Novartis is acquiring more of stem cell partner Gamida Cell but steering away from buying the company outright as it blueprints a Phase III trial for its blood cancer therapy.
The Swiss pharma giant is paying $5 million up front for another 2.5% of Gamida equity and agreeing to invest another $10 million by the end of 2017 if certain conditions are met. The financing follows a 2014 deal in which Novartis paid $35 million for a 15% stake in the Israeli biotech.
Novartis has been supporting Gamida’s work for years but has twice passed on an option to acquire the company en masse for up to $600 million. In June, Gamida majority shareholder Elbit Imaging disclosed that Novartis had walked away from its right to buy it for $165 million up front and $435 million in milestones. Novartis passed on a similar opportunity in 2014.
Gamida has moved forward undaunted, now planning to launch a Phase III trial for its NiCord in mid-2016. NiCord is a stem cell treatment derived from umbilical cord blood and designed to work in lieu of bone marrow transplants for patients with leukemia and lymphoma. The company is also at work on a preclinical project focused on the potential of so-called natural killer cells in oncology, plus a version of NiCord for nonmalignant blood diseases, including sickle cell.
By Damian Garde
Source: Fierce Biotech
Giovanni Caforio, the former CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, is set to become the next board chairman of Novartis, which on Tuesday proposed the pharmaceutical industry veteran as its pick to replace Joerg Reinhardt in the role next year. Reinhardt has served as Novartis’ chair since 2013 and plans to retire when his 12-year term ends in 2025.
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Scientists from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry have revealed a new sustainable method of manufacturing complex molecules that could reduce waste produced during drug production. The method published in Nature Chemistry could help to prevent severe side effects caused by drugs that can exist as enantiomers.
