Kite Pharma, Gilead Sciences’ cell-therapy subsidiary, and Sangamo Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, have partnered to use Sangamo’s zinc finger nuclease technology platform for developing  ex vivo  cell therapies in oncology in a deal worth up to $3.16 billion. Read More

A federal district court judge has overturned a 2016 jury award of $2.54 billion against Gilead Sciences relating to patent-infringement litigation with Merck & Co. over Gilead’s two blockbuster hepatitis C drugs, Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir) and Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) . Read More

Roche has agreed to acquire a full stake in Flatiron Health, a healthcare technology company focused on oncology, for $1.9 billion. Roche now holds a 12.6% stake in the company, which received venture capital financing from Google Ventures and is headed by ex-Google executives. Read More

AbbVie and Voyager Therapeutics, a gene-therapy company, have partnered to develop and commercialize vectorized antibodies directed against tau, a protein in the brain that promotes cellular stability, for treating neurodegenerative diseases in a deal worth up to $1.1 billion. Read More

Vasant Narasimhan, MD, has taken the helm of Novartis, assuming the role of CEO on February 1, 2018. Key for Narasimhan will be to drive growth in the company's mainstay pharmaceutical business. He also faces decisions on Alcon, the company’s eye-care business, and the US generics business of Sandoz. This is a feature from  DCAT Value Chain Insights. Read More

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, an Amman, Jordan-based pharmaceutical company, has appointed Sigurdur Olafsson, a former executive at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, as CEO. Hikma’s current chairman and CEO, Said Darwazah, will assume the position of executive chairman. Read More

MilliporeSigma plans to invest $49 million over two years to build a manufacturing and distribution presence in Asia with investments in South Korea, India, and China. Read More

Lonza has expanded its late-stage clinical and commercial encapsulation capabilities for solid-oral and inhaled dosage forms at its site in Tampa, Florida, and plans to add additional capabilities for handling highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients. Lonza gained the site as part of its $5.5-billion acquisition of Capsugel in 2017. Read More

Merck & Co. has agreed to acquire Viralytics, a Sydney, Australia-headquartered biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, for $394 million. Read More

Celularity, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies from allogeneic cells and tissues derived from the postpartum placenta, has raised $250 million in funding from several investors, including Celgene, United Therapeutics, and Sorrento Therapeutics. Read More