Entries by Uta Mommert

Medivation opens books to Sanofi

Californian biopharma Medivation has agreed to confidential negotiations with its suitors, in particular the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, which aggressively has buffeted the cancer therapy specialist for months.

Next chapter in Dx IP dispute

The European Commission started an investigation into Illumina’s and Sequenom’s 2014 patent agreement, UK-competitor Premaitha Health said. The two US companies had agreed to pool their Noninvasive Prenatal Testing IP. 

Cinfa shows biosimilar equivalence

Cinfa Biotech is shuffling for position on the lucrative biosimilar market. The Spanish-German company has published positive results in a study for a pegfilgrastim copycat with 172 healthy volunteers in Germany. 

Oncolytic viruses: Natural Born Killers

Amgen’s Imlygic was approved last year – a move that finally added onco­lytic viruses (OVs) to the healthcare toolkit. Although the treatment’s scope of application as a stand-alone therapy is limited, many are viewing the event as Ground Zero for an explosive new age in medicine. Evidence is mounting that the full potential of virotherapies can only be realised in combination with other immuno­therapies, chemotherapies or small-molecule therapies. A number of other European drug developers have now jumped on Amgen’s bandwagon.

An X-ray look at GPCR structure

UK’s Heptares Therapeutics and Paul Scherrer Institute spinoff leadXpro will collaborate to find new approaches for the determination of high-res X-ray structures of G protein-coupled receptors to find new drugs.

Partnership targets leukaemia

Nordic Nanovector has teamed up with Areva Med to develop a treatment for leukaemia. The compound in question is a lead-212 conjugated anti-CD37 antibody.

Biotech responds to Brexit vote

After the British people voted in favour of leaving the European Union, the industry is grappling with the profound impact this will likely have on the economy, research and politics. Representatives from biotech industry, research and policits have expressed their concerns and hopes on the upcoming Brexit.

Malin hauls in €70m from EIB

UK investment vehicle Malin has secured another €70m to invest in innovation and research across the European life sciences. The European Investment Bank will provide a debt facility over a period of seven years.

Cat allergy setback for Circassia

Circassia suffered a severe blow when its cat allergy immunotherapy failed to outcompete the placebo in a Phase III trial. The company’s shares, listed in London, plunged to a third of its previous value.