $100 Million IPO  

March 16, 2015 - Bio Space

Private equity owned drugmaker Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc has filed an S-1 form for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, saying in the filing it is aiming for a nominal fundraising target of about $100 million. The Woodcliff Lake, NJ-based generic drugmaker is wholly owned by private equity shop TPG Capital. Its filing did not name the number of share on offer, but did say it will list under the ticker sign PRX, though the bourse where it will be listed remained unnamed. Reuters speculated last month that Par Pharma might raise around $500 million as it attempts to go public, a price point that would value the company somewhere around the $4 billion mark. How much a company raises to go public determines its registration fees with an exchange.

March 16, 2015 - Bio Space

San Diego-based biotechnology company Cidara Therapeutics announced on March 13 that it had filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. Cidara wants to raise up to $69 million, and it plans to be listed on NASDAQ under the symbol CDTX. Cidara Therapeutics primarily focuses on developing therapies for fungal infections. The company had initially filed confidentially back on Feb. 4, and no pricing terms have been disclosed as of yet. Jefferies and Leerink Partners are the joint book runners on the deal, according to Renaissance Capital.

March 17, 2015 - Bio Space

Rumors are spiking this week that Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. might acquire Canonsburg, Penn.-based Mylan N.V. Although the rumors seem to be based on almost nothing, they have caused stock to spike and investors and analysts to take a closer look at the two companies. Mylan is one of the largest generics and specialty pharmaceutical companies in the world, with about 1,400 different products it markets. Teva also focuses on generics, as well as specialty drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients. It has a portfolio of more than 1,000 molecules, employs more than 45,000 people worldwide and sells in 60 countries.

Endo's shown it's willing to spend. But with Salix gone, what's left worth buying?  

March 17, 2015 - Fierce Pharma

As Endo showed last week with its failed $10 billion bid for North Carolina's Salix, it's willing to shell out some serious dough if the right target comes along. The question is, what's left? Not much in that price bracket, the way Morningstar analyst Michael Waterhouse sees it. Salix was "kind of that last low-hanging fruit sitting out there," he told Bloomberg. "There are still a lot of small companies out there that they'll continue to look for but it's definitely becoming a much more crowded buyers' market." Indeed, after losing Salix to Valeant--which ponied up $173-per-share in cash, compared with Endo's $175-per-share in cash and stock--the Ireland-based company may have to duke it out with other dealmakers down the line. In addition to serial buyer Valeant, companies like Shire and Pfizer are reportedly still on the hunt.

Ignyta Shells Out $41.6 Million for Teva's Oncology Assets  

March 18, 2015 - Bio Space

Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is once again rearranging its oncology portfolio, saying late Tuesday that it will sell four of its cancer assets to Ignyta in a deal valued at $41.6 million. As part of the switch, Ignyta will now own four of Teva's oncology assets: CEP-32496 (RXDX-105)--a Phase 1/2 small molecule inhibitor of BRAF, EGFR and RET; CEP-40783 (RXDX-106)--a preclinical pseudo-irreversible inhibitor of AXL and cMET; CEP-40125 (RXDX-107)--a preclinical nanoformulation of modified bendamustine and TEV-44229 (RXDX-108)--a preclinical selective inhibitor of the atypical kinase RKCiota plus next generation PKCiota inhibitors.

AstraZeneca PLC, Daiichi Sankyo in $825 Million Drug Tie-Up 

March 19, 2015 - Bio Space

London-based AstraZeneca PLC announced today that it had inked a co-commercialization agreement with Parsippany, N.J.-based Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. worth $825 million. The deal focuses on Movantik (naloxegol), a once-daily oral peripherally-acting Mu-Opioid receptor antagonist (PAMORA) designed for the treatment of OIC in adult patients with chronic pain that is not connected to cancer. OIC is opioid-induced constipation. The compound has received Marketing Authorization in Europe for the treatment of OIC under the name Moventig. Under the deal Daiichi Sankyo will pay $200 million upfront and follow-up payments up to $625 million. AstraZeneca will handle manufacturing and sales. The companies will share commercial activities.

March 19, 2015 - Pharmaceutical Business Review

Genmab Holding has entered into an agreement to acquire pre-clinical stage antibodies and related patents from iDD Biotech. These antibodies are directed to DR5, also called as Trail Receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2), an emerging cancer target. As part of the deal, Genmab will pay iDD Biotech an upfront fee of €2.5m and future payments range from a minimum of €3.5m to €101.5m in development and sales milestones and single-digit royalties on commercialized products. The acquisition of antibody assets is synergistic with Genmab's plan to create a broad pipeline of differentiated therapeutic products and to use its antibody expertise to create leapfrog drugs.

March 19, 2015 - Pharmaceutical Business Review

Swedish specialty pharmaceutical firm Pharmalink acquired a new therapeutic product candidate from Synartro, a research and development (R&D) company, to treat inflammation associated with osteoarthritis. Consisting of an anti-inflammatory drug conjugated to a biopolymer, the new product candidate has been developed using Synartro's drug delivery technology to create locally acting pharmaceuticals with limited systemic exposure. Pharmalink intends to further develop the product for this indication after it showed promising results in osteoarthritis in pre-clinical studies.

Svelte Medical Systems, Inc. Reels In $16 Million  

March 19, 2015 - Device Space

Svelte Medical Systems, Inc. today announced it has raised $16 million in new capital. This financing was provided exclusively by current investors, lead by CNF Investments, the Gary and Mary West Health Investment Fund and New Science Ventures. Funding will be used to support ongoing operations, expand infrastructure and commercialize the Svelte drug-eluting coronary stent-on-a-wire Integrated Delivery System (IDS) and Rapid-Exchange (RX) platforms in Europe during the second half of 2015.

Eli Lilly, Hanmi Pharma Forge $690 Million Autoimmune Pact  

March 19, 2015 - Bio Space

Korean drugmaker and Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Co., Ltd will export its autoimmune disease technology to Eli Lilly and Company under a $690 million deal that has the company sharing development and commercialization of its oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, HM71224. The small molecule poised to enter Phase II trials and testing and will be tested as a potential treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, lupus nephritis, Sjögren's syndrome and other related autoimmune conditions. Under the terms of the deal, Lilly will now receive worldwide rights to the molecule for all indications excluding China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea. Hanmi will receive an initial payment of $50 million and is eligible for up to $640 million in potential development, regulator, and sales milestones.

March 19, 2015 - Pharma Times

AstraZeneca has chosen Daiichi Sankyo to help sell its novel constipation drug Movantik (naloxegol) in the US, as the firm gears up for its launch in April. First-in-class Movantik was cleared in the US last September for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in adults with chronic non-cancer pain, for which there is still significant unmet need.

March 19, 2015 - Fierce Biotech

Slowly but surely, Google's star-driven biotech Calico is laying the foundation for what promises to be a major biotech focused on some of the biggest diseases that limit longevity. There's a Big Pharma partnership with AbbVie, a development deal down in Texas and now it's time to team up with top scientists. Earlier in the week Harvard and MIT's renowned Broad Institute signed on to work with Calico on pushing new therapies into the clinic. Hal Barron, the ex-Genentech wiz who was brought in by his old boss Art Levinson to helm R&D, says Calico is particularly interested in tapping the Broad's expertise in genetics related to some core fields, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. And over at the Broad, the notion of mixing their world-class science with Calico's legendary R&D drug team sounds like a winner.

March 20, 2015 - Bio Space

Eli Lilly and Company inked a $456 million deal with Chinese drugmaker Innovent Biologics, Inc. to develop and market three cancer treatments over the next 10 years, the companies announced Friday. The agreement, one of the broadest collaborations with a Chinese biotech company, creates possible new treatment options for cancer patients, while strengthening the presence of both companies in the Chinese oncology market. Alfonso Zulueta, president of Eli Lilly's emerging markets division, said the deal with Innovent "further reinforces our focus to develop collaborative networks to advance research and clinical development in emerging markets." Under the terms of the deal there are four major components. First, Eli Lily will contribute its cMet monoclonal antibody gene for possible treatment of non-small cell lung cancer however; continue the development of its cMet monoclonal antibody program outside of China. Innovent will contribute its monoclonal antibody targeting protein CD-20 for investigation in hematologic malignancies.

March 20, 2015 - Pharmaceutical Business Review

Belgium-based Janssen Pharmaceuticals has acquired XO1 Limited, a privately held asset-centric virtual biopharmaceutical firm focused on developing the anti-thrombin antibody ichorcumab. Ichorcumab is developed to mimic the activity of a human antibody which appears to produce an anticoagulated state without predisposition to bleeding. The acquisition of was identified and facilitated through Johnson & Johnson Innovation, London.

AbbVie enters into license deal with C2N Diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease therapy 

March 20, 2015 - Pharmaceutical Business Review

US-based AbbVie and C2N Diagnostics, a protein diagnostic and therapeutic discovery firm, have collaborated for the development and commercialization of a portfolio of anti-tau antibodies to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurological disorders. The worldwide license agreement builds upon AbbVie's commitment to pursue transformational disease-modifying therapies in AD. Tau stabilizes proteins that are responsible for the structure and transport in neuronal cells and abnormal accumulation of altered tau protein is a major indicator in a variety of neurodegenerative conditions such as AD, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration.

March 20, 2015 - Pharmaceutical Business Review

US-based ImmunoCellular Therapeutics has entered into an agreement with Dutch contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) PharmaCell to offer contract manufacturing services for the European production of a dendritic cell-based cancer immunotherapy, ICT-107, being developed as a potential treatment for glioblastoma (GBM). The deal focuses on the production of human cell therapy products and is designed to allow The US firm to access Phase III supplies of ICT-107, manufactured with its commercial-ready production process. In 2015, ImmunoCellular plans to begin a Phase III registrational program for ICT-107 in the US and in Europe.

March 20, 2015 - Outsourcing Pharma

The strategic partnership comes with Sanofi providing €250m to Evotec, including €40m upfront, as part of efforts to discover new drug candidates, including in the area of oncology, and specifically at Sanofi's R&D site in Toulouse, France.