Deals North America

Pfizer Inks Second Collaboration with Arvinas, Makes Billion-Dollar Investment on a Novel Agent for Breast Cancer Therapy

Targeted protein degraders are increasingly becoming the most sought-after modality in drug discovery. These small molecules enable the degradation of mutated proteins through the cell’s own disposal system instead of performing an inhibitory role. A number of companies have pumped money into this rapidly evolving therapeutic area. A notable one is the 2018 collaboration of Arvinas, Inc. with Pfizer. In a deal worth up to $830 million, the duo signed a multi-year agreement to discover and develop drug candidates using Arvinas’ proprietary PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTAC) technology. Building on that collaboration, now Arvinas has struck another billion-dollar deal with the pharma giant. On July 22nd, the New Haven, Connecticut-based biotech announced a global collaboration with Pfizer to develop and commercialize its lead immuno-oncology candidate, ARV-471. Under the agreement, Arvinas will stand to gain $650 million in an upfront payment, in addition to a $350 million equity investment by Pfizer. “This...
Read More
Pfizer Inks Second Collaboration with Arvinas, Makes Billion-Dollar Investment on a Novel Agent for Breast Cancer Therapy
Industry News North America

Albireo Gets Back-to-Back Approvals for Rare Liver Disease Drug

On July 20th, Albireo announced that the FDA approved Bylvay to treat pruritus in all subtypes of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). This is a huge milestone for the company, as Bylvay is its first commercially available drug in the US. In addition, the approval came just one day after the European Commission approved Bylvay. As a result, the company’s stock is up 7.36% in the past 5 days.   PFIC is a rare pediatric genetic disorder that causes progressive, life-threatening liver disease. Patients suffer from cholestasis, or bile accumulation in liver cells. Symptoms include itchiness, jaundice, poor weight gain, and slow growth. Within the first 10 years of life, PFIC leads to cirrhosis and liver failure. Bylvay is the first drug approved for the treatment of this disease. “Treating children with PFIC can be difficult and frustrating given the current treatment options. Bylvay gives us a non-surgical option and...
Read More
Albireo Gets Back-to-Back Approvals for Rare Liver Disease Drug
Clinical Trials Industry News

Cytokinetics Poised to Begin Phase 3 after its HCM Drug Registers Encouraging Data

South Francisco, California-based Cytokinetics, Inc. has created an uproar again by announcing positive study findings for an investigational heart drug, CK-274, for treating a chronic cardiovascular disease, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). Despite losing its giant pharma partners, Astellas and Amgen, this year over the disappointment of its muscle disease drug and heart failure pill, respectively, the promising results of the REDWOOD-HCM trial for a new heart disease candidate CK-274 led the Cytokinetics’ stocks to outperform in the market, surging nearly 50% on July 19th.   CK-274 - A Small Molecule Cardiac Myosin Inhibitor HCM affects an estimated 600,000 to 1.5 million Americans. Currently, there are no FDA-approved medical treatments that directly target hypercontractility underlying HCM. Cytokinetics, Inc, focuses on developing first-in-class muscle activators and next-gen muscle inhibitors for debilitating cardiovascular or neuromuscular disorders. Its CK-274 is a novel, oral, small molecule cardiac myosin inhibitor. It is uniquely designed to inhibit hypercontractility...
Read More
Cytokinetics Poised to Begin Phase 3 after its HCM Drug Registers Encouraging Data
Asia Insight Event Feature

The Future of Precision Medicine: From Gene Therapy to Data Sharing Boom – Excerpts from the US-Taiwan Precision Medicine Forum

“Precision medicine defines the evolution in modern medicine,” said Dr. Chung-Hsiun Wu, President of the Development Center for Biotechnology, setting the stage while inaugurating the US-Taiwan Precision Medicine Forum on July 20th. Experts, including professors, officials, and professionals from top gene therapy companies in the US, participated in the event to share their valuable insights on the future of precision medicine. Dr. Chung-Hsiun Wu began by stating that genetic testing and disease analysis have inspired more effective and precise therapies, with the promise to guide future diagnosis and treatments in various indications. As a result, the industry could position itself as one of the driving forces of economic growth. Dr. Chung-Hsiun Wu, President, The Development Center for Biotechnology & Director, BPIPO Next, Mr. Wei Ding, Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated global collaborations, especially in the medical...
Read More
The Future of Precision Medicine: From Gene Therapy to Data Sharing Boom – Excerpts from the US-Taiwan Precision Medicine Forum
Industry News M&A

PacBio Looks to Capture Short-Read Genome Sequencing Market with Omniome Acquisition

Image: Christian Henry, President, and CEO of Pacific Biosciences In November 2018, sequencing giant Illumina bid $1.2 billion to acquire Pacific Biosciences (PacBio), only to see its merger plans fall apart, thanks to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) scrutiny. Just over a year and a half later, PacBio will again come face to face with the FTC, but this time as the acquirer of San Diego-based sequencing startup Omniome Inc. On July 20th, PacBio announced the merger agreement with Omniome to acquire the latter's proprietary short-read sequencing platform in a deal worth $800 million. The California firm will pay $300 million cash and 9.4 million shares of PacBio common stock, amounting to an upfront payment of approximately $600 million. Besides, Omniome is eligible to receive an additional $200 million if certain prespecified milestones are met. PacBio would be selling approximately 11.2 million shares of its common stock at $26.75 per...
Read More
PacBio Looks to Capture Short-Read Genome Sequencing Market with Omniome Acquisition
{"slides_column":1,"slides_scroll":1,"dots":"true","arrows":"true","autoplay":"true","autoplay_interval":2000,"speed":300,"lazyload":""}

INTERVIEW

More
Interview

The Maturation of Blood-Based Diagnostics to Nip Cancers in the Bud: An Interview with Dr. Jimmy Lin

The war against cancer is far from over, but modern medicine has made significant progress in winning some critical battles. Thanks to the rise of new modalities, cancer diagnosis and treatment have seen practice-changing advances. Liquid biopsy, the latest entrant to precision oncology, enables the screening of cancer prevalence and detects multiple cancers with a single blood test. However, there is merit in choosing to tackle one cancer at a time using a multi-pronged approach, says Dr. Jimmy Lin, Chief Scientific Officer of Freenome. Dr. Jimmy Lin is a seasoned researcher in the field of cancer genomics. He helped perform the first genome-wide sequencing of human cancers and was part of one of the first academic clinical next-generation sequencing efforts....
Read More
The Maturation of Blood-Based Diagnostics to Nip Cancers in the Bud: An Interview with Dr. Jimmy Lin
Interview

The Transformative Potential of Gene Therapies for Hemophilia

Hemophilia is an inherited blood disorder where victims suffer from uncontrolled bleeding post injuries. The major forms of the disease, Hemophilia A and B, are characterized by the genetic deficiency of factors VIII and IX, respectively. Of all the diverse therapies available, gene therapy holds incredible promise with its ability to cure the disease via a single-dose administration. Although safety and durability are the biggest hurdles for the field, “advances in gene therapy have been a terrific transformational change,” says Dr. John Pasi, an expert who has been closely involved in the design and development of clinical trials for new gene therapies. Dr. John Pasi is a Professor of Haemostasis and Thrombosis at Barts and the London School of Medicine...
Read More
The Transformative Potential of Gene Therapies for Hemophilia
Interview

How the ICT Industry is Poised to Transform Healthcare? – An Interview with AUO President Frank Ko

Smart medical care and remote medical care have always remained a long-term vision, but they have rapidly progressed in the past five years. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this field’s transformation and application by reducing crowded wards and unnecessary contacts. Frank Ko, President & COO of AU Optronics (AUO), has played a vital role in transforming AUO from a display supplier to a solution provider. GeneOnline had the opportunity to interview him and gather his views through the perspective of smart healthcare and the ICT industry. AUO has been a key player in the medical field for several years, especially in providing medical displays, including high-end displays for diagnosis, endoscopy, surgery, X-ray, or PPE diagnostics. AUO is an important...
Read More
How the ICT Industry is Poised to Transform Healthcare? – An Interview with AUO President Frank Ko
COVID-19 Interview

Prof. Han van den Bosch: The Mammoth Task of Vaccinating the World

As COVID-19 continues to snowball into a massive health and economic concern, the world is anxiously anticipating a vaccine. While Russia's vaccine was approved in August, several biopharma giants worldwide have progressed their candidates to Phase III evaluations in a rush to deliver them at an unprecedented speed. Yet, "vaccine development is one thing, vaccination is another," says Prof. Han van den Bosch, a seasoned veteran in the vaccine development space. Dr. van den Bosch is an emeritus professor of "International Public Health" at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. He has held top management posts in the industry in global R&D and has been instrumental in developing vaccines for various diseases. We invited him for a discussion to obtain expert...
Read More
Prof. Han van den Bosch: The Mammoth Task of Vaccinating the World
Asia Insight Feature Interview

Building a Biomedical Value Chain and Accelerating the Development of the Biomedical Industry

Interview with Hsi-Wen Tsai, Director of the Incubation Center, NHRI   Currently, there are more than one hundred incubation centers in Taiwan, which mainly provide resources for startups and small to medium-sized enterprises in their early stages of development. Those resources include spaces, instruments, technology, capital, business-related services, management consulting, etc., to reduce their initial start-up cost and risk. Most incubation centers are set up within the universities and government agencies. Among them, the Incubation Center of the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) has immense experience in focusing on the biotechnology and biomedical sector and has played a vital role in developing Taiwan's biomedical industry. Foundation of NHRI’s Incubation Center "During the year 2000, Taiwan's biotechnology and biomedical industry were...
Read More
Building a Biomedical Value Chain and Accelerating the Development of the Biomedical Industry
{"slides_column":1,"slides_scroll":1,"dots":"true","arrows":"true","autoplay":"true","autoplay_interval":2000,"speed":300,"lazyload":""}

INDUSTRY

More

Albireo Gets Back-to-Back Approvals for Rare Liver Disease Drug

On July 20th, Albireo announced that the FDA approved Bylvay to treat pruritus in all subtypes of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). This is a huge milestone for the company, …

ASIA INSIGHT

More

The Future of Precision Medicine: From Gene Therapy to Data Sharing Boom – Excerpts from the US-Taiwan Precision Medicine Forum

“Precision medicine defines the evolution in modern medicine,” said Dr. Chung-Hsiun Wu, President of the Development Center for Biotechnology, setting the stage while inaugurating the US-Taiwan Precision Medicine Forum on …

TECHNOLOGY

More
CYTENA Bioprocess Solutions

CYTENA Launches the Next-Generation Microbioreactor to Revolutionize Cell Culture

CYTENA Bioprocess Solutions, a CELLINK company, launches S.NEST™, a high throughput microbioreactor with a monitoring system that maximizes cell growth, reduces workflow time, and turns data into valuable insights. Cell …

NORTH AMERICA

More

Pfizer Inks Second Collaboration with Arvinas, Makes Billion-Dollar Investment on a Novel Agent for Breast Cancer Therapy

Targeted protein degraders are increasingly becoming the most sought-after modality in drug discovery. These small molecules enable the degradation of mutated proteins through the cell’s own disposal system instead of …

Feature Video