Biopharmaceutical NewsWeek # 4

Acquisitions /mergers/joint-ventures

May 19, 2014 

Pfizer increases its offer for AstraZeneca. “They can either accept it or reject it” says Pfizer CEO Ian Read. This “final offer” values AstraZeneca at about $120 Billion, increases the cash component of the deal to +45% of the total price and values AstraZeneca shares at £55 ($92.48) each. The same day the board of AstraZeneca has rejected the improved takeover offer from Pfizer saying that the bid “falls short of AstraZeneca’s value as an independent science-led company”. Some leading AstraZeneca shareholders are not happy about the company decision of rejecting the latest offer. This decision has led to a sharp decrease of the British company’s share price (-12%). What’s next for Pfizer? Most analysts believe Pfizer will come back to its original plan and breakup its current organization into several pieces.

Business

May 19, 2014 

Novartis has signed an exclusive agreement with Ophthotech, to commercilaise Fovista for an upfront payment of $200 million, outside of the US. Fovista is an anti-PDGF aptamer that will be the first in this class to treat wet aged-related macular degeneration (wet AMD)

Approval of drugs

May 20, 2014

The FDA approves Entyvio (vedolizumab) from Takeda for the treatment of moderate-to- severe ulcerative colitis and moderate to severe Crohn’s disease in adults. Vedolizumab is an integrin receptor antagonist.

Medtronic received a CE Mark for the NC Euphora balloon catheter, a device designed to ensure that drug-eluting stents are perfectly apposed following coronary implantation

Drugs at clinical stage

May 20, 2014 

Amgen announces positive results from a phase I study indicating that AMG-157, a monoclonal immunoglobin IgG2 is showing positive results to reduce allergen-induced bronchoconstriction and indexes of airway inflammation. The product candidate is one of the five products that Amgen is co-developing with AstraZeneca.

May 21, 2014 

Europe EMEA approves Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly type 2 diabetes Jardiance (empagliflozin), a new member of the sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor class. This class of compounds removes excess glucose through the urine by blocking glucose re-absorption by the kidney. The new drug will be competing with two other major agents of the same class: Forxiga/Farxiga (dapagliflozin) from AstraZeneca and Invokana (canagliflozin) from Johnson &Johnson.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and its partner Active Biotech announced that the multiple sclerosis pill Nerventra has been rejected again by the European Medicines Agency.

Author : Jean-Claude MULLER, Special Advisor,Innovation & International Relationship (I&IR)

Discover our services in Marketing & Business Development:

• Strategic Business Development
• Operational Marketing & Business Development

See All News

See other Biopharmaceutical News

see other Pharma & Biotech events in 2014