It was too good to be true. Following harsh criticism from industry, the European Patent Office (EPO) drafted a widely applauded proposal to allow exemptions to its Early Certainty Initiative in Examination. One month later, the EPO withdrew UDEC following a recommendation from Business Europe – the only business association sitting next to decision-makers in the EPO’s Administrative Council – not to bring UDEC into force in July.
Sobi in €387m orphan drug deal with Novimmune
Latest NewsSwedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) has signed a €387 deal with Swiss drug developer Novimmune for a late stage antibody targeting a rare haematology disorder.
Novartis pays €945m for eczema programme
Latest NewsEuropean biotechs Morphosys and Galapagos have handed over their joint atopical dermatitis programme MOR106 to Novartis for up to €945m. The Swiss pharma giant aims to strengthen its commitment to lead immuno-dermatology, the company said.
IMI to spur on antibiotics research amidst big pharma pullback
Latest NewsThe Innovative Medicines Initiative has launched a new Antimicrobial Resistance Accelerator Programme after Novartis announced its retreat from antibiotics research only days ago.
Roche granted breakthrough status for liver cancer combo
Latest NewsRoche announced today that the US-American Food and Drug Administration FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for the Swiss pharma giant’s mAb combination therapy for liver cancer.
Epigenetic biomarkers predict immunotherapy success
Latest NewsUK biotech Oxford BioDynamics has presented data showing that the company’s blood test can predict patient response to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1.
User-driven early certainty: EPO steps back
BackgroundIt was too good to be true. Following harsh criticism from industry, the European Patent Office (EPO) drafted a widely applauded proposal to allow exemptions to its Early Certainty Initiative in Examination. One month later, the EPO withdrew UDEC following a recommendation from Business Europe – the only business association sitting next to decision-makers in the EPO’s Administrative Council – not to bring UDEC into force in July.
Urovant launches US$150m IPO
Latest NewsSwiss biopharma company Urovant Sciences has launched its IPO on Nasdaq, seeking US$150m. The proceeds will go to Phase III trials for its overactive bladder treatment candidate vibegron.
Skilful asset swapping in the time of big data
OpinionIndependent investment analyst, Managing Director EQUI.TS GmbH_ Big data analytics is poised to change the way business is done in the life sciences. A string of recent M&A transactions illustrate this trend.
Immunooncology: Genmab teams up with Immatics
Latest NewsDanish Genmab and German Immatics Biotechnologies are collaborating to discover and develop next-generation bispecific immunotherapies to develop therapeutics in multiple cancer indications.
Big Data: Tracking cancer risk genes
Latest NewsUsing only openly available genomic data, researchers in Barcelona have developed a new method to systematically identify genes contributing to heritable cancer risk.