Research & Development

Verastem signs license deal with Sanofi for COPIKTRA in certain countries

Verastem, operating as Verastem Oncology, announced their entry into an exclusive licensing agreement with Sanofi to develop and commercialize Verastem Oncology’s COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and the first approved dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, for the treatment of all oncology indications in Russia and CIS, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.

Zambon acquires Breath Therapeutics for up to £446m

Multinational pharmaceutical firm Zambon has acquired biopharmaceutical firm Breath Therapeutics from Sofinnova Partners in a deal worth up to €500m (£446m).

Gemphire Therapeutics and NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals announce merger agreement

Gemphire Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held clinical-stage biotechnology company, have entered into a definitive agreement whereby NeuroBo will merge with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gemphire in an all-stock transaction.

Ligand acquires Ab Initio Biotherapeutics, an antigen-discovery company

-Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) announces the signing of an agreement with Ab Initio Biotherapeutics whereby Ligand will acquire Ab Initio for $12 million in cash.

Boehringer, Bridge Biotherapeutics sign licence agreement for IPF treatment candidate

Boehringer Ingelheim has signed a new collaboration and licence agreement with Bridge Biotherapeutics to develop autotaxin inhibitor BBT-877 to treat patients with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases.

Astellas signs licensing deal for Frequency’s regenerative drug FX-322

Astellas Pharma has signed a licensing deal worth up to $625m (£500.66m) with Frequency Therapeutics to develop and commercialise FX-322, the latter’s regenerative therapeutic candidate for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss.

AbbVie enhances early stage oncology pipeline with acquisition of Mavupharma

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced today that it has acquired Seattle-based Mavupharma, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on novel approaches to target the STING (STimulator of INterferon Genes) pathway for the treatment of cancer.

Recordati to acquire worldwide rights to Signifor and Osilodrostat

Recordati announces the signing of an agreement with Novartis for the acquisition of worldwide rights to Signifor and Signifor LAR for the treatment of Cushing’s disease and acromegaly in adult patients for whom surgery is not an option or for whom surgery has failed.

Boehringer Ingelheim buys Swiss biotech firm AMAL Therapeutics

Boehringer Ingelheim has acquired Swiss biotechnology firm AMAL Therapeutics in a deal valued at around €325m (£291.9m).