Par Pharmaceutical agrees to acquire Anchen Pharmaceuticals for $410 million

Par Pharmaceutical has announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Anchen Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing extended release and niche generic products, for $410 million in cash.

Baxter buys Baxa for $380 million

Baxter has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Baxa. Baxa develops pharmacy technology that is designed to enhance the efficiency and safety of oral and IV dose preparation and delivery. The transaction includes a total upfront cash consideration of $380 million. Annual sales for Baxa were around $150 million in 2010.

NovAliX signs osteoarthritis collaboration with Galapagos

NovAliX has announced that it has entered into drug discovery collaboration in the field of osteoarthritis with Galapagos. Under the terms of this agreement NovAliX will be responsible for the discovery of specific small molecule lead candidates for a novel, validated osteoarthritis target chosen by Galapagos. NovAliX will identify hits using its Graffinity fragment-based screening technology that combines chemical micro-arrays with a proprietary SPR-imaging method for the detection of compound-protein interactions and then further progress this program to the lead candidate stage by applying its medicinal chemistry and structural biology expertise. NovAliX will receive technology access fees, research funding and is eligible to receive success-based milestones from Galapagos.

Adimab signs deals with Biogen Idec and Novo Nordisk

Adimab has announced that it has signed two new deals with Biogen Idec and Novo Nordisk. Under the terms of both deals, Adimab will use its discovery platform to identify human antibodies against two targets selected by Biogen Idec, and a second two from Novo Nordisk. Both deals involve up front payments to Adimab and potential preclinical milestones payments. Both deals also have the potential for Adimab to win clinical development milestones and royalties on the sales of any product that come from the collaborations.

Merck & Co sign $187 million licence agreement with Zymeworks

Merck & Co has negotiated a worldwide license to use Zymeworks’ Azymetric platform for the development and commercialization of bispecific antibodies against targets in multiple therapeutic fields. Under the terms of the deal the companies will work together to continue developing the platform, while Merck will take any resulting bispecific antibody products through clinical development. Zymeworks will receive an up-front fee and could earn research, development, and regulatory milestones of up to $187 million. Merck retains exclusive worldwide commercialization rights to products derived from the partnership.

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals signs RNAi collaborationn with Halo-Bio RNAi Therapeutics

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has obtained an exclusive, worldwide license to a novel and proprietary RNAi technology called MV-RNA (multivalent RNA) from Halo-Bio RNAi Therapeutics. The license and collaboration agreement provides for the companies to work together to design and develop MV-RNA molecules to gene targets of interest to Tekmira and to combine MV-RNA molecules with Tekmira’s lipid nanoparticle technology to develop therapeutic products. Under the license agreement, Tekmira has received exclusive worldwide rights to Halo-Bio’s MV-RNA technology for the development of therapeutic products. Tekmira and Halo-Bio will continue an ongoing research collaboration to design and optimize MV-RNA molecules against gene targets of interest. Financial terms of the license agreement were not disclosed.

Ipsen and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals expand collaboration

Ipsen and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals have announced they have entered into a strategic partnership agreement, to create a European hemophilia commercial organization, to launch Inspiration’s hemophilia product portfolio in Europe. Inspiration and Ipsen will work together to hire and train a specialized commercial team to serve as the exclusive sales organization in Europe for all hemophilia drugs commercialized under the Inspiration brand. This commercial organization will take the form of a hemophilia business unit nested within Ipsen’s existing commercial organization. Inspiration currently has two product candidates in pivotal clinical testing: IB1001, an intravenous recombinant factor IX product being developed for the treatment and prevention of bleeding in individuals with hemophilia B, and OBI-1, an IV porcine recombinant factor VIII product being developed for the treatment of bleeding in individuals with acquired hemophilia A and individuals with congenital hemophilia A who have developed inhibitors against human FVIII. Inspiration anticipates filing a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) with the European Medicines Agency for IB1001 by the end of this year.

GlaxoSmithKline takes stake in Autifony Therapeutics

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it will receive a 25.4% minority equity stake, representing a £1.25 million investment, in Autifony Therapeutics, a UK-based biotechnology start up created through a funding round of up to £10 million alongside investors Imperial Innovations and SV Life Sciences. Autifony’s drugs target voltage-gated ion channels which promise to treat hearing loss and tinnitus.

European regulators clear Boehringer-Ingelheim and Eli Lilly’s linagliptin

Boehringer-Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have won approval from European regulators to market their type 2 diabetes drug linagliptin. The drug was cleared by the European Commission when used in combination with an older generic drug called metformin while only certain patient groups can take the pill without metformin, the companies said in a joint statement. Lilly in January agreed to initially pay €300 million, plus potentially up to €625 million, depending on development progress for the right to co-develop two of Boehringer’s experimental diabetes pills, linagliptin and BI10773. That was part of Lilly’s five-drug alliance with Boehringer.

Takeda reported to have approached Cipla and Lupin

Takeda is reported to have approached the generic drugmakers Cipla and Lupin with a view to buying parts of their businesses. The reports speculate that Takeda is interested in buying Lupin’s domestic formulations business, along with its research facility.