On November 23 2009 Pfizer Ltd acquired for US$0.75 million certain assets related to stem cell therapies from Axordia Limited, a whole-owned subsidiary of Intercytex Group plc, and a developer of stem cell therapies for human diseases.
November 26, 2009
Biovitrium sells Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd to Proximagen Neuroscience
On November 24 2009 Biovitrum AB completed the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd and certain drug development programmes to Proximagen Neuroscience plc. The drug development programmes consist of the pre-clinical stage programmes VAP-1 and Trk A as well as two clinical stage programmes, the 5-HT2c agonist and 5-HT6 antagonist programmes. In return Biovitrum is entitled to a share of future revenues generated from the pipeline. Financial details were not disclosed by the companies.
November 26, 2009
Merck & Co extend partnership with Idera
On November 25 2009 Merck & Co and Idera announced they are extending their three year partnership for fourth year. Begun in December 2006 the collaboration aims to develop vaccines that could be used against cancer, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. The extension will complete the contract between Idera and Merck, as the companies agreed to work together for two years with two one-year options.
November 26, 2009
Novartis and Idera to end researach collaboration for asthma and allergy treatments
As of Februrary 2010 Novartis is to terminate its research collaboration agreement begun with Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc in May 2005. The aim of the collaboration was to discover, develop, and commercialize TLR9 agonists that are based on Idera’s proprietary IMO chemistry and identified as potential treatments for asthma and allergies.
Under the agreement, Idera received a US$4 million upfront license fee and in 2007 a US$1 million payment for an extension of the research collaboration. In March 2008 the research agreement was extended to December 2008 to allow for the progress of QAX935 (IMO-2134), a novel agonist of TLR9 identified in the collaboration, into human clinical trials. Idera received a US$1 million milestone payment f as a result of the initiation of the Phase 1 clinical study.
With the termination of the research collaboration in February 2010 Idera will regain all rights to IMO-2134 without any financial obligations to Novartis and will no longer be subject to restrictions on its right to develop its TLR-targeted compounds, including its TLR antagonists and TLR antisense oligonucleotides, for respiratory diseases.
November 26, 2009
Merck & Co launches phase II trial for Karo Bio’s drug
On November 26 2009 Merck & Co Inc indicated that it plans to start a clinical phase IIa trial with the biotechnology company Karo Bio’s lead investigational drug candidate, MK-6913, identified as part of their joint research collaboration. The randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled study will assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of MK-6913 for the treatment of moderate-to-very-severe vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes/hot flushes) in postmenopausal women. It is estimated that 300 patients will be enrolled in the study.
In the partnership Merck has the exclusive worldwide rights to all compounds identified during the collaboration and is responsible for their further preclinical and clinical development. Karo Bio has the rights to certain milestone payments from Merck based upon the further successful clinical development of the compound and final drug approval, but is not to receive a milestone payment for the initiation of the phase II trial. Karo Bio has the rights to royalties on future drug sales.
The collaboration is targeting estrogen receptors with the aim to develop novel treatments in the field of women’s health. The joint drug discovery phase of the collaboration with Merck was completed in 2002. MK-6913 is the first such estrogen receptor compound arising from the collaboration to enter Phase II.
November 25, 2009
Agreement between Micromet and Lonza for antibody for hematologic cancers
On November 24 2009 Micromet Inc entered into an agreement with Lonza AG for the process development and manufacture of blinatumomab (MT103), a BiTE antibody being investigated for the treatment of various hematologic cancers. Micromet controls the worldwide rights to develop and commercialise blinatumomab after it reacquired MedImmune’s remaining rights to this product candidate on November 4 2009. Under the terms of the agreement, Lonza will manufacture blinatumomab for clinical trials. In addition, Lonza will develop the commercial scale process and will supply blinatumomab for the market if so requested by Micromet.
November 25, 2009
ISI and Pharma To Market enter software partnership
On November 24 2009 ISI, a software and services provider for the life sciences industry, entered into a strategic partnership with Australian systems integrator, Pharma To Market Pty Ltd, in anticipation of Australia’s adoption of the electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD) submission standard. Under the agreement, Pharma To Market will act as ISI’s exclusive Australian reseller of ISI’s market-leading Regulatory Solutions Suite and provide full implementation, maintenance, and accredited training courses for ISI’s software products.
November 25, 2009
Jubilant Organosys, University of Alabama and Southern Research Institute start joint venture
On November 24 2009 Jubilant Organosys, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Southern Research Institute began a joint venture focusing on oncology, metabolic disease and infectious diseases. The aim of the US-India partnership is to accelerate the development of affordable therapies.
November 25, 2009
Novartis and Incyte enter licensing agreement for blood disorders and cancer drugs
On November 25 2009 Novartis entered a licensing agreement with Incyte Corporation for exclusive rights to two oral targeted investigational therapies for patients with a range of life-threatening blood disorders and cancers that currently do not have effective treatment options. Under the agreement Novartis is to take responsibility for the future development of Incyte’s investigational JAK inhibitor, INCB18424, outside the US and for future development of an early-stage cmet inhibitor, INCB28060, globally.
Under the agreement Incyte is to receive an upfront payment of US$ 150 million and a first milestone payment of US$ 60 million for initiation of the European Phase III trial of INCB18424 that began in July 2009. The agreement covers ex-US commercialisation rights for the JAK inhibitor and global commercialisation rights for the cMET inhibitor. Each company is to cover the costs in their respective territories for the JAK inhibitor but will share the costs of collaborative studies equally. Incyte is also eligible for further development and commercialisation milestones payments of up to approximately US$1.1 billion and could receive tiered, double-digit royalty payments on future ex-US INCB18424 sales.
Novartis is to take responsiblility for all costs and activities for the cMET inhibitor after the Phase I clinical trial. After the first milestone, Incyte is eligible for additional payments based on achieving defined development and commercialization milestones and to receive royalties on future sales. Incyte has retained an option to co-develop and co-promote the cMET inhibitor in the US and to participate in the cMET inhibitor’s global development.
November 25, 2009
Gilead Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline enter licensing agreement for hepatitis B treatment
On November 24 2009 Gilead Sciences Inc and GlaxoSmithKline entered a licensing agreement to commercialise Viread(R) (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection in adults in five Asian countries. Under the agreement Gilead retains exclusive rights for commercialisation of Viread for HBV in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. In China, GSK gains exclusive commercialization rights and registration responsibilities for Viread for HBV. Each company is to pay royalties to the other on sales of Viread for HBV in their respective Asian territories. The companies are working to expand this agreement to include Japan and other countries.
The Viread agreement modifies the terms of the April 2002 licensing agreement between the two companies which granted GSK exclusive rights to Hepsera(R) (adefovir dipivoxil), Gilead’s first hepatitis B treatment, in various territories including China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, as well as the right to commercialsze Viread for the treatment of HBV under certain circumstances.
