Fujifilm acquires global rights to Cynata’s novel therapy for GvHD; Themis raises EURO 40 million for Chikungunya vaccine; Bayer to license One Drop’s digital diabetes platform

FUJIFILM Corporation has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with an Australian bio-venture Cynata Therapeutics Limited for CYP-001.

Under the agreement, FUJIFILM will gain rights to develop, manufacture and market a drug for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). CYP-001 is a Cynata’s lead candidate developed using its trademark Cymerus’s mesenchymal stem cell (MSC), which in turn are derived from allogeneic induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) based drug production platform.

Graft-versus-host disease is an immune condition that occurs in a patient after transplantation when immune cells present in donor tissue (the graft) attack the host’s own tissues.

According to DelveInsight, GvHD market is expected to increase during the forecast period. The 7MM market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.8% from 2016-2027.

Graft-versus-host disease Market analysis study carried out for the period of 2016-2027 shows that the 7MM Market Size was USD 378 million in 2017.

The US market size of acute GvHD was found to be USD 55.6 Million in 2017 and is expected to increase with a significant growth rate from 2016-2027.

This increase in Graft-versus-host disease market size is expected to happen due to the launch of seven new drugs in this space for the forecasted period. Among these 7, most of the drugs are being developed for steroid-refractory acute GVHD. Some of the most promising GvHD drugs in the pipeline are Ruxolitinib, Itacitinib, and ATIR101, among others.

Vienna-based Themis Biosciences has announced the closing of Series D financing round totalling up to USD 44 Million (EUR 40 Million).

The financing round was led by the current investors Global Health Investment Fund, aws Gruenderfonds, Omnes Capital, Ventech and Wellington Partners Life Sciences. Some new investors also participated in the financing round including Farallon Capital, Adjuvant Capital and Hadean Ventures.

Themis is planning to use the proceeds thus collected to advance the Phase III clinical trial program of its lead Chikungunya vaccine and the oncology indications using its proprietary measles vaccine vector platform.

Chikungunya, viral but rarely fatal disease is a global burden with endemic transmissions in countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Drugmaker Bayer has led the Series B Financing round to enter into an agreement to license One Drop’s digital diabetes management platform.

In a USD 40 Million funding round, Bayer will have access to One Drop’s data science and predictive capabilities. Moreover, Bayer will also use its mobile platform for developing innovative and advanced bio-digital solutions for a wide range of therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiovascular disease, and women’s health.

In this fast-evolving healthcare domain, technologically advanced and innovative solutions for the patient pool is much required. Bayer and One Drop are joining forces to achieve the same.

Earlier Bayer has tied up with other pharma and biotech companies to accelerate the use of technology in healthcare.