Corporate News Archives - Biotech on the Web

AstraZeneca closes mega $39B Alexion buyout despite antitrust fears, making a splash in rare diseases

Jul 23, 2021Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Corporate News, Pharma

AstraZeneca’s mega $39 billion takeover of Alexion Pharmaceuticals has come to a close, delivering the British pharma a lucrative portfolio of immunology medicines and a towering presence in rare diseases. AZ on Wednesday announced the completion of its Alexion acquisition, a week after securing a pivotal nod from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Industry watchers were concerned […]

Horizon inks $3B deal to buy AstraZeneca spinout Viela for autoimmune drugs

Feb 2, 2021Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Biotech Stocks To Watch, Corporate News

Horizon Therapeutics has struck a $3 billion deal to buy AstraZeneca spinout Viela Bio. The takeover will give Horizon a clutch of clinical-phase autoimmune and inflammatory disease drug candidates, R&D capabilities and an approved monoclonal antibody. Viela spun out of AstraZeneca with six drug candidates and $250 million early in 2018. Since then, the biotech has gone […]

REGENERON’S ANTIBODY COCKTAIL REGN-EB3 (INMAZEB®) IS FIRST FDA-APPROVED TREATMENT FOR EBOLA (ZAIRE EBOLAVIRUS)

Oct 25, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Biotech Stocks To Watch, Corporate News

In a large clinical trial, Inmazeb showed superiority compared to other investigational agents (ZMapp and remdesivir) with respect to mortality; treatment was most effective when given early in the course of disease1 Inmazeb (atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab-ebgn) is a novel anti-viral antibody medicine developed using the same ‘rapid response’ technologies as Regeneron’s investigational COVID-19 antibody […]

Bausch Health And BHVI Announce Exclusive Global Licensing Agreement For Myopia Control Contact Lens

Oct 17, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Corporate News

Second Exclusive License Strengthens Bausch + Lomb’s Global Research Focus on Myopia SYDNEY and LAVAL, QC, Oct. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) (“Bausch Health”) and Bausch + Lomb, its leading global eye health business, along with BHVI, an Australian not-for-profit organization with an international focus on vision research, announced today that an […]

Japan Grants Patent to Brainstorm Covering Technique for NurOwn

Sep 25, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDALS, Biotech (General), Biotech Stocks To Watch, Clinical Trials, Corporate News, Multiple Sclerosis

The Japan Patent Office has granted a patent to Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics covering the proprietary technique that generates the company’s cell-based therapy NurOwn from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Through this technique, researchers can harness MSCs directly from a patient and mature them into cells that produce high levels of neurotrophic factors, which are compounds that […]

Bausch Health Announces Its Intention To Spin Off Its Eye Health Business Into An Independent Publicly Traded Company

Aug 7, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Biotech Stocks To Watch, Corporate News

LAVAL, QC, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) (“Bausch Health” or the “Company”) today announced that it intends to spin off its leading eye health business into an independent publicly traded entity (“Bausch + Lomb – NewCo”) from the remainder of Bausch Health (“BHC”). The spinoff will establish two separate […]

Celularity announces the activation of first California Clinical Trial Site following CIRM Grant Award to Advance Treatments for COVID-19

Aug 6, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Clinical Trials, Corporate News, COVID-19

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Celularity today announced that it has been awarded a $750,000 COVID-19 Project grant by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), one of the three clinical awards targeting the coronavirus. This grant will support California Institutions participating in the Phase I/II clinical trial of human placental hematopoietic stem cell derived natural killer (NK) […]

BCLI: ALS ASSOCIATION AND I AM ALS AWARDS $500,000 GRANT; POTENTIAL INCLUSION IN RUSSELL 3000 INDEX…

Jun 11, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDALS, Biotech (General), Corporate News

$500,000 Grant from ALS Association and I AM ALS On June 9, 2020, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCLI) announced a combined grant of $500,000 from the ALS Association and I AM ALS to support an ALS biomarker study utilizing samples and data from the ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of NurOwn® in ALS patients. The goal of […]

AstraZeneca approaches Gilead about merging

Jun 8, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Corporate News

NEW YORK — AstraZeneca PLC has made a preliminary approach to rival drug maker Gilead Sciences Inc. about a potential merger, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be the biggest health care deal on record. The UK company informally contacted Gilead last month to gauge its interest in a possible tie-up, […]

FDA hits Novartis with unexpected 3-month delay on MS drug ofatumumab

Jun 4, 2020Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhDBiotech (General), Biotech Stocks To Watch, Clinical Trials, Corporate News

Last week, Novartis was touting positive data showing its repurposed leukemia drug ofatumumab outpaced Sanofi’s Aubagio in a multiple sclerosis trial. Now, Novartis has revealed that the FDA, which was supposed to hand down a verdict on the drug this month, needs until September to make the decision. What happened? Novartis isn’t saying much. MORE… […]