Drug Discovery

Sanofi to buy Belgian biopharmaceutical firm Ablynx for EUR3.9bn

French drugmaker Sanofi has agreed to acquire Ablynx, a Belgian biopharma company focused in the discovery and development of Nanobodies, for about €3.9bn.

Spectris acquires Concept Life Sciences for £163m

Spectris has completed the acquisition of Concept Life Sciences Group of companies from Equistone Partners and company management for £163m.

Avacta signs licensing deal with Glythera after successful trial

Avacta Group has signed a licensing agreement with Glythera for its Affimer technology after a successful proof-of-concept study.

Google venture unit supports UK flu vaccine firm Vaccitech

UK-based Vaccitech, which is developing a universal influenza vaccine and other vaccine-related products, has bagged £20m ($27.1m) of funding from various investors.

Mallinckrodt agrees to sell hemostasis products to Baxter

Mallinckrodt has agreed to divest several hemostasis products to Baxter International for about $185m, with upfront payment of $153m, inclusive of existing inventory, and the remainder in potential future milestones

Ablynx rejects EUR2.6bn takeover offer from Novo Nordisk

Ablynx has rejected a takeover proposal of around €2.6bn from Novo Nordisk, calling it as unsolicited and it fundamentally undervalues the company.

Takeda proposes to buy cell therapy firm TiGenix for EUR520m

Takeda Pharmaceutical has offered to acquire Belgium-based cell therapy company TiGenix for €520m to expand its late-stage gastroenterology pipeline and its footprint in the US specialty care market.

Sangamo, Pfizer collaborate to develop zinc finger protein gene therapy for ALS

Sangamo Therapeutics and Pfizer have collaborated for the development of a potential gene therapy using zinc finger protein transcription factors (ZFP-TFs) to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) linked to mutations of the C9ORF72 gene.

NovaQuest Capital to buy Viamet Pharmaceuticals

NovaQuest Capital Management has agreed to acquire Viamet Pharmaceuticals, including its product candidate, VT-1161, which has completed Phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) and onychomycosis, or fungal nail infection.