Pharmaco - Today Stories

ProPharma Group, a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners, announces the acquisition of Diamond Pharma Services. Diamond Pharma Services provides regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, and compliance & quality services to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in obtaining and maintaining medicinal product licenses throughout all stages of a product’s lifecycle. “We are excited to welcome Diamond Pharma Services into the ProPharma Group family,” said Dawn Sherman, ProPharma Group’s CEO. “This acquisition further solidifies ProPharma Group’s position as the leading global provider of regulatory, compliance, pharmacovigilance, and medical information services. With our mission and higher purpose of improving the health and safety of patients, we are focused on deliv…

The research agreement builds upon the successful relationship between Boehringer Ingelheim and Gubra and expands Boehringer Ingelheim’s research into approaches with first in class potential for the treatment of obesity  Obesity is a complex cardiometabolic disease with growing global prevalence and limited treatment options that are not sufficiently effective or are associated with adverse events Boehringer Ingelheim and Gubra today announced a new research and licensing agreement focused on the identification and validation of targets and innovative peptide compounds for the treatment of obesity. This new collaboration builds on the positive experience from previous partnerships with Gubra and combines Gubra’s proprietary streaMLine platform and expertise in obesity and peptide chemis…

4D pharma plc (AIM: DDDD), a pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live Biotherapeutic products (LBPs) - a novel class of drug derived from the microbiome, today announces the appointment of John Beck as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Company's management team, bringing over 30 years of experience in finance, including three previous positions as Chief Financial Officer of publicly traded life sciences companies. "John will be an important addition to 4D pharma's management team at such a pivotal time, as the company prepares to close our SPAC merger and begin trading on NASDAQ. His deep experience and financial expertise as a CFO of several publicly traded life sciences companies will be critical as we further grow our company and global footprint," said Dunca…

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Pandion Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PAND) today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement, under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire Pandion, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics designed to address the unmet needs of patients living with autoimmune diseases, for $60 per share in cash. This represents an approximate total equity value of $1.85 billion. “This acquisition builds upon Merck’s strategy to identify and secure candidates with differentiated and potentially foundational characteristics,” said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories. “Pandion has applied its TALON technology to develop a robust pipeline of candidates desig…

The consolidation brings together two organizations with a history of robust growth and performance ready to build on this strength using the outstanding talent of both companies to deliver enhanced value to patients, customers, employees and shareholders. All customers will benefit from increased functional, geographic and therapeutic scale as well as expansive healthcare technology innovation. The combination will address the growing market need for de-centralised and hybrid trial solutions from a differentiated combination of mobile and connected health platforms, a global site network, home health services and wearables expertise. The combined business will be no. 1 or 2 in key clinical market segments and have formal strategic partnerships with a majority of the top 20 biopharma comp…

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cognate BioServices, Inc., a premier, cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), for approximately $875 million in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory requirements and customary closing conditions. James C. Foster, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles River Laboratories, commented, “Cognate BioServices presents a unique opportunity to expand into a high-growth, value-added sector of the CDMO market and enhance our ability to meet our clients’ needs in emerging areas of scientific innovation. Th…

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO) for active immunisation to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older, including those over 65. The authorisation of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca manufactured by AstraZeneca, and COVISHIELD manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII), enables global access to the vaccine during the pandemic. The EUL allows for two doses of the vaccine to be administered at a four to 12-week interval. This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose. The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommended a do…

The ABPI is delighted to announce that the ABPI Board has unanimously elected Ben Osborn, UK Country Manager, Pfizer, as President-elect of the ABPI. Ben has over twenty years of experience across a wide range of leadership roles at Pfizer, where he began his career in 1998. Prior to his appointment as UK Country Manager in 2018, Ben held the role of Chief Marketing Officer, Pfizer Innovative Health where he led the marketing organisation across Europe, Japan, Korea and ANZ. Ben will formally take over the ABPI Presidency from Haseeb Ahmad on 1 May, following our AGM on 30 April. Until then, Haseeb will remain ABPI President. Further information will follow, and Ben will be available for interview from May 1.

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Caribou Biosciences, Inc., a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome editing biotechnology company, announced today that they have entered into a collaboration and license agreement for the research and development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapeutics. Although allogeneic, "off-the-shelf" CAR-T cell therapies have shown early promise in some cancer patients, the need for overcoming the rejection of allogeneic CAR-T cells by the host immune system remains a key challenge to their broader development. Employing Caribou's CRISPR genome editing platform to engineer CAR-T cells to withstand host immune attack would enable the development of the next-generation of "off-the-shelf" cellular therapies to benefit a broader patient population.   Under the…

FDA BDD acknowledges the importance of GDF-15 testing in identifying eligible cachexic patients with solid tumours to be treated with Pfizer's investigational drug PF-06946860 Unintentional weight loss (cachexia) is a highly prevalent complication of cancer, affecting more than half of all cancer patients worldwide, potentially leading to significant functional impairment and increased risk of death Successful cachexia treatment can potentially contribute to improved cancer treatment worldwide Basel, 8 February 2021 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Device Designation to their Elecsys® GDF-15 assay as a companion diagnostic (CDx) in cancer treatment. This in vitro diagnostic immunoassay is intend…

4D pharma plc (AIM: DDDD), a pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live Biotherapeutic products (LBPs), a novel class of drug derived from the microbiome, today announced a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Pfizer Inc. for BAVENCIO® (avelumab), the first and only immunotherapy approved as a first-line maintenance treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. BAVENCIO is co-developed and co-commercialized by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Pfizer Inc. Under the collaboration, 4D pharma intends to commence a clinical trial in 2021 to evaluate BAVENCIO in combination with MRx0518 as a first-line maintenance therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that…

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) and GW Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: GWPH) today announced the companies have entered into a definitive agreement for Jazz to acquire GW for $220.00 per American Depositary Share (ADS), in the form of $200.00 in cash and $20.00 in Jazz ordinary shares, for a total consideration of $7.2 billion, or $6.7 billion net of GW cash. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Upon close of the transaction, the combined company will be a leader in neuroscience with a global commercial and operational footprint well positioned to maximize the value of its diversified portfolio. GW is a global leader in discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercial…

AstraZeneca has agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, to divest its 26.7% ownership in Viela Bio, Inc. (Viela), as part of the proposed acquisition of Viela by Horizon Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: HZNP). AstraZeneca is anticipating to receive cash proceeds and profit of c.$760-$780m upon closing for the sale of the holding, which will be recorded in Reported and Core Other Operating Income and Expense in the Company’s financial statements. The divestment is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2021. The divestment does not impact the Company's financial guidance for 2020. Guidance for 2021 is anticipated to be issued with full-year 2020 results on 11 February 2021. VielaViela (Nasdaq: VIE), headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is a biotechnology company dedicat…

First of multiple agreements being explored by Novartis to leverage manufacturing capacity and capabilities to address pandemic, supporting global supply of COVID-19 vaccine Initial agreement signed with BioNTech to use Novartis manufacturing plant in Stein, Switzerland, to support production of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine Production to commence in the second quarter for estimated delivery commencing in the third quarter 2021 Basel, January 29, 2021 — Novartis announced today that it has signed an initial agreement to leverage its manufacturing capacity and capabilities in order to address the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting the production of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. The agreement will see Novartis utilizing its aseptic manufacturing facilities at its site in Stein, Switzerland. U…

Ingelheim, Germany, January 25, 2021 – The Top Employers Institute awarded Boehringer Ingelheim for the first time as a “Global Top Employer”, one of the world’s 16 best employers. The award shows that the research-driven pharmaceutical company is strongly oriented to the needs and well-being of its employees. Boehringer Ingelheim has been listed among the top employers in many countries and regions for the past seven years. This year, Boehringer Ingelheim will receive the award in 27 countries, as well as  in Europe and the Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions. The independent Top Employers Institute certifies employers worldwide who wish to offer their employees excellent working conditions and support their development. Certification is based on a multi-level program to examine human…

London, England, January 27, 2021 - ADVANZ PHARMA Corp. Limited (“ADVANZ PHARMA” or “the Company”), a specialty pharmaceutical company with a strategic focus on complex medicines in Europe, today announced that its board of directors has reached an agreement on the terms of a cash offer, to be made by a subsidiary (“Bidco”) of Nordic Capital, pursuant to which Nordic Capital will acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued limited voting share capital of ADVANZ PHARMA (the “Acquisition”). “This offer highlights the value that our employees around the world have collectively contributed towards building ADVANZ PHARMA into the strong and diverse company it is today,” said Graeme Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of ADVANZ PHARMA. “In addition, this Acquisition will significantly help the busine…

£0.5M investment in mass spectrometry support accelerates biologics development and approval   Craigavon, Northern Ireland – 26 January 2021 – Almac Sciences, a member of the Almac Group, has announced additional  expansion of its biologics testing laboratory with significant investment in mass spectrometry equipment. The new high-resolution mass spectrometer has been installed at Almac’s global headquarters, located in Northern Ireland, and will support its biologics offering for the analysis of peptides, proteins, glycoproteins and antibody products. This adds to the existing industry support at its new biologic testing laboratory based in Athlone, Ireland, announced just three months ago, which supports QC release and characterisation of biologics. The £500,000 investment in a Thermo Or…

Laval, Quebec, and Marburg, Germany, January 20, 2021. Nexelis, a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners, and a leading provider of advanced assay development and laboratory testing services in the infectious, oncologic, and metabolic diseases fields, has signed an asset purchase agreement with GSK to acquire its GCLP-certified clinical bioanalytical laboratory located in Marburg, Germany. The Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) team in Marburg, consisting of approximately 80 scientists and analysts, will be transferred to Nexelis.  The CLS team in Marburg will continue to keep a strong relationship with GSK and support the development of future GSK vaccine candidates through a 5-year strategic collaborative agreement. This is the fifth acquisition by Nexelis in the last three years…

Dolutegravir is the first integrase inhibitor available as a dispersible tablet for children weighing at least 3kg and from four weeks of age The authorisation is an important step in fulfilling ViiV Healthcare’s commitment to bring optimised paediatric formulations of dolutegravir to children ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority-owned by GlaxoSmithKline plc (“GSK”), with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Limited as shareholders, today announced that the European Commission has granted Marketing Authorisation for Tivicay (dolutegravir) 5mg dispersible tablets, which are used in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in paediatric patients (treatment-naïve or -experienced but INSTI- naïve) aged…

Genmab to receive USD 40 million milestone payment from AbbVie Milestone triggered by progress in Phase 3 study of epcoritamab in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma Copenhagen, Denmark; January 13, 2021 – Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) announced today that it has reached the first milestone in its collaboration with AbbVie. A USD 40 million milestone payment was triggered by the first patient dosed in the Phase 3 study of subcutaneous epcoritamab versus investigator’s choice of chemotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). “We are very pleased that the first Phase 3 study of epcoritamab has been activated at multiple clinical sites and the first cancer patient has been dosed. We look forward to continued rapid progress in this exciting and rapidly broa…