Dive Brief: Biogen is scooping up a closely held immunology startup to bring more diversity to a pipeline best known for neurology products. Per deal terms, Biogen will pay $1.15 billion in cash up front to acquire Human Immunology Biosciences, or HI-Bio, and as much as $650 million more if the startup’s lead drug achieves…
Pfizer, already in the midst of an aggressive effort to trim spending, on Wednesday disclosed new plans to cut at least $1.5 billion in additional costs over the next several years. The program is meant to reduce what Pfizer spends on producing its medicines and will include “operational efficiencies, network structure changes and product portfolio…
Eli Lilly is partnering with biotechnology company Aktis Oncology to develop radiopharmaceuticals for cancer, agreeing to a deal that will pay the startup $60 million upfront. Per terms announced Tuesday, Aktis could receive as much as $1.1 billion more from Lilly if certain milestones are met. Lilly is also making an equity investment in Aktis….
Dive Brief: AstraZeneca’s plan to reach $80 billion in sales by 2030 relies heavily on a slate of roughly one dozen cancer drugs it expects will become blockbuster sellers at their peak, according to a presentation to investors that executives outlined Tuesday. One of the drugs, the lung cancer treatment Tagrisso, has already exceeded $5…
British biotechnology startup Pheon Therapeutics has raised another $120 million in venture funding, riding a wave of investor interest in the type of cancer medicines, known as antibody-drug conjugates, it specializes in. The Series B funding, announced Tuesday and led by TCGX Capital, will help Pheon bring multiple drugs into clinical testing against solid tumors….
Forbion, a well-known backer of life sciences startups, is leading an investment round for a newly launched biotechnology company focused on diseases that affect nerve cells. The company, Progentos Therapeutics, has raised $65 million through a Series A financing that also involved Alta Partners, Mission BioCapital, Longwood Fund and Dolby Family Ventures. Progentos says the…
Dr. Zocca brings more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology field and has founded and co-founded several biotech spinouts. Her focus on translational and clinical immune oncology has led to the development of important investigational immunotherapies for a variety of cancer types. Dr. Zocca holds a Ph.D. in tumor immunology and a Master…
Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals are stopping development of an experimental drug for ALS following new clinical trial results that didn’t meet the companies’ expectations. The trial, which enrolled almost 100 people with the nerve-destroying disorder, found the drug actually worked as intended. Biogen and Ionis had designed it to lower levels of “ataxin-2,” a protein…
Dive Brief: An experimental Roche drug helped people with obesity lose an average of nearly 19% of their body weight over six months, after adjusting for placebo, in an early-stage trial, the company said Thursday. Roche is awaiting additional data from a study of the drug, called CT-388, in people with diabetes as well as…
A once-weekly form of insulin being developed by Eli Lilly proved just as effective at controlling blood sugar in adults with diabetes as commonly used daily injections, according to results from two clinical trials that were released by the drugmaker Thursday. Lilly is betting that its experimental drug, dubbed insulin efsitora alfa, could provide a…
