Pharma Investment Roundup 26/11/2021

Business Roundup 26/11/2021

Vaccibody renames to Nykode, partnership with Regeneron 

23-11-2021

Norwegian firm Vaccibody has renamed itself to Nykode Therapeutics. Nykode Therapeutics is a company dedicated to vaccine and immunotherapy discovery and development. As such, news of its partnership with American Regeneron, a company with significant experience in bringing antibody-based treatments to the market, should come as no surprise. The agreement will involve a $30 million upfront investment for Nykode, and the potential for up to $925 million in milestone payments and royalties for Nykode. Under this partnership, the two firms will collaborate on five programs for cancer and infectious disease treatments. Nykode will undertake vaccine generation and supply until Phase I trial conclusion, while Regeneron will be responsible for antigen discovery, preclinical and clinical development and manufacturing past the Phase I stage. The partnership is expected to be an overall boost for the growing field of immuno-oncology and antibody-based therapies in multiple fields. 

GSK partnership with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals for NASH drug

22-11-2021

American Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has licensed its experimental therapy for Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NASH) to British GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The deal saw GSK pay $120m up front, with the potential for up to $910m for Arrowhead through milestone payments. Currently, no treatment exists for NASH. Arrowhead’s candidate uses novel RNA interference (RNAi) drugs, which consist of small RNA molecules, the purpose of which is to silence the expression of disease-causing proteins. Specifically, Arrowhead’s candidate silences the HSD17B13 enzyme, which can have beneficial effects across a variety of liver conditions – particularly NASH. Under the deal, GSK receives an exclusive license to commercialise and clinically develop the drug worldwide, although Arrowhead retains these rights and responsibilities within China. 

Baidu partnership with Sanofi for mRNA algorithm

22-11-2021

French Sanofi has entered into a partnership with Chinese tech firm Baidu to use Baidu’s mRNA design and optimization platform, LinearDesign. The agreement will entail milestone payments for any products developed using LinearDesign. After falling behind the race to develop COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines, Sanofi instead re-oriented its efforts towards developing a traditional protein vaccine with GSK for the virus. However, it maintains multiple pipelines for the development of mRNA vaccines for other diseases. Given the difficulty in producing stable mRNA products that can withstand feasible storage and distribution conditions, optimizations provided by LinearDesign should ameliorate some of the concerns in that department, as well as enhancing the immunogenicity of the products. 

Bushu and Amgen make new pact

09-11-2021

American Amgen and its Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO), Bushu, announced their expanded “Gateway to Asia” partnership across four countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This news comes in light of the success of Bushu’s work with Amgen in growing the latter’s market in Japan. Given such success, it is unsurprising to see the partnership expanded across bigger markets in Asia, which include China, Taiwan and South Korea. Tadao Takano, President of Bushu Pharma, had the following to say of these news:

“We are pleased to have built a strong partnership through successful launches of Amgen’s four (Repatha, Evenity, Blincyto, and Aimovig) innovative drugs in Japan and scaled production to match the growing patient needs. The new Gateway to Asia services will enable further effectiveness in importing bulk products to Japan for quality inspection, labeling, packaging and distribution throughout Japan and Asia-Pacific.”

Merck concludes Acceleron buyout

22-11-2021

Merck announced the conclusion of its acquisition of Acceleron, after having to fight off activist investors. The acquisition set Merck back by $11.5 billion. Acceleron specialises in Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) protein-based therapeutics, and the acquisition by Merck is expected to grant the pharma giant access to multiple drugs in Acceleron’s pipeline, including Reblozyl for beta thalassaemia and myeloplastic disorders, as well as Sotatercept for pulmonary hypertension. Merck recognises the potential in Acceleron’s unique portfolio of medicines, with Rob Davies, CEO of Merck, saying the following:

“Strategic business development is a top priority for Merck as we look to drive sustainable growth and further bolster and balance our pipeline with breakthrough science. Acceleron’s innovative research has yielded an exciting late-stage candidate that complements and strengthens our growing cardiovascular portfolio and pipeline and holds the potential to build upon Merck’s proud legacy in cardiovascular disease.”

Essential Pharma transfers portfolio of oral liquids to Rosemont

25-11-2021

Essential Pharma, a global manufacturing firm specialising in the production of low-volume generics that are difficult to manufacture, has divested its portfolio of oral liquids to British Rosemont. This follows Rosemont’s acquisition by Inflexion Private Equity Partners in 2020, and may be indicative of the growing direction the company is taking. In addition, Essential Pharma has also acquired a range of products with global potential, as said by Steen Vangsgaard, CEO of Essential Pharma:

“The Rosemont products bring additional niche products into our portfolio with international expansion potential. The divestiture of our UK oral liquid products streamlines our portfolio, allowing us to focus and accelerate our strategic growth ambition of building a leading international specialty pharma platform.”

Medios acquires NewCo Pharma

25-11-2021

German Medios, one of the leading specialty pharmaceutical companies in Germany, has acquired NewCo Pharma, in a bid to increase its portfolio of patient-centered specialty products. In a press release statement, Medios announced its hopes for growth and increased profit margins resulting from the deal:

“The acquisition of NewCo Pharma is a major milestone in Medios’ sustainable growth strategy. Our attractive business with patient-specific infusion solutions for the treatment of rare and chronic diseases will almost triple. Together with NewCo Pharma we want to exceed the 1.5 billion euro sales mark in 2022 […] In addition, we will jointly position ourselves even better nationwide as a close partner to the specialized local pharmacies and further increase the number of our partner pharmacies. This also benefits patients with rare and chronic diseases. “

The deal places Medios in a position to become a leader in the German pharmaceutical market, and adds NewCo Pharma’s five manufacturing plants to Medios’ infrastructure. 

Karo Pharma purchases Sylphar

23-11-2021

Swedish company Karo Pharma has acquired Belgian Sylphar for €290m. Karo Pharma is a pharmaceutical company with an extensive portfolio of commercial healthcare products, including both prescription and over-the-counter medicines. The acquisition of Sylphar is seen as complementary to their current strategy and portfolio; Sylphar’s best known brands include Nutravita, Alpha Foods and Remescar. Given Sylphar’s digital expertise, it is expected that Karo Pharma will also benefit from their experience in online marketing. Karo Pharma also plans to carry out a new share issue to raise €200-250 million euros in light of the acquisition.

Boan Biotech partners with Merck for digital future

24-11-2021

Boan Biotech, a subsidiary of Luye Pharma Group, a large Chinese pharmaceutical company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Merck for the purpose of transforming their manufacturing process into a contemporary, digitized form. The two partners will work on integrating data acquisition, visualization, and analysis. Additionally, Boan will implement Merck’s Bio4C ProcessPad, making it the first company in China to do so. This move is representative of growing pharmaceutical innovation in China, particularly through trans-pacific partnerships, as illustrated by Boan’s CEO, Jiang Hua:

“Boan Biotech is committed to providing high quality innovative biologics to patients in China and around the world. Our manufacturing facility was built with state of the art design and has received regular upgrades, and the company has continuously innovated to improve production processes. With Merck’s technology, we will be better able to build a digitized next-generation factory and realize higher productivity, increased capacity and enhanced product quality, to better serve our patients worldwide.”