lung cancerRoche bets up to $813M on Zymeworks lung cancer candidateSwiss big pharma Roche has agreed to license ZW209, an experimental cancer immunotherapy from Vancouver-based Zymeworks, for $55 million upfront and up to $758 million more in conditional payments, plus … more ➔
AppointmentsSensorion names CMO; Orano Med adds CSO; CRISPR Therapeutics changes CFOEvery Friday, The Leadership Edit follows people taking new roles across European biotech and what their moves may tell us about the companies they join. This week: a hearing-loss specialist adds clinical … more ➔
allogeneic CAR-TRoche scraps off-the-shelf CAR-T from Poseida deal worth up to $1.5BSwitzerland’s Roche has discontinued RG6540, an experimental off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy targeting the CD19 and CD20 proteins, less than two years after agreeing to acquire its developer, Poseida Therapeutics, … more ➔
cancer immunotherapyMenarini adds Georgiamune’s oral immunotherapy candidate to its solid-tumor portfolio for $45M upfrontItaly’s Menarini Group will pay Maryland biotech Georgiamune $45 million (€40 million) in upfront and near-term payments, in a deal worth up to $1.1 billion (€1.0 billion) plus royalties, for worldwide … more ➔
M&AQiagen agrees to go private with €10.8B takeover by EQTSwedish private equity firm EQT wants to acquire diagnostics specialist Qiagen for €10.8 billion, or €46.50 per share. The company’s leadership unanimously supports the sale. Completion is planned … more ➔
Alzheimer’s DiseaseMuna’s oral Alzheimer’s candidate shifts age-associated markers in Phase 1An experimental oral drug for early Alzheimer’s disease has produced positive Phase 1 results, including shifts in spinal-fluid markers of brain immune activity and neuronal stress in older volunteers … more ➔
autoimmune diseaseArctic Therapeutics raises $21.5M to take autoimmune programs to clinicIcelandic biotech Arctic Therapeutics has raised $21.5 million (€19.1 million) in an oversubscribed round to take two drug candidates for autoimmune disease toward the clinic. more ➔
Meanwhile in biotechEvaxion reports durable responses; Novartis halts kidney trial; AstraZeneca signs AI dealBeyond the main headlines, European biotech kept moving this week. This edition of Meanwhile in Biotech covers cancer vaccine follow-up, changes to kidney and obesity trials, and two developments in … more ➔
M&AAmbrose expands rare disease pipeline with €161M AM-Pharma acquisitionBritish rare disease specialist Ambrose Healthcare has acquired Dutch biotech AM-Pharma for up to €161 million, adding an enzyme replacement therapy to its pipeline and a development base in Utrec … more ➔
licensing$15 billion deal: Roche bets on China — and questions Germany’s futureThe Swiss pharmaceutical group has agreed to another, deeper ADC partnership with China’s Hansoh Pharma, with potential milestone payments exceeding $15 billion. The deal comes amid mixed developments: … more ➔
