Analysts say Roche’s bispecific antibody Hemlibra will rock the US$15bn haemophilia A market, given that it may circumvent therapy resistance that affects the 30% of patients who form antibodies against recombinant factor VIII products. European Biotechnology spoke with Dr. Gallia Levy, Associate Group Medical Director at Roche, who led clinical development of Hemlibra.

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) has signed a €387 deal with Swiss drug developer Novimmune for a late stage antibody targeting a rare haematology disorder.

European 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.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative has launched a new Antimicrobial Resistance Accelerator Programme after Novartis announced its retreat from antibiotics research only days ago.

Roche 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.

UK 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. 

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.

Swiss 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.

Independent 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.

Danish Genmab and German Immatics Biotechnologies are collaborating to discover and develop next-generation bispecific immunotherapies to develop therapeutics in multiple cancer indications.