Milestone payment for BioCryst from Shionogi for influenza drug

On November 4 2009 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc announced that it is to receive a regulatory milestone payment of US$7 because its partner, Shionogi & Co Ltd, has filed a New Drug Application in Japan to seek regulatory approval for intravenous peramivir, discovered by BioCryst, to treat patients with influenza.

Monoclonal antibody distribution alliance between Quotient Biodiagnostics and MED Alliance Group

Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Quotient Biodiagnostics Inc’s biologics license application for the companies first 15 monoclonal antibodies for transfusion diagnostics, the company has announced a distribution alliance with the MED Alliance Group Inc, a regional specialty distributor that covers 25 percent of the US, to serve as its distributor to customers in the Midwest. Elsewhere Quotient will sell products through its direct sales force and has signed an agreement with the Global Healthcare Exchange to provide electronic order processing in all regions outside the Midwest. The products are to be used by blood donor centers, reference laboratories, and hospitals to type and screen blood.

Monoclonal alliance between Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline proving positive

As monoclonal antibodies continue to prove a hot prospect for alliances some news that will enhance this trend comes from the achievement of a monoclonal antibody co-development and co-commercialisation alliance between Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline. On November 1 2009 the two companies announced that their monoclonal drug Benlysta (belimumab) had statistically improved the treatment of patients with systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and had the potential to become the first new approved drug in fifty years for people living with the disease. The two companies are planning to submit marketing applications for the drug in the first half of 2010, following discussions with regulatory authorities in the United States, Europe and other regions.

The companies indicated that the investigational drug had met the primary endpoint in BLISS-76, the second of two pivotal Phase 3 trials in seropositive patients with SLE. Conducted for 52 weeks the BLISS-76 study results showed that belimumab 10 mg/kg plus standard of care achieved a statistically significant improvement in patient response rate as measured by the SLE Responder Index at Week 52, compared with placebo plus standard of care. Study results also showed that belimumab was generally well tolerated, as demonstrated by a similar rate of discontinuations due to adverse events across treatment groups, with overall adverse event rates comparable between belimumab and placebo treatment groups. More data will be available following completion of the full 76-week study period.

Xoma signs alliance with Kaketsuken

On November 3 2009 Xoma Ltd and Kaketsuken began a collaboration involving multiple proprietary Xoma antibody research and development technologies, including a new Xoma antibody phage display library, and a suite of integrated information and data management systems. Under the agreement Kaketsuken is to pay Xoma a fee of US$8 million and Xoma is entitled to milestone payments and royalties on product sales.

This is the third technology alliance Xoma has entered this year. Combined these alliances are expected to bring in US$43 million in fee revenue and potential future milestone and royalty payments.

Abbott acquires medical devices company Evalve Inc

Abbott completed its acquisition of the medical devices company Evalve Inc on November 2 2009. Evalve specialises in the development of devices for minimally invasive repair of mitral valves. Abbott acquired the remaining outstanding equity of Evalve that it did not already own for an upfront payment of US$320 million, plus a US$90 million payment if certain regulatory milestones are met.

Alliance between Orion Genomics and Novartis Pharma AG

Orion Genomics entered a multi-year collaboration and license agreement on October 30 2009 with Novartis Pharma AG. Under the deal, Novartis gets non-exclusive worldwide rights to some of Orion’s clinical screening technology. Both companies have rights to independently develop and commercialise diagnostic products in their respective fields.

The arrangement allows Novartis access to Orion’s biomarker discovery technology that allows it to produce high-resolution maps of the humane genome. Novartis will be sending Orion biological samples, and Orion will use its technologies to narrow its view of the millions of potential biomarkers on DNA to a dozen biomarkers that can identify a patient who will respond to certain therapies.

Alliance between Sanofi-Aventis and Micromet

Sanofi-Aventis and Micromet signed a global collaboration and license agreement on October 30 2009 to develop BiTE, a new antibody that will activate patients’ T cells to seek out and destroy cancer cells. Under this agreement, Micromet is responsible for the discovery, research and development of the BiTE antibody, including Phase I trials and Sanofi-Aventis is responsible for further development as well as for worldwide commercialisation.  Micromet is to receive an upfront cash payment of €8m and is eligible for development and regulatory milestone payments of up to €162m. The agreement includes royalties on worldwide product sales and Micormet will also receive additional performance-based sales milestones of up to €150m.

Alliance between Endotis Pharma and Catalent Pharma Solutions

On November 2 2009 Endotis Pharma announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Catalent Pharma Solutions. The two companies will collaborate exclusively to develop certain oral formulations of small-glyco drugs and are now focusing on the preclinical development of Endotis’ EP37151 compound. EP37151 is a first in-class oral synthetic oligosaccharide anticoagulant which, as an indirect factor Xa inhibitor, acts via antithrombin activation. The companies expect to initiate a Phase I clinical trial programme during the second quarter of 2010.

Parnership between Attunity and Microsoft

On November 2 2009 Attunity Ltd, a provider of real-time data integration and event capture software, announced a strategic partnership to market solutions that enable real-time business intelligence and efficient data integration based on the companies’ data integration products. The solution, based on Microsoft’s SQL Server Integration Services and Attunity’s low-impact change data capture  technology is designed to enables real-time integration of heterogeneous data.

Marketing partnership between OpenX and Microsoft

On November 2 2009 OpenX Technologies Inc, an independent ad server for web publishers, entered into a marketing partnership with Microsoft Corporation SFT that enables the companies to cross-market and promote products to their respective publisher bases. Under terms of the multi-year agreement, OpenX becomes a preferred partner to publishers for enterprise ad serving solutions. In addition, OpenX will promote Microsoft’s Content Ads monetization products – as well as other products that may be developed in the future – to its existing base of web publisher customers.

Under the agreement Microsoft is to have a major distribution channel for its monetisation products through OpenX’s community of more than 150,000 websites that serve more than 300 billion ads per month. OpenX, in turn, is to gain access to a new base of potential customers – via referrals from Microsoft – for its enterprise advertising technology and services.