Pharma Investment Roundup 17-Jun-2022

Parexel Launches Community Alliance Network

16-Jun-2022

Parexel, a global Contract Research Organization (CRO) announced the launch of its Community Alliance Network in a bid to further integrate its clinical research with community healthcare settings. Inaugural members for the network include CVS Health and Javara – with the network expected to increase diversity and opportunity for clinical trials. Parexel’s own trials will benefit from access to new patient populations, including in institutions that have never had access to clinical trials before. The program will complement Parexel’s Site Alliance Network – comprising over 500 clinical research institutions across 20+ countries. Chief Patient Officer at Parexel, Clare Grace, highlighted the importance of increasing collaboration across the clinical development industry: 

“For too long, clinical research has been siloed in small pockets of the healthcare system […] Not only has this slowed therapeutic innovation, it has limited patient access to clinical research as a care option. Providing patients more opportunities to access and participate in clinical research — through their physician’s office, in CVS MinuteClinics® within designated HealthHUB® locations, or through traditional academic sites or hospitals — is a critical and strategic decision. Parexel is leading the way in providing access to the 95 percent of patients who don’t currently participate in research to design clinical trials that revolve around the patient.”

Novartis and PerkinElmer join together for Sickle Cell Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa

16-Jun-2022

PerkinElmer announced a new partnership with pharma giant Novartis with the goal of expanding newborn screening for sickle cell disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, expanding the scope of the Novartis Africa Sickle Cell Disease program. Similar screening programs, enabling early interventions with hydroxyurea, prophylactic penicillin, pneumococcal vaccinations and other treatments, have significantly reduced mortality rates in high-income countries – up to 94% in children younger than 5 in the USA. However, there is a significant unmet need in Sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the largest burden of the disease. PerkinElmer will provide multifaceted contributions to the program, including the establishment of laboratories, the provision of training and consultations and other services across the participating countries. Racey Muchilwa, Country President and the Head of Novartis sub-Saharan Africa, expressed hope in improving livelihoods in the region: 

“This collaboration with PerkinElmer reaffirms our commitment to reimagining care for sickle cell disease patients, by accelerating access to national newborn screening and hydroxyurea through public-private partnerships with local governments and other organizations, […] We will also be educating patients, caregivers and communities on the importance of newborn screening, early intervention and treatments while elevating the capacity for healthcare professionals to address the high unmet need of SCD.”

Boehringer Ingelheim to acquire Trutino Biosciences

14-Jun-2022

Boehringer Ingelheim, a global pharmaceutical company, announced the signing of an option to acquire Trutino Biosciences, a biotech firm based in San Diego. The acquisition of Trutino, a preclinical firm focusing on cytokine therapies for oncology and autoimmune diseases, is expected to diversify Boehringer Ingelheim’s efforts in the immuno-oncology and targeted therapy space. Cytokine therapies show potential not only as single agents, but also in combination with Boehringer’s arsenal of cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses, T-cell engagers and other novel modalities. Trutino will continue to operate independently, while Boehringer reserves the option to purchase all shares in the company once milestones have been achieved. While cytokines have long been investigated for their potential effects on cancer, novel technologies enable the use of selectively activated compounds – limiting their off-site effects, as outlined by Clive R. Wood, Corporate Senior Vice President and Global Head of Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim:

“The selective activation of specific cytokines localized in the tumor microenvironment holds enormous promise and has the potential to be a key element in fully harnessing the power of the immune system to fight cancer.”

Evotec embarks on Janssen partnership

14-Jun-2022

Evotec announced the start of a new collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson. The agreement will seek to leverage Evotec’s TargetAlloMod to discover therapeutics with first-in-class modes of action. In addition to research funding, Evotec will receive success-based research and commercial milestones up to approximately €210m per project, plus royalties. Chief Scientific Officer at Evotec, Dr. Cord Dohrmann, commented:

“We are very proud to enter into this collaboration to explore unique approaches to high potential cell surface drug targets with novel therapeutic modalities and to deliver and make innovative therapeutic options available to patients.”

Dren Bio drums up $65m in Series B funding

14-Jun-2022

Dren Bio released news of a successful Series B financing round, raising $65m and pushing the company’s total received capital to date up to $156m, positioning the company for success in its drug discovery journey. The additional financing will enable the company to advance its broad pipeline of preclinical candidates, particularly DR-01, an agent aiming to eliminate a subset of immune cells which are the underlying cause of certain hematologic malignancies and well-defined autoimmune disorders. Its Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis Platform also places it in a highly promising position in the bispecific antibody space, granting the company’s candidate products multi-pronged modes of action and improved safety profiles. The financing round was co-led by Aisling Capital and HBM Healthcare Investments, with participation from Pfizer, ArrowMark Partners and Revelation Partners. Aisling Capital Managing Partner Dr. Schiff indicated excitement at the prospects for Dren Bio:

“We were thoroughly impressed by Dren Bio’s diversified R&D portfolio that encompasses two distinct therapeutic antibody programs including their attractive proprietary platform […] We are excited by the opportunity to support Dren Bio in progressing on their mission to deliver revolutionary therapies to patients with severe unmet needs, starting with difficult-to-treat cancers.”