Today's Rundown AstraZeneca picks up new weapon in rare disease fight with Alnylam and Pfizer, paying $30M for rights to an early-phase asset Sanofi makes AI play, putting up $100M and billions in biobucks to form broad deal with Exscientia Atea sticks it out with failed COVID-19 antiviral but also raids Merck's store room for hepatitis C drug Merck leans into AI with $610M in biobucks for Absci drug discovery pact Cytokinetics finds worldwide partner in Royalty Pharma for heart failure drug, snags up to $450M to extend runway Aligos says stop right now to lead hep B med after fruitless phase 1 data mRNA shot spawns CAR-T cells in the body to repair heart disease damage FDA must hit the gas on FOIA request tied to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, judge orders Kaufman Hall: Consumers may again be avoiding getting care as hospital margins remain depressed Medtronic recalls StealthStation neurosurgery navigation software, again Biogen's Aduhelm faces a key coverage decision next week. Which way will Medicare rule, and how much does it matter? Fierce Pharma Asia—Samsung and Biogen rumors; Novartis-BeiGene TIGIT deal; Aduhelm's Japan defeat Chutes & Ladders—Maraganore's post-Alnylam ambitions take flight Featured Story | By Nick Paul Taylor AstraZeneca is stepping up its pursuit of a rare disease market targeted by Alnylam and Pfizer. Having entered the ATTR space through its takeover of Alexion, AstraZeneca is paying $30 million for worldwide rights to Neurimmune’s NI006 in its second deal in the indication in quick succession. read more |
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Top Stories By Nick Paul Taylor Sanofi is getting deeper into AI-driven R&D. After working with AI drug discovery shop Exscientia for five years, Sanofi has significantly expanded its relationship, putting up $100 million and $5.2 billion on the backend for the chance to work on up to 15 small molecules across oncology and immunology. read more By Annalee Armstrong Atea Pharmaceuticals is still determined to get its COVID-19 antiviral through clinical trials, but without a partner to collaborate with, the biotech is also raiding Merck's storeroom to make a play in a different indication. read more By Annalee Armstrong Merck is taking a deep dive into complex proteins with the help of AI-powered drug discovery company Absci. The two companies have signed a research collaboration for up to three targets in a deal worth up to $610 million in upfront fees and milestone payments. read more By Annalee Armstrong After offloading China rights to a heart failure drug, Cytokinetics has found a partner in Royalty Pharma for the rest of the world. Royalty will pay up to $450 million for the chance to support the commercial launch of omecamtiv mecarbil. read more By Annalee Armstrong Aligos went public back in October 2020, with $40 million of its overall haul going toward its hepatitis B antiviral “STOPS” medicine. But now, what’s stopping is the drug’s development. read more By Angus Liu A University of Pennsylvania team of renowned scientists in mRNA and T-cell immunotherapy have harnessed the power of both technologies in a promising experimental therapy to repair heart damage. read more By Fraiser Kansteiner Rather than 75 years, it will now take about eight months for the FDA to make public the information it used to license Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine—provided the regulator can keep up with the new schedule. read more By Robert King A new report from Kaufman Hall found that hospital volumes softened in November and estimates consumers could be putting off care again. read more By Andrea Park Three years after launching a Class I recall of some of its StealthStation surgical navigation software, Medtronic has once again received the FDA’s most serious classification for yet another recall of the software, and for a very similar issue. read more By Angus Liu Amid its sputtering launch, Biogen expects to receive a draft decision on Aduhelm’s coverage on Medicare next week. Industry watchers have been calculating a range of potential scenarios, but whichever direction the ruling goes, doctor feedback suggests it may simply not matter that much. read more By Angus Liu Biogen reportedly approached Samsung for a takeover deal as the beleaguered biotech and partner Eisai's Aduhelm received rejections in Europe and Japan. Novartis bought its way into TIGIT with a BeiGene deal. And more. read more By Fraiser Kansteiner Alnylam's Maraganore plots his next move. Eikon Therapeutics adds six to its executive roster. Exelixis taps Merck veteran as CMO as it pivots east. read more |
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