Getting to the bottom of alliance failure rates

Our previous postings on this subject have raised quite a lot of interest from alliance management professionals and a not inconsiderable number of questions about both our research and previous surveys exploring the issue of the failure rate of alliances. In response to this interest and these questions we have undertaken a systematic review of the research in this area undertaken over the past two decades. Our findings are set out in Silico Research White Paper July 2011 – The Failure Rate of Alliances. Click on the link to download the White Paper in pdf format.

Amgen buys Micromet for $1.16 billion

Amgen and Micromet have announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amgen will acquire Micromet for approximately $1.16 billion. The acquisition includes blinatumomab, a Bispecific T cell Engager antibody in Phase 2 clinical development for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blinatumomab is also in clinical development for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and could have applications in other hematologic malignancies. Micromet has partnerships with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Lonza, MedImmune and Sanofi.

Celgene buys Avila Therapeutics for $925 million

Celgene and Avila Therapeutics have announced an agreement under which Celgene will acquire Avila. According to the companies the acquisition positions Celgene to expand its role in the future treatment of hematologic cancers with Avila’s AVL-292, a selective Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk) inhibitor, currently in phase I clinical development. Under the terms of the agreement, Celgene will acquire Avila for $350 million in cash, up to $195 million for milestones contingent upon the development and regulatory approval of AVL-292, and up to $380 million in potential milestone payments contingent upon the development and approval of candidates generated from the Avilomics platform.

Roche and Technoclone sign assay development alliance agreement

Roche and Technoclone have announced that they have entered a strategic alliance to co-develop a portfolio of coagulation assays. Technoclone is a reagent specialist in thrombosis and cardiovascular diagnostics. Under the deal, Roche will also market Technoclone’s range of Research Use Only products that address the needs of specialists and researchers in the hemostasis research community. Further terms of the alliance were not announced.

AstraZeneca and Karolinska Institutet sign three year collaborative imaging research agreement

AstraZeneca and Karolinska Institutet have announced a three year collaborative research agreement that will apply molecular imaging technologies to generate novel diagnostic imaging tools and further the development of AstraZeneca’s neuroscience research and development pipeline. AstraZeneca and the Swedish medical university Karolinska Insitutet have collaborated since 2006 in the field of Positron Emission Tomography. The continued collaboration between AstraZeneca and the university is planning to deliver new imaging tools for the diagnosis of patients primarily with severe neurological illnesses as well as in pain control. The alliance will also facilitate the development of drugs for disorders such as chronic pain, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Almirall signs €7.5 million collaboration with BioFocus

Almirall has announced that has formed a research alliance with BioFocus. The three-year alliance is aimed at delivering drug development candidates directed to a key respiratory target of interest to Almirall. Under the terms of the collaboration, BioFocus will apply its integrated drug discovery capabilities whilst Almirall will bring in respiratory specific assets to the joint experimental effort. The value of this collaboration to BioFocus could reach €7.5 million.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals acquire ex-US rights to Zevalin from Bayer

Reuters reports that Spectrum Pharmaceuticals has announced that it will acquire rights to market cancer drug Zevalin outside of the United States from Bayer for €19 million. Spectrum, which already owns US rights of Zevalin, said Bayer will get royalties based on a percentage of net sales of the drug in all territories worldwide except the United States. In 2010 Spectrum generated sales of $29 million from Zevalin. Zevalin is currently approved in more than 40 countries for the treatment of follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Prosensa raises €23 million in new equity financing

Prosensa, a Dutch biopharmaceutical company focusing on RNA-modulating therapeutics for rare diseases, announced today that it has raised €23 million in new equity financing. The financing was led by new investor New Enterprise Associates and was supported by existing Prosensa investors, Abingworth, Life Sciences Partners, Gimv, Idinvest Partners and MedSciences Capital. According to the company, the fundraising will enable it to advance its portfolio of RNA-modulating therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Myotonic Dystrophy and Huntington’s disease.

BioLineRx signs exclusive license agreement with Genoscience

BioLineRx has signed an exclusive license agreement with Genoscience to develop and commercialize a treatment for Hepatitis C. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. After the announcement shares in BioLineRx rose 80% on the Nasdaq index.

Eli Lilly and Jubilant terminate joint venture

Eli Lilly and Jubilant Life Sciences have called off their equal drug-discovery partnership to develop molecules across several therapeutic areas. The joint venture was signed in late 2008 to develop molecules from the pre-clinical to phase II stage across oncology, diabetes and cardiovascular segments. The firm is called Vanthys Pharmaceuticals and based in Bangalore. According to reports Jubilant may buy back Lilly’s shareholding in the venture. At the time of the announcement, the two firms had said they would jointly invest $8 million in Vanthys over the next three years.

Santhera Pharmaceuticals regains all rightr to fipamezole from Ipsen

Santhera Pharmaceuticals and Ipsen have announced that Santhera has regained the worldwide rights to the development and commercialization of fipamezole, its antagonist for the management of levodopa-induced Dyskinesia in Parkinson’s Disease. Under the renegotiated terms, Ipsen returns its rights for territories outside of North America and Japan in exchange for milestone payments and royalties based on future partnering and commercial success of fipamezole. Ipsen retains a call option for worldwide license to the program under certain conditions.
According to a licensing agreement signed in September 2010, Ipsen had acquired the rights to fipamezole outside the United States, Canada and Japan for an upfront payment of €13 million. In November 2010 Santhera regained the rights to fipamezole in North America.