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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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…

$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 […]

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

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… […]