Plexxikon, Daiichi Sankyo complete potential $935M deal
April 4, 2011
Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. completed its acquisition of Plexxikon Inc., giving shareholders $805 million upfront with the possibility of near-term milestone payments of another $130 million on Plexxikon’s potential melanoma drug.
Plexxikon will retain its name, employees and Berkeley facilities, and it will continue research and development operations as an independent unit of Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo.
The deal was announced in late February.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., March 30, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACHN) today announced top-line results from its on-going Phase 2a clinical trial of ACH-1625 dosed once daily (QD) in combination with Pegasys® (peginterferon alfa-2a) and Copegus® (ribavirin), a current standard of care (SOC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection. The analysis demonstrated that 75-81% of patients receiving ACH-1625 achieved rapid virologic response (RVR) with a promising safety and tolerability profile. ACH-1625 is an inhibitor of HCV NS3 protease that was discovered by and is being developed by Achillion.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 28, 2011 --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Selventa™ today announced a continuation and expansion of its strategic partnership with the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Inc., in the areas of biological knowledge dissemination and drug safety. The scope of the new collaboration, co-funded by Pfizer, includes creating a publicly available version of Selventa’s Biological Expression Language (BEL) and associated BEL Framework that will enable organizations to capture, store, combine and use scientific knowledge across a wide range of scientific applications to help inform and streamline decision-making regarding drug targets. The collaboration includes establishing a community of BEL stakeholders and users, and the development of a BEL community portal to disseminate the technology to the scientific community at large.
March 8, 2011
The Seattle-based nonprofit, the world’s largest philanthropy with $36.4 billion in assets, made its first direct equity investment in a for-profit biotech company last week when it pumped $10 million into Research Triangle Park, NC-based Liquidia Technologies. While the foundation has made grants to companies for years, and has linked its support to specific programs with clear global health goals, this is the first time the foundation has structured a deal to take equity ownership, and have board-level oversight of a startup’s work, much like a venture capital firm.
--Trial based on data appearing in Cancer Research showing entinostat elicits hormone sensitivity in animal models--
WALTHAM, Mass., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Syndax Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage epigenetics oncology company, announced the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will sponsor a multi-center phase 2 study of Syndax’s lead product entinostat, a novel inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDAC), and anastrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, in postmenopausal women with operable triple negative breast cancer to evaluate biomarkers and surrogates for response. The trial, to be conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) executed between the NCI and Syndax, will investigate whether patient tumors can be reprogrammed to express estrogen receptor and render them to be sensitive to hormonal agents. This trial is based on animal data being published in the March 1, 2011, issue of Cancer Research.
Deal Accelerates Expansion of Oncology Franchise
Berkeley, CA—February 28, 2011 - Plexxikon Inc. today announced it has entered into a merger agreement with Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, a Japan‐based global pharmaceutical company. The purchase price for Plexxikon is $805 million up‐front. Near‐term milestone payments associated with the approval of PLX4032 could total an additional $130 million. Closure of the transaction is subject to clearance under the Hart‐Scott‐Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act and customary closing conditions.
Financing Reflects Significant Clinical Progress and Positive Data in Lead Programs
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, February 14, 2011 – Chimerix, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing orally- available broad spectrum antiviral therapeutics, today announced the completion of a $45 million Series F financing. New Leaf Venture Partners led the round, with participation by new investors Pappas Ventures and Morningside Group, as well as existing investors Canaan Partners, Sanderling Ventures, Alta Partners, Asset Management Company and Frazier Healthcare Ventures.
February 3, 2011
The Debiopharm Group (Debiopharm), a global independent biopharmaceutical development group of companies with a main focus in oncology and serious medical conditions, and Marina Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA), a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, announced today that they entered into an exclusive agreement concerning the development and commercialization of Marina Biotech's pre-clinical program in bladder cancer.
Results illustrate potential value of Athersys' adult stem cell therapy to reduce damage and promote neuronal regrowth.
CLEVELAND, January 19, 2011 - Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX) announced a joint scientific study on spinal cord injury will be published today in the January issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The study, by leading researchers from the Department of Neurosciences at the School of Medicine and scientists at Athersys, presents data supporting the potential therapeutic benefit of Athersys’ MultiStem® program for spinal cord injury. Researchers observed that administration of Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells (MAPC) following spinal cord injury in rodent models prevented the retraction of neurons, a process referred to as “axonal dieback,” reduced inflammation in the region of injury, and also promoted the regrowth of neurons.
Study Meets Co-Primary Endpoints: Overall Survival and Progression-Free Survival Benefit
Plexxikon's U.S. Patent for PLX4032 Issues
Berkeley, CA — January 18, 2011 - Plexxikon Inc. today announced positive data from an interim analysis of the BRIM3 trial, a large multi‐ center Phase 3 clinical study of PLX4032 (RG7204) in patients with previously untreated metastatic melanoma with the BRAF mutation. Patients treated with PLX4032 had an improved overall survival (OS) compared to patients treated with dacarbazine, the current standard of care. In addition, these patientslived longer on average without their disease getting worse, as measured by progression‐free survival (PFS). PLX4032 is an oral, novel kinase inhibitor that targets the oncogenic BRAF mutation.
