October 4, 2019 - Fierce Biotech
Takeda has
formed
an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) R&D pact with Prometheus Biosciences. The agreement tasks Prometheus with identifying and validating three IBD drug targets in return for up to $420 million in milestones.
Prometheus, formerly known as Precision IBD, has a repository of samples on about 20,000 IBD patients plus linked clinical and research data. Using the resource, Prometheus identifies subgroups of IBD patients and develops drugs to affect disease pathways most relevant to them. The company, which also develops diagnostics, bought Prometheus Laboratories from Nestlé Health Science in July.
October 2, 2019 - BioPharma Reporter
Shanghai Pharma and Biocad established a joint venture to commercialize the latter’s portfolio of biosimilars and biologic treatments for the Chinese market.
October 2, 2019 - Fierce Pharma
As the first bellwether trial in the national opioid litigation nears, Johnson & Johnson has become the latest drugmaker to ink a small settlement with the plaintiffs, dodging it altogether.
In a
d
e
al
with Ohio’s Cuyahoga and Summit counties, the drug giant will pay $20.4 million to resolve their claims and not admit liability for a role in the opioid epidemic that's ravaged the country. With the deal, four drugmakers—Allergan, Endo, Mallinckrodt and J&J—have handed the counties a combined sum of more than $60 million.
October 2, 2019 - Fierce Pharma
The FDA has changed its tune about the levels of a suspected carcinogen in Zantac and generic ranitidine drugs. Instead of just a little NDMA with a very low risk, the agency says its new “early, limited testing” has found
unacceptable levels
of NDMA in ranitidine samples.
The FDA is recommending the drugmakers follow its lead and use a low-heat method of testing the antacids and not the high-temperature method used by a “third-party laboratory,” which it says actually generates NDMA and so displays much greater levels of the impurity. It also has asked drugmakers to send samples to the agency for testing.
October 1, 2019 - BioPharma Dive
NewLink Genetics will combine with privately held Lumos Pharma, announcing Tuesday a reverse merger that fuses the two companies' management teams and give Lumos shareholders 50% ownership of the new business.
The merged company will be renamed Lumos Pharma and trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker 'LUMO." Lumos' CEO and chief scientific officer, along with with NewLink's CFO and chief medical officer, will make up the new company's top leadership.
