Novartis signs; Sosei passes; Amgen remunerates; J&J remunerates for RSV drug

Novartis signs USD 2.1Billion for Endocyte acquisition

Novartis has inked USD 2.1 billion agreement to takeover Endocyte. Endocyte, a biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Indiana, licensed the cancer drug that catches Novartis’ eye for USD 12 million. Endocyte was in the stagnation when it held its recovery hopes from earlier clinical setbacks on radioligand therapeutic 177Lu-PSMA-617. The radioconjugated PSMA antagonist is a promising antagonist in an open-label, single-arm prostate cancer trial, however, its owner, ABX, made a deal of USD 12 million upfront. That has proven to be a remarkably good agreement.

Sosei passes on buyout option after an investment of USD 45.2 million into MiNA Therapeutics

Sosei invested USD 45.2 million in MiNA Therapeutics to acquire the RNA biotech if everything went well. The Tokyo-based company is passing on buyout option, relinquishing the right to takeover MiNA in the future. The buyout clause was related to the advancement of MTL-CEBPA, the lead asset of MiNA, a small activating RNA candidate that is in phase 1 for advanced liver cancer.

Amgen remunerates USD 66 Million stakes in Oxford Nanopore

Amgen has invested USD 66 million into portable genome sequencer developer, Oxford Nanopore, U.K.-based company. The American multinational biopharmaceutical company expects the investment that it will go with its efforts in using genomics. deCode Genetics has used Oxford Nanopore devices to sequence several hundred human genomes, as well as to help identify and validate new targets.

Johnson & Johnson remunerates USD 630 Million for RSV drug 

Johnson & Johnson remunerated USD 1.75 billion to acquire antiviral specialist Alios, but the lead drug from that agreement now seems to be in trouble. J&J disclosed that phase 2b trials of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) drug lumicitabine—also known as AL-8176—had been on hold, and now, in an SEC filing, it has taken a USD 630 million charge for impairment.