In mid-June, the German Federal Constitutional Court asked the German President not to sign legislation designed to implement the EU Unified Patent Court (UPC, EU Agreement 16351/12) and Unitary Patent (EU Regulation 1257/12). Now, there are hints for a further delay. The constitutional complaint behind the delay, rumoured to be brought up by a German life sciences IP expert, has led to a stop of hiring German judges for the UPC.

Danish Genmab A/S’ anti-CD38 antibody daratumumab has met the endpoint of progression-free survival in an interim analysis of Genmab’s pivotal Phase III study aimed at receiving FDA approval as first-line therapy in multiple myeloma. 

Merck Ventures has joined the Series A investor syndicate of the British immuno-oncology specialist Macrophage Pharma Ltd.

Scientists at Swedish Karolinska Institute have identified a factor that supports growth of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons, the nerve cells that degenerate during of Parkinson’s disease.

Evotec’s immunology spin-out Topas Therapeutics has inked a multi-year R&D collaboration with pharma major Eli Lilly. The initial focus of research, which will be financed by Eli Lilly, is on identification of  antigens that specifically induce a T regulatory cell response in inflammatory and auto-immune disorders.

Swedish specialty pharmaceutical company Pharmalink AB Stockholm has Fredrik Johansson as new Chief Financial Officer.

Medivir AB has exclusively licenced Greater China development and commercialisation rights of its preclinical candidate drug MIV-802 to Chinese drug developer Ascletis Bioscience Co. Ltd.

Belgian, Swiss, and US researchers have found a new way to boost efficacy in cancer immunotherapy. In mid-April, they reported that cancer cells actively block tumour infiltration of cytotoxic T cells, but that this process can be reversed using angiogenesis blockers. Some Big pharma companies have already jumped on the bandwagon of angiogenesis/PDL1 combination therapy.

Using a national supercomputer, Swedish researchers have analysed how protein expression of the 315 known cancer genes translates into cancer overall survival. 

Finnish Metsä Group has started its mill for bio-based products. The €1.2bn investment’s production capacity is 1.3 million tonnes of softwood pulp a year.