April 2020 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 12
// DEALS //
Gilead has revealed plans to acquire US clinical-stage biotech Forty Seven in a deal worth $4.9 billion, in a move that will strengthen its immuno-oncology research and development portfolio.
The deal, which has been unanimously approved by both the Gilead and Forty Seven boards of directors, is expected to close during the second quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
The move gives Gilead access to Forty Seven’s investigational lead product candidate magrolimab – a monoclonal antibody in clinical development for the treatment of several cancers for which new, transformative medicines are urgently needed.
“Magrolimab complements our existing work in haematology, adding a non-cell therapy programme that complements Kite’s pipeline of cell therapies for haematological cancers,” said Daniel O’Day, chairman and chief executive officer of the group.
Sanofi has teamed up with video consultation business Babylon to offer an online artificial intelligence (AI) based health service for people who suffer from digestive health issues.
The pharma giant is supporting a three-month pilot of the service, which provides consumers quick advice through their smartphones via a video consultation with a doctor or AI-enabled chatbot.
Only an estimated 30% of people in the UK who suffer from the common condition IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) have actually been diagnosed and, of those, 61% often mistreat their symptoms with analgesics or antacids.
Explaining the strategy behind the move, Roberto Labella, medical head CHC North Europe at Sanofi, said: “We knew people were looking for reliable information around IBS and constipation, so we wanted to provide a value-added tech service that would better help them.
“The service from Babylon Health simplifies healthcare access and can be synced seamlessly to our existing digital channels, making it a great fit. We believe it will really enable those with digestive health issues to get the speedy advice they need, when visiting a doctor or pharmacist is not possible, to live healthier and fuller lives.”
Oxford Biomedica has signed a Licence and Clinical Supply Agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb’s Juno Therapeutics, granting the latter a non-exclusive licence to the LentiVector platform.
The deal makes the platform available for application in Juno’s CAR-T and TCR-T programmes in oncology and other indications, and additionally puts in place a five year Clinical Supply Agreement, which may be extended further.
Oxford Biomedica says that it will receive an upfront payment of $10 million in cash and potentially up to $86 million upon achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones related to multiple products and indications.
The firm also stands to receive up to $131 million in sales-based milestone payments and an undisclosed royalty on the net sales of products sold by Juno using the platform.